Ultrastructural immunolocalization of leptin receptor in mouse brain.

Antibodies directed to amino acids 877-894 (M-18) and 32-51 (K-20) were used to localize leptin receptor by immunocytochemistry in mouse brain. Both antibodies stained several hypothalamic nuclei (paraventricular nucleus, supraoptic nucleus, supraoptic retrochiasmatic nucleus, suprachiasmatic nucleus, preoptic area, ventromedial nucleus, dorsomedial nucleus, lateral hypothalamus, arcuate nucleus, ventral and dorsal premammillary nuclei), the thalamic and amygdaloid nuclei, neurons of the neocortex and archicortex and the epithelial cells of the choroid plexus. While M-18 staining was concentrated in the Golgi area, with K-20 it was dispersed in the cytoplasm. Glial cells were stained only by K-20. These results suggest that the trans-membrane forms of the receptor are concentrated at the membrane level of the Golgi complex of neurons and in epithelial cells of the choroid plexus while the soluble form is dispersed in their cytoplasm. Glial cells express only the soluble form.