Purpose: The (pro)renin receptor ((P)RR) is receptor that has been shown to be involved in developmental processes. Adult neurogenesis shares many similarities with fetal and embryonic neuronal development, but is restricted to some brain areas, including the hippocampus. We therefore investigated the expression of the (P)RR within the adult hippocampal formation and investigated whether (P)PR is expressed by adult and newly generated neurons in the dentate gyrus.
Methods: (P)PR protein expressing cells in the hippocampus were analyzed using immunohistochemistry. Double-labeling with markers for adult neurogenesis was used to investigate whether newly formed cells also express (P)PR.
Results: (P)PR is expressed by neuronal cells with the hippocampus. (P)RR protein is expressed during different stages of adult neurogenesis within the dentate gyrus (DG). (P)RR is not expressed by Sox2 positive neuronal stem cells, but by doublecortin positive cells located both in the subgranular zone and the granular layer of the DG.
Conclusions: The results indicate that (P)PR is mainly expressed by adult neurons in the hippocampus as well as in late stages of adult neurogenesis within the hippocampus. However, to clarify the involvement of this receptor in adult hippocampal neurogenesis and neuronal cell differentiation in detail, functional analyses needed to be performed.