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Yin Yang 1 Expression in the Adult Rodent Brain

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Abstract

Yin Yang 1 (YY1) is a ubiquitous transcription factor belonging to Polycomb group proteins. Its expression patterns in the adult brain have not been before clearly elucidated. Using immunohistochemical stainings, we show a distribution of YY1 protein throughout the adult rodent brain. Furthermore, we characterize a cellular localization of YY1 protein and mRNA in the adult rat hippocampus. We have found that YY1 is expressed in all major brain regions, although not ubiquitously in all cells, and its expression levels vary significantly depending on the brain structure. In most of the regions YY1 is not very abundant, but in the olfactory bulb, cerebellar cortex, hippocampus, cerebral cortex, wall of the lateral ventricle and rostral migratory stream intense YY1 staining is observed. In the rat hippocampus, YY1 protein and mRNA are very strongly expressed in neurons, and to a lesser extent in oligodendroglia and microglia. In contrast, we have not detected YY1 protein in astrocytes, which are the most abundant component of hippocampal glia. Moreover, we show that in the adult rodent brain, YY1 is expressed exclusively in the cell nuclei, except of a molecular layer of cerebellar cortex, where it is also present in the cytoplasm. Interestingly, YY1 staining is accumulated in a form of granules in cell nuclei of different types of brain cells. Thus, our data demonstrate that in the adult rodent brain YY1 is predominantly localized to neurons.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by The Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education research grant no. 2 P04A 081 29 and 7 FP EU Grant MemStick.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, ul. Pasteura 3, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland

    Marcin Rylski, Renata Amborska, Katarzyna Zybura, Filip A. Konopacki & Leszek Kaczmarek

  2. Department of Neurophysiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland

    Filip A. Konopacki & Grzegorz M. Wilczynski

  3. Postgraduate School of Molecular Medicine, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland

    Filip A. Konopacki

Authors
  1. Marcin Rylski
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  2. Renata Amborska
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  3. Katarzyna Zybura
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  4. Filip A. Konopacki
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  5. Grzegorz M. Wilczynski
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  6. Leszek Kaczmarek
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Correspondence to Marcin Rylski or Leszek Kaczmarek.

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Special issue article in honor of Dr. Anna Maria Giuffrida-Stella.

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Rylski, M., Amborska, R., Zybura, K. et al. Yin Yang 1 Expression in the Adult Rodent Brain. Neurochem Res 33, 2556–2564 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-008-9757-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-008-9757-y

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