Preprotachykinin messenger RNA detected by in situ hybridization in striatal neurons of the human brain.

Sections from postmortem human brain were processed for in situ hybridization histochemistry using a 35S-labelled RNA probe transcribed from a cDNA coding for the human preprotachykinin which contains both substance P and K. Labelled neurons were observed in the caudate nucleus and the putamen but not the cerebellum. The labelled cells were of medium size and their distribution and morphology were compatible with previous data on substance P-like immunoreactivity in the human brain. The results confirm the presence of preprotachykinin mRNA in a subpopulation of striatal neurons in the human and show that in situ hybridization can be used to detect specific neurotransmitter-related mRNAs in postmortem tissue from normal and diseased humans.