RAT CARDIAC NEURONS EXPRESS THE NONCODING R-EXON (EXON-1) OF THE CHOLINERGIC GENE LOCUS

CHOLINE acetyltransferase (ChAT) and the vesicular acetylcholine trans porter (VAChT) are both encoded by the cholinergic gene locus from whi ch, in the rat, five different species of ChAT mRNA and three differen t species of VAChT mRNA are produced. So far, discrimination between m RNA subtypes has been possible only in CNS homogenates or in cell cult ures. In this study, cardiac neurons were microdissected from frozen s ections of rat heart using a u.v. laser and harvested using a microman ipulator. RT-PCR demonstrated the expression of the non-coding R-exon and splicing to R1-type mRNA in the majority of cardiac neurons. The t echnique presented here is the first to allow subtype analysis of chol inergic locus mRNA species in neurons in situ. Neuro Report 9: 2209-22 12 (C) 1998 Rapid Science Ltd.