Cell-specific dendritic localization of glycine receptor α subunit messenger RNAS

Abstract

The regional and subcellular localizations of glycine receptor complex messenger RNAS were determined in the adult rat central nervous system using non-radioactive in situ hybridization. The present investigation focused on glycine receptors α1 and α2 subunit messenger RNAS. Within the central nervous system we observed that the glycine receptor αl and α2 subunit messenger RNAS are widely expressed. At the subcellular level, these messenger RNAs are present either in neuronal somata and dendrites or somata only. Furthermore, among different regions as well as within the same region the subcellular localizations of both α subunit messenger RNAS are cell type-dependent. In contrast, the regional distributions of β subunit and gephyrin messenger RNAs are essentially as previously described [Fujita M. (1991) Brain Res. 560, 23–37;.Malosio M.-L. et al. (1991) Eur. moles. Biol. Org. J. 9, 2401–2409; Kirsch J. et al. (1993) Eur. J. Neurosci. 5, 1109–1117] and their messenger RNAs are confined predominantly within the somata of neurons [Kirsch J. et al. (1993); Racca et al. (1997) J. Neurosci. 17, 1691–1700] These results demonstrate that the glycine receptor complex messenger RNAs are broadly expressed in the central nervous system and that the glycine receptor al and a2 subunit messenger RNAs differ in their subcellular localization depending on the neuronal population. The latter finding suggests that different mechanisms for the localization of glycine receptor al and a2 subunit messenger RNAs are used by distinct populations of neurons.