Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 4, 2026
Using Near-infrared Fluorescence and High-resolution Scanning to Measure Protein Expression in the Rodent Brain
Published on: May 23, 2019
The PGRMC1 Protein Level Correlates with the Binding Activity of a Sigma-2 Fluorescent Probe (SW120) in Rat Brain
Chenbo Zeng1, Neha Garg1, Robert H Mach2
1Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
Purpose:
We examined the progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1) protein expression in rat brain cells as the prerequisite step to understand the biology of PGRMC1 in the central nervous system (CNS). We also performed correlation studies between the PGRMC1 protein level and the binding activity of a sigma-2 fluorescent probe, SW120, in order to explore the possibility of using sigma-2 radiotracer of positron emission tomography (PET) to noninvasively image the CNS.
Procedures:
Embryonic primary neurons, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia cells were cultured. Immunocytochemistry, Western blot, and SW120 staining were performed in these cells.
Results:
The protein expression of PGRMC1 determined by immunocytochemistry and SW120 staining is prominent in neurons and relatively low in astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia cells. The PGRMC1 expression level correlates with the binding activity of SW120 in rat brain cells.
Conclusions:
The sigma-2 receptor PET radiotracer can be potentially used to noninvasively image neuron/synapse densities in the CNS.
More Related Videos
06:54A Time-Efficient Fluorescence Spectroscopy-Based Assay for Evaluating Actin Polymerization Status in Rodent and Human Brain Tissues
Published on: June 3, 2021
08:37Using Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting to Examine Cell-Type-Specific Gene Expression in Rat Brain Tissue
Published on: May 28, 2015