Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 6, 1952-1961, Copyright © 1986 by Society for Neuroscience
Adenosine-containing neurons in the brain localized by immunocytochemistry
KM Braas, AC Newby, VS Wilson and SH Snyder
Specific sensitive rabbit antisera directed against the adenosine
derivative laevulinic acid (O2',3'-adenosine acetal), which are capable of
detecting as little as 1 pmol of adenosine by radioimmunoassay and which
require more than 1000- to 40,000-fold greater concentrations of adenine
nucleotides to displace adenosine binding to antisera, have been developed.
These antisera were employed to localize adenosine immunoreactivity
throughout the rat CNS using the peroxidase- antiperoxidase (PAP) complex
and avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) immunocytochemical techniques.
Intense staining for adenosine immunoreactivity was localized to the
cytoplasm of perikarya and fibers in neuronal cell groups of discrete rat
brain regions. Areas containing highest levels of immunoreactivity included
the pyramidal cells of the hippocampus, the granule cells of the dentate
gyrus, subnuclei of the thalamus, amygdala, and hypothalamus, the primary
olfactory cortex, and many motor and sensory nuclei of the brain stem and
spinal cord. High levels also occurred in certain layers of the cerebral
cortex, the caudate-putamen, the septal nuclei, and the Purkinje cell layer
of the cerebellum. Varying the extent of tissue hypoxia altered only the
levels of endogenous immunoreactive adenosine without changing the pattern
of distribution of the immunoreactivity. Staining was abolished by
immunoabsorption and by pretreatment of tissue sections with adenosine
deaminase. The localization of adenosine to discrete neuronal groups in the
brain supports the possibility of a neurotransmitter or neuromodulatory
role for adenosine.
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