Widespread distribution of protein I in the central and peripheral nervous systems

Protein I, a naturally occurring substrate for cyclic AMP-dependent and calcium-dependent protein kinases, previously has been found only in mammalian brain, where it has been demonstrated to be located in neurons. Various tissues and organs outside the brain have now been examined for the possible occurrence of protein I, by using both an immunohistochemical approach and a chemical procedure involving radioimmunolabeling of polyacrylamide gels. Protein I has been found in the inner plexiform layer of the retina, in the posterior pituitary, and in the autonomic nervous system. In tissue composed predominantly of cells other than nerve cells, immunoreactivity was present only where innervation was present. Protein I appeared to be localized in some, but not all, nerve terminals and synapses.