Cytoarchitectural distribution of calcium binding proteins in midbrain dopaminergic regions of rats and humans

Abstract

The present study compares the distribution of three calcium binding proteins, calbindin-D28k, calretinin, and parvalbumin, in the midbrain tegmentum of rats and humans. In order to compare the distributions of these proteins directly, the cytoarchitecture of this region was evaluated by using immunohistochemistry for tyrosine hydroxylase and substance P in serial sections in both transverse and horizontal planes. There was a high degree of homology in the cytoarchitecture of the three main dopaminergic regions identified. The A8 group was localised in the retrorubral fields, which extended rostrally into the midbrain reticular fields in the human. The A9 group corresponded to the substantia nigra, which was delimited by its dense substance P innervation. The heterogeneous A10 group, situated along the dorsal border as well as medial to the A9 group, comprised multiple nuclei. The distribution of calcium binding proteins was similar in both species, although a larger proportion of neurons contained these proteins in the rat. Calbindin-D28k was localised in neurons within A8 and A10 nuclei and within the caudomedial A9 region (and rostrolateral A9 in the rat only). Calretinin was localised in similar regions. In contrast, neurons containing parvalbumin were concentrated in the substantia nigra pars reticulata. The results suggest that few dopaminergic neurons receiving striatal input in the substantia nigra contain calcium binding proteins; rather, the nondopaminergic nigral neurons contain parvalbumin. Interestingly, dopaminergic neurons are more numerous in humans, whereas nondopaminergic neurons predominate in rats, which suggests that functional differences may exist between rats and humans.

Autologous mesenchymal stem cell–derived dopaminergic neurons function in parkinsonian macaques

“…When control tissues obtained from a cynomolgus embryo and an adult animal were analyzed, both showed that the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) was strongly positive for GIRK2 and FOXA2 and weakly positive for calbindin, while the ventral tegmental area (VTA) was weakly positive for GIRK2 and FOXA2 but strongly positive for calbindin ( Figure 1J). This distinct pattern of GIRK2/FOXA2/calbindin expression in the SNc and VTA is consistent with those reported in other species, including rodents and humans (15,28,29). We also evaluated the induction efficiency of MSC-DP cells by quantitative immunocytochemistry.…”

“…We analyzed the relative expression levels of GIRK2, FOXA2, and CALB1 mRNAs using RT-PCR to classify MSC-DP cells as A9-type neurons (GIRK2 + /FOXA2 + /CALB1 − ) or A10-type neurons (GIRK2 − /FOXA2 − /CALB1 + ) (28,29,56). The amount of cDNA was normalized on the basis of the signal from the ubiquitously expressed β-actin.…”

Directed Differentiation of Dopaminergic Neuronal Subtypes from Human Embryonic Stem Cells

“…Some midbrain DA neurons, especially those in the ventral tegmental area, contain CCK8 or calbindin [30,31]. Immunohistochemical analyses indicated that the TH + neurons generated after early FGF8 treatment were not labeled with calbindin, although calbindin-expressing neurons were observed (Fig.…”

Abordagem para análise proteômica de neurônios contendo neuromelanina na substância negra, isolados por microdissecção a laser

“…Desde então, diversos autores tem caracterizado a substância negra, as definições e terminologias que incluem divisões e sub-regiões variam de autor para autor (Braak e Braak, 1986;Fearnley e Lees, 1991;Gibb e Lees, 1991; van Domburg e ten Donkelaar, 1991;McRitchie et al, 1995;McRitchie et al, 1996;Damier et al, 1999a;).…”

“…Utilizando uma combinação de fatores anatômicos e neuroquímicos, alguns autores definiram quatro regiões: parte medial (também referido como o grupo ventromedial), parte lateral (também conhecida como nigrosomes 3), dorsal (também referida como nigrosomes 4, 5 e a matriz) e ventral (também referida como nigrosomes 1 e 2) (McRitchie et al, 1996;Damier et al, 1999a).…”