Abstract
The messenger RNAs coding for opioid peptide precursors have been detected and mapped in histological sections by ‘in situ’ hybridization using specific DNA probes labelled with 32P. Using bovine preproenkephalin A (PPA) cDNA, PPA mRNA was detected in adrenal medulla of bull, hamster and guinea pig. No signal was detected in adrenal of man, rat and cat. The pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) mRNA was detected in pituitary of man, bull, cat, rat and pig, in all cells of the intermediate lobe as well as in scattered cells of the anterior lobe producing POMC. Adequate controls demonstrated the specificity of the labelling. These results provide evidence of the expression of the gene coding for PPA in the adrenal and for POMC in the pituitary. They show cross-hybridization of one DNA probe with mRNAs of various mammals and then provide evidence that one single probe can be used to analyze expression of a given gene in tissues of several animal species by ‘in situ’ hybridization.
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