Regional and cellular expression of the mannose receptor in the post-natal developing mouse brain

The mannose receptor, a glycoprotein expressed in a soluble and membrane form by macrophages, plays an important role in homeostasis and immunity. Using biochemical and immunohistochemical analyses, we demonstrate that this receptor, both in its soluble and membrane forms, is expressed in vivo in the post-natal murine brain and that its expression is developmentally regulated. Its expression is at its highest in the first week of life and dramatically decreases thereafter, being maintained at a low level throughout adulthood. The receptor is present in most brain regions at an early post-natal age, the site of the most intense expression being the meninges followed by the cerebral cortex, brain stem and the cerebellum. With age, expression of the mannose receptor is maintained in regions such as the cerebral cortex and the brain stem, whereas it disappears from others such as the hippocampus or the striatum. In healthy brain, no expression can be detected in oligodendrocytes, ependymal cells, endothelial cells or parenchymal microglia. The mannose receptor is expressed by perivascular macrophages/microglia and meningeal macrophages, where it might be important for the brain immune defence, and by two populations of endogenous brain cells, astrocytes and neurons. The developmentally dependent, regionally regulated expression of the mannose receptor in glial and neuronal cells strongly suggests that this receptor plays an important role in homeostasis during brain development and/or neuronal function.