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Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator is found within brain ventricular epithelium and choroid plexus
M T Hincke1, A C Nairn, W A Staines
1Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Abstract:
The cystic fibrosis gene product, cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), functions as a Cl- channel that is regulated by cyclic AMP-dependent phosphorylation. We have investigated the expression of CFTR protein in the rodent brain by both western blotting of samples prepared by microdissection and immunohistochemistry. CFTR was found to be expressed in choroid plexus and ependyma. In tissue sections, CFTR-like immunoreactivity was concentrated in fine puncta localized about 1-2 microns from the CSF-contacting side of ependyma and choroid plexus. CFTR in choroid plexus may play a role in the regulation of the composition of CSF by cyclic AMP-elevating agents, but the role of this chloride transporter in ependymal function remains to be determined.