Figure 1
Expression and localization of Oatp1a4 in rat brain/retinal capillary endothelial cells and RPE. (a) Immunoblotting with Oatp1a4 antibodies using proteins (5 μg/lane) prepared from rat brain capillary fraction, brain (a 1 ), and retina (a 2 ) in the absence [antigen(-)] or presence [antigen(+)] of Oatp1a4 antigens. Arrow heads indicates the expected position of the band. (b) Oatp1a4 immunofluorescence in the rat cerebral cortex (Cx). (c) Oatp1a4 (green, c 1 and c 3 ) overlapped with GLUT1 (red, c 2 and c 3 ) in brain capillaries. (d) Oatp1a4 (green) in the retinal capillaries (arrow heads and double arrow heads) and the RPE (arrows) of rat retina. Oatp1a4 was observed around the nucleus (blue) of retinal capillaries (arrow head and double arrow head, d 2 ) and above the nucleus of the RPE (arrows, d 3 ). (e) Oatp1a4 (green, e 1 and e 2 ) overlapped with GLUT1 (red, e 1 and e 3 ) on the abluminal (arrow head) and luminal membrane (double arrow head) of retinal capillaries. The blue line between A and B indicates the scanned line (e 1 ), and the relative fluorescence intensity is plotted in green for Oatp1a4 and red for GLUT1 (e 4 ), which is expressed in the abluminal (AL) and luminal (L) membrane of the retinal capillaries. (f) Oatp1a4 (green, f 1 and f 2 ) overlapped with GLUT1 (red, f 1 and f 3 ) on the apical membrane (arrows) of rat RPE. The blue line between A and B indicates the scanned line (f 1 ), and the relative fluorescence intensity is plotted in green for Oatp1a4 and red for GLUT1 (f 4 ), which is expressed in the apical (Ap) and basolateral (Ba) membrane of the RPE. GCL, ganglion cell layer; IPL, inner plexiform layer; INL, inner nuclear layer; OPL, outer plexiform layer; ONL, outer nuclear layer; POS, photoreceptor outer segments; CH, choroid. Scale bar: 50 μm (b, d 1 ), 5 μm (c, d 2 , e), 10 μm (d 3 , f).