Expression of the Menkes disease homolog in rodent neuroglial cells

Abstract

We surveyed qualitative expression of the Menkes disease homolog in a variety of brain regions, and cultured neurons and glia from rat and mouse. Cultured astrocytes from adult rat cerebral cortex, corpus striatum and cerebellum all expressed the gene, as did cerebellar granule cell neurons isolated from whole cerebellum. Pulse-chase experiments with radiolabeled copper demonstrated normal copper handling by cultured adult astrocytes. We also assessed expression of the Menkes homolog in astrocytes from various earlier developmental stages (embryonic day 20, postnatal days 3 and 8), and detected expression on D3 and D8 but not in E20 astrocytes. Our data provide evidence that this copper transport gene is expressed in specific glial cells and neurons, findings that may be pertinent to treatment considerations in human patients with Menkes disease.