1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptors in the central nervous system of the rat embryo

• Published in: Brain research 1998-09, Vol.804 (2), p.193-205
• Main Authors: VEENSTRA, T. D, PRÜFER, K, KOENIGSBERGER, C, BRIMIJOIN, S. W, GRANDE, J. P, KUMAR, R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Brain Chemistry - physiology; Calcitriol - metabolism; Central Nervous System - enzymology; Central Nervous System - metabolism; Embryology: invertebrates and vertebrates. Teratology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Immunohistochemistry; In Situ Hybridization; Molecular embryology; Pregnancy; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, Calcitriol - metabolism; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA Probes; RNA, Messenger - biosynthesis; RNA, Messenger - genetics; Spinal Cord - enzymology; Spinal Cord - metabolism
• ISSN: 0006-8993; 1872-6240
• DOI: 10.1016/S0006-8993(98)00565-4

We have mapped areas within the central nervous system (CNS) of the developing fetal rat which immunostain for the 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor (VDR). The VDR was detected from days 12 to 21 of gestation throughout the CNS; immunostaining was particularly intense in the neuroepithelium and within the differentiating fields of various areas of the brain. Cells within the spinal cord, dorsal root, and other ganglia exhibited positive staining for the VDR. The intensity of staining for the VDR diminished or disappeared in the neuroepithelium throughout the CNS during the later days of development, while in the differentiating fields single VDR immunoreactive cells were observed. The presence of the VDR in the CNS was confirmed by in situ hybridization and RNA-based polymerase chain reaction methods with di-deoxy sequencing of the resultant DNA product. These results support the hypothesis that 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, through interactions with the VDR, may play a role in the development of the CNS.