Developmental changes in Cl(-)-ATPase activity in rat brains

Developmental changes in brain Cl(-)-ATPase activity were examined using fetal, neonatal and adult rats. The Cl(-)-ATPase activity rapidly increased over 20 postnatal days to a level four-fold higher than that in an 18-day-old fetus. On Western blot analysis using an anti-Cl(-)-ATPase/pump 51 kDa subunit (ClP51) antibody, the amount of ClP51 protein increased in parallel with Cl(-)-ATPase activity. Immunohistochemistry using the same antibody showed Cl(-)-ATPase-like immunoreactivity on the cell membranes of neurons such as cerebral and hippocampal pyramidal cells and cerebellar Purkinje cells, where the immunoreactivity increased with developmental changes in the size and shape of the neurons. These findings suggest that neuronal Cl(-)-ATPase activity markedly increases during early postnatal development with an increase in the amount of Cl(-)-ATPase protein, which may support the formation of inwardly directed neuronal Cl(-) gradients.