| Title | Galectin-3 expression is correlated with abnormal prion protein accumulation in murine scrapie. | | Author(s) | Jin JK, Na YJ, Song JH, Joo HG, Kim S, Kim JI, Choi EK, Carp RI, Kim YS, Shin T | | Institution | Ilsong Institute of Life Science, Hallym University Medical Center, Anyang, Kyonggi-do 431-060, South Korea. | | Source | Neurosci Lett 2007 May 6. | | Abstract | To investigate the involvement of galectin-3 in the process of neurodegeneration in prion diseases, the expression and cellular localization of galectin-3 in the brain were studied in scrapie, a mouse model of prion disease. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analyses showed that the expression of galectin-3 protein and mRNA was induced in scrapie-affected brains, particularly at the time when the abnormal prion protein PrP(Sc) began to accumulate in the brains. Immunohistochemically, immunostaining for galectin-3 was found mainly in B4-isolectin-positive cells (presumably activated microglia/macrophages), but not in astrocytes. Galectin-3 immunoreactivity was localized mainly in areas of PrP(Sc) accumulation and neuronal death in scrapie-infected brains. These findings suggest that the expression of galectin-3 by activated microglia/macrophages in prion disease correlates with abnormal prion protein accumulation. | | Language | ENG | | Pub Type(s) | JOURNAL ARTICLE
| | PubMed ID | 17531384 |
|
