Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Davis, California » Western Human Nutrition Research Center » Immunity and Disease Prevention Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #181464
Title: ABUNDANT EXPRESSION OF ZINC TRANSPORTERS IN BERGMAN GLIA OF MOUSE CEREBELLUM

Author
item WANG, ZHAN-YOU - CHINA MED.UNIV.HISTOLOGY
item STOLTENBERG, MEREDIN - UNIV. AARHUS DK. NEUROBIO
item Huang, Liping
item DANSCHER, GORM - UNIV AARHUS DK. NEUROBIOL
item DAHLSTROM, ANNICA - UNIV. GOTEBORG SWEDEN
item SHI, YUXIU - CHINA MED. UNIV. HISTOLOG
item LI, JIA-YI - UNIV. GOTEBORG SWEDEN

Submitted to: Elsevier
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/5/2004
Publication Date: 10/5/2004
Citation: Wang, Z., Stoltenberg, M., Huang, L., Danscher, G., Dahlstrom, A., Shi, Y., Li, J. 2004. ABUNDANT EXPRESSION OF ZINC TRANSPORTERS IN BERGMAN GLIA OF MOUSE CEREBELLUM. Elsevier. Bulletin 64:441-44, 2004.

Interpretive Summary: Zinc transporters are the proteins move zinc in and out cells. Seven members of a family of zinc transporters called ZnTs have been identified and characterized in mice and human. These transporter proteins have different tissue and cell locations, suggesting that they may play different roles in zinc balance in different tissues. The cerebellum (so called “little brain”) is a fist-sized structure located at the lower back of the brain. It contains large numbers of nervous cells that modify body movement on a minute-to-minute basis. The cerebellum is also partly responsible for motor learning, such as riding a bicycle. A disturbance in cerebellum will show up as movement disorders. The outermost layer of the cerebellum is called the molecular layer, and contains mostly exons (neuronal extensions) and dendrites (treelike extensions of a neuron). The layer below that is a monolayer of large cells called Purkinje cells, central players in the circuitry of the cerebellum. Below the Purkinje cells is a dense layer of tiny neurons called granule cells. In the central nervous system, cerebellum is one of the most zinc-enriched regions. How the zinc ions get in and out in cerebellum is largely unknown. In the present study, we investigated the detailed distributions of four members (ZnT1, ZnT3, ZnT4 and ZnT6) of the ZnT family in the mouse cerebellum. Microscopic observations revealed that the Bergman glial cell bodies (a type of cells that provide physical and nutritional support for neurons) in the Purkinje cell layer and their extensions in the molecular layer have all the tested ZnT proteins. However, the bodies of the Purkinje cells have ZnT1 only. In the granular layer, ZnTs appeared with different expression patterns. ZnT1 was expressed in a small number of neuronal cell bodies and their primary dendrites, whereas ZnT3 and ZnT4 were present in nerve terminals but not in the neuronal bodies. ZnT6 was undetectable in either the cell bodies or extensions in the granular layer. The present results indicate that the Bergman glial cells may play an important role in zinc metabolism in the mouse cerebellum.

Technical Abstract: Zinc transporters (ZnTs) are membrane proteins involved in zinc ion transportation in mammalian cells. Seven members of ZnT family, ZnT1–7, have been cloned and characterized. These transporter proteins have different cellular and sub-cellular locations, suggesting that they may play different roles in zinc homeostasis in normal and pathological conditions in different tissues. Cerebellum is one of the most zincenriched regions in the central nervous system, but little is known about zinc metabolism in the cerebellum. In the present study,we investigated the detailed distributions of four members (ZnT1, ZnT3, ZnT4 and ZnT6) of the ZnT family, in the mouse cerebellum. Immunostaining and confocal microscopic observations revealed a similar staining pattern of ZnTs in the molecular layer and the Purkinje cell layer. Double labeling with anti-S-100_ or anti-MAP2 and anti-ZnTs clearly showed that the Bergman glial cell bodies in the Purkinje cell layer and their radial processes in the molecular layer exhibited strong immunofluorescence of all the tested ZnTs. However, the somata of the Purkinje cells contained a moderate immunostaining for ZnT1, but virtually lack of other three ZnTs. In the granular layer, ZnTs appeared with different immunostaining patterns. ZnT1 was expressed in a small number of neuronal cell bodies and their primary dendrites, whereas ZnT3 and ZnT4 were present in nerve terminals but not in the neuronal somata. ZnT6 was undetectable in either the cell bodies or processes in the granular layer. The present results indicate that the Bergman glial cells may play an important role in zinc metabolism in the mouse cerebellar cortex.