Expression Analysis of Zinc Transporters in Nervous Tissue Cells Reveals Neuronal and Synaptic Localization of ZIP4

In the last years, research has shown that zinc ions play an essential role in the physiology of brain function. Zinc acts as a potent neuromodulatory agent and signaling ions, regulating healthy brain development and the function of both neurons and glial cells. Therefore, the concentration of zinc...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of molecular sciences 2021-04, Vol.22 (9), p.4511
Main Authors: De Benedictis, Chiara A, Haffke, Claudia, Hagmeyer, Simone, Sauer, Ann Katrin, Grabrucker, Andreas M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alzheimer's disease
Astrocytes
Brain
Cancer
Cell differentiation
Cell lines
Deregulation
Glial cells
Homeostasis
Localization
Mental disorders
Neuroblastoma
Neuronal-glial interactions
Neurons
Proteins
Synapses
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In the last years, research has shown that zinc ions play an essential role in the physiology of brain function. Zinc acts as a potent neuromodulatory agent and signaling ions, regulating healthy brain development and the function of both neurons and glial cells. Therefore, the concentration of zinc within the brain and its cells is tightly controlled. Zinc transporters are key regulators of (extra-) cellular zinc levels, and deregulation of zinc homeostasis and zinc transporters has been associated with neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. However, to date, the presence of specific family members and their subcellular localization within brain cells have not been investigated in detail. Here, we analyzed the expression of all zinc transporters (ZnTs) and Irt-like proteins (ZIPs) in the rat brain. We further used primary rat neurons and rat astrocyte cell lines to differentiate between the expression found in neurons or astrocytes or both. We identified ZIP4 expressed in astrocytes but significantly more so in neurons, a finding that has not been reported previously. In neurons, ZIP4 is localized to synapses and found in a complex with major postsynaptic scaffold proteins of excitatory synapses. Synaptic ZIP4 reacts to short-term fluctuations in local zinc levels. We conclude that ZIP4 may have a so-far undescribed functional role at excitatory postsynapses.
ISSN:1422-0067
1661-6596
1422-0067
DOI:10.3390/ijms22094511