Batf. Gabreels et al., LACK OF TRANSLATION OF NORMAL 7B2 MESSENGER-RNA LEVELS IN HYPOTHALAMIC MUTANT VASOPRESSIN CELLS OF THE HOMOZYGOUS BRATTLEBORO RAT, Neuroscience letters, 239(1), 1997, pp. 5-8
The homozygous Brattleboro rat (di/di) synthesizes a vasopressin (VP)
precursor with an aberrant C-terminus, which causes a hypothalamic for
m of diabetes insipidus. The neuroendocrine polypeptide 7B2 is present
in VP and oxytocin (OT) neurons of the supraoptic and paraventricular
nucleus of the hypothalamus in wild type rats. However, in the di/di
rat 7B2 immunoreactivity is absent in the VP cell population, whereas
7B2 levels within the OT cells are unaffected. Remarkably, there is no
obvious difference in 7B2 transcript levels between VP and OT neurons
in the di/di rat hypothalamus. This study shows that the presence of
mRNA does not automatically result in the subsequent synthesis of its
protein. Cellular mechanisms underlying this discrepancy are discussed
. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.