Biomedical Research

Three isoforms of carbonic anhydrase-related protein (CA-RP), CA-RPs VIII, X, and XI, be-long to the CA gene family but exhibit no CA catalytic activity. Although the biological func-tion of CA-RPs is uncertain, among a panel of vital organs, the strongest mRNA expression is consistently observed in the brain. Immunohistochemical study showed that the neural cells express all three CA-RPs and that the glial cells express only CA-RP X. To study CA-RP ex-pression in the autonomic nervous system, immunohistochemical analysis by using monoclonal antibodies to all three CA-RPs was performed in tissue sections from gastrointestinal tracts. The results showed CA-RP VIII and X expression in the neural ganglionic cells constituting both myenteric (Auerbach's) and mucosal (Meissner's) plexuses, but that CA-RP XI was not expressed in both plexuses. Although the exact function of these CA-RPs is still unknown, CA-RP plays an important role in not only the central nervous system but also the enteric nervous system.

Author(s): Isao Nishimori, Tamotsu Takeuchi, Kaori Morimoto, Keisuke Taniuchi, Nobuto Okamoto, Saburo Onishi , and Yuji Ohtsuki
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