Chronic lithium administration down regulates transthyretin mRNA expression in rat choroid plexus.

ABSTRACT: Transthyretin (TTR) accounts for a quarter of the protein content of ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) yet its exact role in the brain remains unknown. Patients with a diagnosis of depression have reduced CSF levels of TTR and the locus encoding the TTR gene has been implicated in a Danish pedigree of bipolar patients. Lithium, the major treatment for bipolar disorder in the UK, was subcutaneously infused into rats for 28 days in the form of lithium chloride using osmotic minipumps. In situ hybridizations using oligonucleotide probes targeted against the TTR transcript were performed on coronal brain sections. Lithium significantly reduced the level of transthyretin mRNA in the rat choroid plexus within the lateral and third ventricle. The down-regulation was confirmed using semi-quant

SUBMITTER: Pulford DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2671955 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature