Lower Zinc but Higher Calcium Content in Rodent Spinal Cord Compared to Brain
Metal ion measurements using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy revealed twofold-higher zinc content in rat brain compared to spinal cord. One hypothesis to explain this difference is the high prevalence of synapses that corelease glutamate and zinc in the brain, marked by the...
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2025-06-01
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| author | Alma I. Santos-Díaz Brandon Bizup Ana Karen Pantaleón-Gómez Beatriz Osorio Olivier Christophe Barbier Thanos Tzounopoulos Fanis Missirlis |
| author_facet | Alma I. Santos-Díaz Brandon Bizup Ana Karen Pantaleón-Gómez Beatriz Osorio Olivier Christophe Barbier Thanos Tzounopoulos Fanis Missirlis |
| author_sort | Alma I. Santos-Díaz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Metal ion measurements using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy revealed twofold-higher zinc content in rat brain compared to spinal cord. One hypothesis to explain this difference is the high prevalence of synapses that corelease glutamate and zinc in the brain, marked by the vesicular Zinc Transporter-3 (ZnT3). In contrast, spinal cord tissue showed significantly higher calcium content, reflecting calcifications in the arachnoid. The above observations were made in 60-day-old adult male and female rats fed ad libitum or a restricted diet. In this study, we asked if the calcium and zinc content of the brain and spinal cord was species-specific or evolutionarily conserved, and whether the distinct concentration of zinc in the brain and spinal cord resulted from a different expression pattern of ZnT3, the primary transporter in synaptic vesicles. To address these questions, we examined 8-week-old wild-type male and female mice raised under conventional laboratory conditions and used a knock-in mouse that expresses a human influenza hemagglutinin epitope tag at the C terminus of the endogenous <i>ZnT3</i> gene to assess the transporter’s abundance in spinal cord sections. Our results show conserved inverse differences in zinc and calcium content in mouse brain and spinal cord, but detectable ZnT3 signal in spinal cord. Whereas vesicular zinc modulates glutamatergic and GABAergic signaling and sensory processing, the functional significance of calcium aggregates in the arachnoid remains unknown. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-73190a62fe2a4f81afd28e51165a0437 |
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| issn | 2073-4409 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-73190a62fe2a4f81afd28e51165a04372025-06-25T13:36:42ZengMDPI AGCells2073-44092025-06-01141292210.3390/cells14120922Lower Zinc but Higher Calcium Content in Rodent Spinal Cord Compared to BrainAlma I. Santos-Díaz0Brandon Bizup1Ana Karen Pantaleón-Gómez2Beatriz Osorio3Olivier Christophe Barbier4Thanos Tzounopoulos5Fanis Missirlis6Department of Physiology, Biophysics and Neuroscience, Cinvestav, Mexico City 07360, MexicoPittsburgh Hearing Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15201, USADepartment of Toxicology, Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV), Mexico City 07360, MexicoDepartment of Physiology, Biophysics and Neuroscience, Cinvestav, Mexico City 07360, MexicoDepartment of Toxicology, Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV), Mexico City 07360, MexicoPittsburgh Hearing Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15201, USADepartment of Physiology, Biophysics and Neuroscience, Cinvestav, Mexico City 07360, MexicoMetal ion measurements using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy revealed twofold-higher zinc content in rat brain compared to spinal cord. One hypothesis to explain this difference is the high prevalence of synapses that corelease glutamate and zinc in the brain, marked by the vesicular Zinc Transporter-3 (ZnT3). In contrast, spinal cord tissue showed significantly higher calcium content, reflecting calcifications in the arachnoid. The above observations were made in 60-day-old adult male and female rats fed ad libitum or a restricted diet. In this study, we asked if the calcium and zinc content of the brain and spinal cord was species-specific or evolutionarily conserved, and whether the distinct concentration of zinc in the brain and spinal cord resulted from a different expression pattern of ZnT3, the primary transporter in synaptic vesicles. To address these questions, we examined 8-week-old wild-type male and female mice raised under conventional laboratory conditions and used a knock-in mouse that expresses a human influenza hemagglutinin epitope tag at the C terminus of the endogenous <i>ZnT3</i> gene to assess the transporter’s abundance in spinal cord sections. Our results show conserved inverse differences in zinc and calcium content in mouse brain and spinal cord, but detectable ZnT3 signal in spinal cord. Whereas vesicular zinc modulates glutamatergic and GABAergic signaling and sensory processing, the functional significance of calcium aggregates in the arachnoid remains unknown.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/14/12/922central nervous systemconfocal microscopycopperelemental analysisimmunofluorescenceiron |
| spellingShingle | Alma I. Santos-Díaz Brandon Bizup Ana Karen Pantaleón-Gómez Beatriz Osorio Olivier Christophe Barbier Thanos Tzounopoulos Fanis Missirlis Lower Zinc but Higher Calcium Content in Rodent Spinal Cord Compared to Brain Cells central nervous system confocal microscopy copper elemental analysis immunofluorescence iron |
| title | Lower Zinc but Higher Calcium Content in Rodent Spinal Cord Compared to Brain |
| title_full | Lower Zinc but Higher Calcium Content in Rodent Spinal Cord Compared to Brain |
| title_fullStr | Lower Zinc but Higher Calcium Content in Rodent Spinal Cord Compared to Brain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lower Zinc but Higher Calcium Content in Rodent Spinal Cord Compared to Brain |
| title_short | Lower Zinc but Higher Calcium Content in Rodent Spinal Cord Compared to Brain |
| title_sort | lower zinc but higher calcium content in rodent spinal cord compared to brain |
| topic | central nervous system confocal microscopy copper elemental analysis immunofluorescence iron |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/14/12/922 |
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