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Immunohistochemical mapping of vitamin D-dependent calcium-binding protein in brain

Nature volume 294, pages 765–767 (1981)Cite this article

Abstract

The steroid hormone, 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25-(OH)2D3) causes the de novo synthesis of a calcium-binding protein (D-CaBP)1,2. This protein is present in highest concentrations in intestine, kidney and shell gland, across which calcium is transported in relatively large amounts, but it is also found in smaller amounts in several other tissues, including brain3–7. The area of brain with the highest D-CaBP concentration is the cerebellum, where the protein is found only in the Purkinje cells7,8. We have now mapped D-CaBP immuno-histochemically throughout the brain of chicks and rats and present here a list of all positive nuclei. Because certain of these neurones also contain 1,25-(OH)2D3 (ref. 9), we suggest that they are target cells for this hormone, thus broadening the functional significance of vitamin D to include the brain and implicating vitamin D in a more widespread action than simply a role in the calcium translocation mechanism of epithelial cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1N 9A9

    Sohan S. Jande & L. Maler

  2. Dunn Nutritional Laboratory, University of Cambridge and Medical Research Council, Milton Road, Cambridge, CB4 1XJ, UK

    D. Eric M. Lawson

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  1. Sohan S. Jande
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  2. L. Maler
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  3. D. Eric M. Lawson
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Jande, S., Maler, L. & Lawson, D. Immunohistochemical mapping of vitamin D-dependent calcium-binding protein in brain. Nature 294, 765–767 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/294765a0

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