Couceyro P, Paquet M, Koylu E, Kuhar M J, Smith Y
Division of Neuroscience, Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA.
Synapse. 1998 Sep;30(1):1-8. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2396(199809)30:1<1::AID-SYN1>3.0.CO;2-7.
Cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript (CART) encodes a novel brain-enriched protein whose features are reminiscent of a neurotransmitter propeptide. We have now localized CART peptide(s) in the gastrointestinal tract by immunohistochemical methods. Polyclonal antisera raised to CART peptide 106-129 stained neuronal cell bodies and fibers in rat ileum myenteric plexus-longitudinal muscle tissue preparations. Electron microscopic analysis of thin sections showed immunopositive axon terminals in close apposition to CART-labelled and unlabelled neuronal cell bodies as well as to the longitudinal muscle. CART peptide-immunoreactive terminals contained numerous ovoid electron-lucent vesicles and a few dark-stained dense-core vesicles. Light microscopic double labelling studies revealed CART peptide immunoreactivity in a subpopulation of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-immunoreactive neurons. This combined light microscopic and ultrastructural examination of CART peptides in the gastrointestinal tract suggests a role of CART peptides as transmitters or neuromodulators in the peripheral nervous system.
可卡因和苯丙胺调节转录物（CART）编码一种新的富含大脑的蛋白质，其特征让人联想到神经递质前体肽。我们现在已通过免疫组织化学方法将CART肽定位在胃肠道中。针对CART肽106 - 129产生的多克隆抗血清在大鼠回肠肌间神经丛 - 纵肌组织制剂中对神经元细胞体和纤维进行了染色。薄切片的电子显微镜分析显示，免疫阳性轴突终末与CART标记和未标记的神经元细胞体以及纵肌紧密相邻。CART肽免疫反应性终末含有大量卵圆形的电子透亮小泡和一些深色的致密核心小泡。光学显微镜双重标记研究显示，在胆碱乙酰转移酶（ChAT）免疫反应性神经元亚群中存在CART肽免疫反应性。这种对胃肠道中CART肽的光学显微镜和超微结构联合检查表明，CART肽在外周神经系统中作为递质或神经调节剂发挥作用。
