Biomedical Research

Caveolin-2 (Cav2) has been shown to be a major component of the inner surface of caveolae and be involved in lipid metabolism, development and cancer. Natural Antisense Transcripts (NATs) are transcribed from a large number of genes in various species, including humans and mice. In the present study, we investigated the expressions and localization of Cav2 mRNAs, NATs and proteins in the mouse liver at various developmental stages. The expressions of Cav2 mRNAs and proteins in the liver were higher at the new-born stage (NB) than at days 14, 17, and 19 of the embryonic stage (E) and at day 3 after birth. The expressions of Cav2 NATs were lower than that of Cav2 mRNAs at each stage. On tissues, the expressions of Cav2 mRNAs and NATs were uniformly low in the liver at E14. The expressions of Cav2 mRNAs were predominantly strong in the hepatocytes at NB, whereas the expressions of Cav2 NATs were low in the hepatocytes at NB but strongly detected in specific cells. In conclusions, Cav2 mRNAs and NATs did not co-localized in the liver at NB. These results suggest that Cav2 NATs may be not involved in the regulation of Cav2 mRNA expressions at NB.

Author(s): Mitsuru Chiba
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