Brain research. Developmental brain research
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Brain Res. Dev. Brain Res. · May 2005
Comparative StudyPituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) can act as determinant of the tyrosine hydroxylase phenotype of dopaminergic cells during retina development.
In the chick retina, dopaminergic cells are generated between embryonic days 3 and 7 (E3/E7). However, the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the first enzyme in the catecholamine synthetic pathway, is only detected after E11/E12. During the interval comprising E7 to E12, signals conveyed by cAMP are important to determine the TH phenotype. ⋯ Under this condition the amount of tyrosine hydroxylase expression, as detected by western blot analysis, was also increased. The protein kinase-A inhibitor, rp-cAMPS, significantly reduced the effect of PACAP. Our data show that this peptide is an important factor influencing the definition of the tyrosine hydroxylase phenotype of retina dopaminergic cells within a narrow window of development.