S. Soderstrom et al., EXPRESSION OF SERINE THREONINE KINASE RECEPTORS INCLUDING THE BONE MORPHOGENETIC FACTOR TYPE-II RECEPTOR IN THE DEVELOPING AND ADULT-RAT BRAIN/, Cell and tissue research, 286(2), 1996, pp. 269-279
The expression patterns of serine/threonine kinase receptors in the ce
ntral nervous system of the developing and adult rat were studied by i
n situ hybridization. The recently cloned bone morphogenetic factor re
ceptor type II (BMPR-II) was compared with the ActR-II and several typ
e I receptors including ActR-I, ActR-IB, BMPR-IA, BMPR-IB and T beta R
-I. We found that these receptors are spatially and temporally regulat
ed. As early as embryonic day 11 (E11), BMPR-II mRNA was expressed in
the neuroepithelium in brain and spinal cord. At E15, the expression o
f ActR-II mRNA was stronger than that of BMPR-II in the spinal cord, f
ollowed in intensity by the expression of ActR-I, ActR-IB, BMPR-IA, BM
PR-IB and T beta R-I mRNA. The BMP type I receptors were expressed onl
y in the ependymal epithelium and in the sympathetic ganglia at E15. M
any of the examined receptor mRNAs were expressed at peak levels in th
e brain around birth. In the adult brain, mRNA for BMPR-II was express
ed in different patterns together with ActR-II and ActR-I. Thus, BMPR-
II mRNA was found in neurons of the cortex, dentate gyrus, hippocampus
, habenula and substantia nigra. ActR-II, ActR-I, ActR-IB and, weakly,
T beta R-I were all expressed in the dentate gyrus. In contrast mRNA
for BMPR-IA and BMPR-IB was not found in the adult brain. It is sugges
ted that the expressed receptors may mediate actions of members of the
TGF beta superfamily, e.g. BMPs, controlling the development and plas
ticity in the nervous system.