Publisher Summary Islet cell autoantigen (ICA) 512 is a specific membrane marker of neurosecretory granules. It is the first member of the receptor protein tyrosine phosphatases (RPTPs) family found to be resident in an intracellular compartment. Interestingly, ICA 512 contains only one protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) “core domain”, rather than two, as usually found in receptor PTPs (RPTPs). Moreover, ICA 512 expressed in bacteria do not display PTP activity when tested with several common PTP substrates. Thus, the function of ICA 512 is still unknown. By Northern blot, ICA 512 transcripts have been detected in pancreatic islets, brain, and pituitary, suggesting an enrichment of ICA 512 in neuroendocrine tissues. To begin addressing the structure and function of ICA 512, its tissue distribution and intracellular localization using rabbit antibodies directed against either its recombinant extracellular domain or recombinant cytoplasmic domain. Confocal microscopy on rat tissues demonstrated that ICA 512 is expressed in virtually all neuroendocrine cells, including neurons of the autonomic nervous system; chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla; α-, β-, and δ-pancreatic islet cells; cells in the anterior and intermediate pituitary, as well as neurons of the autonomic nervous system and of the hypothalamus and the amygdala in the brain. The strongest ICA 512 immunoreactivity has been found in the posterior pituitary, which contains the nerve endings of neurons located in the hypothalamus and the highest concentration of neurosecretory granules in the entire body. Thus ICA 512 and, thus, tyrosine phosphorylation–dephosphorylation plays a role in the life-cycle of neurosecretory granules.
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