A pilot study on searching for peri-nuclear NeuN-positive cells

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cell Biology
• Histology

Background:

• The presence and specific markers of neuron-like cells in peripheral organs are not fully understood.
• NeuN (Rbfox3) is traditionally considered a specific marker for neuronal somata.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the presence and distribution of neuron-like cells in various peripheral organs of rats.
• To evaluate the specificity of the neuronal marker NeuN in non-neuronal tissues.

Main Methods:

• RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) to assess mRNA expression of neuronal markers.
• Western blotting to analyze protein expression of NeuN.
• Immunofluorescence (IF) and Immunohistochemistry (IHC) to detect NeuN-positive cells in organ sections and non-neuronal cell lines.

Main Results:

• Neuronal markers, including NeuN, were expressed at the mRNA level in all examined organs.
• NeuN-positive cells were detected in all peripheral tissues, with distinct peri-nuclear localization compared to nuclear localization in the brain.
• NeuN was also found to be expressed in non-neuronal cell lines and co-expressed with Myl3 in myocardial cells.

Conclusions:

• NeuN-positive cells are widely distributed in rat peripheral organs, not exclusively in neurons.
• The specificity of NeuN as a neuronal marker is limited due to its presence in non-neuronal tissues and cells.
• Further research is needed to understand the distribution patterns and potential non-neuronal functions of NeuN.