LPA1, LPA2, LPA4, and LPA6 receptor expression during mouse brain development.

Abstract

Background:LPA is a small bioactive phospholipid that acts as an extracellularsignaling molecule and is involved in cellular processes, including cell prolifera-tion, migration, and differentiation. LPA acts by binding and activating at least sixknown G protein–coupled receptors: LPA1–6. In recent years, LPA has beensuggested to play an important role both in normal neuronal development andunder pathological conditions in the nervous system. Results:We show the expression pattern of LPA receptors during mouse braindevelopment by using qRT-PCR, in situ hybridization, and immunocytochemistry.Only LPA1,LPA2,LPA4,and LPA6 mRNA transcripts were detected throughoutdevelopment stages from embryonic day 16 until postnatal day 30 of hippocampus,neocortex, cerebellum, and bulbus olfactorius in our experiments, while expression of LPA3 and LPA5 genes was below detection level. In addition to our qRT-PCR results, we also analyzed the cellular protein expression of endogenous LPA recep-tors, with focus on LPA1and LPA2within postnatal brain slices and primary neu-ron differentiation with and without cytoskeleton stabilization and destabilization. Conclusions: The expression of LPA receptors changes depends on the develop-mental stage in mouse brain and in cultured hippocampal primary neurons. Interestingly, we found that commercially available antibodies for LPA receptors are largely unspecific