G‐protein γ7 subunit is selectively expressed in medium‐sized neurons and dendrites of the rat neostriatum

Abstract

We used subtractive hybridization to isolate clones of γ7, a 68 residue G‐protein γ subunit. Northern blotting and in situ hybridization reveal that the γ7 subunit mRNA is expressed primarily in medium‐sized neurons of the neostriatum and nucleus accumbens and neurons of the olfactory tubercle, and at low levels in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation and laminae II–III, and V of the neocortex. The γ7 mRNA is translocated into dendrites of neurons in the neostriatum and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. γ7 is expressed at relatively very low concentrations in peripheral tissues. The selective pattern of γ7 expression within the brain is highly reminiscent of those of the striatum‐enriched adenylyl cyclase AC_ST, dopamine receptors, and the α subunit of G_olf, suggesting that, in striatum, γ7 may be a subunit of a G_olfα‐containing G protein that couples dopamine receptors selectively to AC_ST.Copyright