Sialin, an anion transporter defective in sialic acid storage diseases, shows highly variable expression in adult mouse brain, and is developmentally regulated

Neurobiol Dis. 2005 Aug;19(3):351-65. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2004.12.020.

Abstract

Sialin is a lysosomal membrane protein encoded by the SLC17A5 gene, which is mutated in patients with sialic acid storage diseases (SASD). To further understand the role of sialin in normal CNS development and in the progressive neuronal atrophy and dysmyelination seen in SASD, we investigated its normal cellular distribution in adult and developing mice. Overall, sialin showed granular immunoreactivity, consistent with a vesicular protein. Adult mice showed widespread sialin expression, including in the brain, heart, lung, and liver. High-level immunoreactivity was seen in the neuropil of the hippocampus, striatum, and cerebral cortex, as well as in the perikarya of cerebellar Purkinje cells, globus pallidus, and certain thalamic and brainstem nuclei. In mouse embryos, the highest levels of expression were observed in the nervous system. We discuss the possible role of sialin in normal development and in SASD pathogenesis, as a framework for further investigation of its function in these contexts.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Blotting, Western
  • Brain / embryology*
  • Brain / metabolism*
  • Embryo, Mammalian
  • Enteric Nervous System / embryology
  • Enteric Nervous System / metabolism
  • Female
  • Gene Expression
  • Heart / embryology
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Liver / embryology
  • Liver / metabolism
  • Lung / embryology
  • Lung / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Organic Anion Transporters / biosynthesis*
  • Peripheral Nervous System / embryology
  • Peripheral Nervous System / metabolism
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Sialic Acid Storage Disease / physiopathology
  • Spinal Cord / embryology
  • Spinal Cord / metabolism
  • Symporters / biosynthesis*

Substances

  • Organic Anion Transporters
  • Symporters
  • sialic acid transport proteins