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A comparative study of the expression of monoamine oxidase-A and -B mRNA and protein in non-CNS human tissues

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Abstract

The distributions of monoamine oxidase (MAO)-A and -B proteins and mRNAs in human heart, lung, liver, duodenum, kidney and vasculature were compared using immunohistochemistry and cRNA in situ hybridisation. MAO-A and -B mRNA were detected in all tissues, to differing extents, but particularly in glomeruli, hepatocytes, and the crypts, muscularis mucosa and muscularis externa of duodenum. Renal proximal and distal tubules and loops of Henle had more intense labelling for mRNA of MAO-B than MAO-A; this was reflected in MAO protein expression. Little immunoreactivity was detected in glomeruli. Hepatocytes expressed MAO-A moderately, but MAO-B strongly. In lungs, similar moderately intense labelling for both MAO mRNAs and immunoreactivities was evident in pneumocytes, and epithelial and smooth muscle cells. Cardiomyocytes contained both MAO isoforms, but with more, albeit moderate, labelling for MAO-A. Both isoforms were expressed equally in duodenal villi, crypts, muscularis externa and mucosa; lower level expression occurred in mucosal and submucosal cells. MAO-A and -B mRNA were detected in endothelia, adventitia and media of a renal interlobular artery, but protein immunoreactivities were chiefly in the adventitia. The data reveal widespread tissue distribution of MAO mRNAs and proteins, but indicate that presence of MAO mRNAs does not invariably reflect quantitatively its protein expression.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. J.A. Bombí (Department de Biologia Cellular Anatomia Patològica, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain) for the gift of the autopsy tissue samples. Additional paraffin-embedded tissue sections were kindly supplied by Professor J. Lowe, Department of Pathology, University of Nottingham, UK. The non-immune antibody was kindly provided by Professor M. Griffin, Department of Life Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Life Sciences, The Nottingham Trent University, Clifton Lane, Nottingham, NG11 8NS, UK

    S. D. Sivasubramaniam, C. C. Finch & E. E. Billett

  2. Unitat de Bioquimica, Universitat de Barcelona, 08036, Barcelona, Spain

    M. J. Rodriguez & N. Mahy

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  1. S. D. Sivasubramaniam
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  2. C. C. Finch
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  3. M. J. Rodriguez
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  4. N. Mahy
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  5. E. E. Billett
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Correspondence to E. E. Billett.

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Sivasubramaniam, S.D., Finch, C.C., Rodriguez, M.J. et al. A comparative study of the expression of monoamine oxidase-A and -B mRNA and protein in non-CNS human tissues. Cell Tissue Res 313, 291–300 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-003-0765-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-003-0765-6

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