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. 2007 Jun 20;12(4):536–544. doi: 10.2478/s11658-007-0025-y

Microglial expression of peptidylarginine deiminase 2 in the prenatal rat brain

Hiroaki Asaga 1,✉, Akihito Ishigami 2
PMCID: PMC6275991  PMID: 17579814

Abstract

Peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs) are Ca2t+-dependant post-translational modification enzymes that catalyze the citrullination of protein arginyl residues. PAD type 2 (PAD2) is thought to be involved in some processes of neurodegeneration and myelination in the central nervous system. In this study, we found PAD2-positive cells in rat cerebra in 19-to 21-day old embryos, i.e. at a developmental stage well before myelination begins. Most of the cells were microglial marker-positive cells found mainly in the prospective medulla, and others were microglial marker-negative cells found mainly in the prospective dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. The former seemed to be in an activated state as judged by morphological criteria. The specificity of the enzyme activity, immunoblotting and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analyses revealed that these cells expressed PAD2 and not PAD1, PAD3 or PAD4. Our data is indicative of microglial expression of PAD2 in the prenatal developing cerebrum.

Key words: Protein deimination, Post-translational modification enzyme, Microglial cells, Central nervous system, Gene expression

Full Text

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Abbreviations used

BAEE

benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester

BzArg

benzoyl-L-arginine

GAPDH

glyceraldehyde-3-phosphatedehydrogenase

GFAP

glial fibrillary acidic protein

KA

kainic acid

MAP2

microtubule associated protein 2

mAb

monoclonal antibody

MBP

myelin basic protein

PAD

peptydylarginine deiminase

PAD2

peptidylarginine deiminase type 2

RT-PCR

reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction

SDS

sodium dodecyl sulfate

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