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Microglial expression of peptidylarginine deiminase 2 in the prenatal rat brain

Abstract

Peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs) are Ca2t+-dependant post-translational modification enzymes that catalyze the citrullination of protein arginyl residues. PAD type 2 (PAD2) is thought to be involved in some processes of neurodegeneration and myelination in the central nervous system. In this study, we found PAD2-positive cells in rat cerebra in 19-to 21-day old embryos, i.e. at a developmental stage well before myelination begins. Most of the cells were microglial marker-positive cells found mainly in the prospective medulla, and others were microglial marker-negative cells found mainly in the prospective dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. The former seemed to be in an activated state as judged by morphological criteria. The specificity of the enzyme activity, immunoblotting and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analyses revealed that these cells expressed PAD2 and not PAD1, PAD3 or PAD4. Our data is indicative of microglial expression of PAD2 in the prenatal developing cerebrum.

Abbreviations

BAEE:

benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester

BzArg:

benzoyl-L-arginine

GAPDH:

glyceraldehyde-3-phosphatedehydrogenase

GFAP:

glial fibrillary acidic protein

KA:

kainic acid

MAP2:

microtubule associated protein 2

mAb:

monoclonal antibody

MBP:

myelin basic protein

PAD:

peptydylarginine deiminase

PAD2:

peptidylarginine deiminase type 2

RT-PCR:

reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction

SDS:

sodium dodecyl sulfate

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Correspondence to Hiroaki Asaga.

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Asaga, H., Ishigami, A. Microglial expression of peptidylarginine deiminase 2 in the prenatal rat brain. Cell Mol Biol Lett 12, 536–544 (2007). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11658-007-0025-y

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