Abstract
Regional distribution of urocortin-like immunoreactivity (UCN-LI) in the human brain was studied by radioimmunoassay and was compared with that of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). In addition, the expression of UCN mRNA was examined by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT- PCR) method. UCN-LI was detected in every region of brain examined, including hypothalamus, pons, cerebral cortex, and cerebellum. The concentrations of UCN-LI in the human brain were approximately 3 pmol/g wet weight in any brain region, and no marked regional difference was noted. On the other hand, the highest concentrations of CRH-LI were found in the frontal cortex, temporal cortex, and hypothalamus and the lowest in the pons. Reverse phase high- performance liquid chromatography of the UCN-LI in the human brain extract showed two immunoreactive peaks; one peak eluting earlier and one in the position of synthetic human UCN. RT-PCR showed that UCN mRNA was expressed in every region of brain examined. These findings indicated that UCN and UCN mRNA were widely expressed in the human brain.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 643-647 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Peptides |
Volume | 19 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1998 Apr |
Keywords
- Human brain
- PCR
- RT-PCR
- Radioimmunoassay
- Urocortin
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry
- Physiology
- Endocrinology
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience