Abstract
Id proteins are dominant negative members of the helix-loop-helix (HLH) transcription factor family which are involved in the differentation of many cell types, including glia. We have recently identified the adult rat pineal gland as a major site of Id-1 and Id-3 expression. In the present study, double fluorescence immunocytochemical analysis was used to examine the co-localization of Id-1 and Id-3 with both neuronal (synaptophysin, βIII-tubulin) and astrocytic markers (GFAP, vimentin, S-100β in the rat pineal. In addition to localizing Id-1 and Id-3 protein to the melatonin-producing pinealocytes, we have also made the novel observation that Id-1, but not Id-3, is highly expressed in a population of vimentin-positive/S-100β-positive/GFAP-negative astrocytes. Surprisingly, Id-1 was primarily cytoplasmic in these cells, and expression extended throughout the cellular processes. The pineal has been recognized previously as a unique region of the central nervous system in which a vimentin-positive/GFAP-negative glial phenotype is maintained in adult mammals. The exclusion of Id-1 from GFAP-positive cells, and expression in a population of vimentin-positive pineal astrocytes is evidence of a role for Id-1 in the adult stabilization of one form of astrocyte. These results identify the rat pineal gland as a model system for the functional analysis of Id-1.
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Kofler, B., Bulleyment, A., Humphries, A. et al. Id-1 Expression Defines a Subset of Vimentin/S-100β-positive, GFAP-negative Astrocytes in the Adult Rat Pineal Gland. Histochem J 34, 167–171 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020946631937
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020946631937