Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
4349815 | Neuroscience Letters | 2007 | 4 Pages |
Abstract
Neurturin (NTN) is a member of the glial cell line-derived (GDNF) family of neurotrophic factors, which act via a receptor complex composed of a signal transducing receptor, c-Ret and a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-linked ligand binding receptor, GFRα. Different members of the GDNF family bind preferentially to one of four different GFRα receptors; NTN binds preferentially to the GFRα-2 receptor. Recent evidence has shown that three alternatively spliced isoforms of GFRα-2 occur in rodent tissues, including the rat brain, myenteric plexus and kidney, and several mouse tissues. Here we have examined the occurrence of GFRα-2 isoforms in the adult male rat urinary bladder by RT-PCR, in parallel with samples from the muscularis externa of the rat ileum. In contrast to the ileum, only a single GFRα-2 isoform, the smallest isoform, known as GFRα-2c, was detected in the rat urinary bladder. This differential expression of GFRα-2 transcripts in bladder and intestine may be related to differences in the roles of NTN in the two tissues and its actions on the neurons that innervate them.
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Authors
Nazanin F. Dolatshad, M. Jill Saffrey,