Immunohistochemical localization of renin in mouse brain.

Immunohistochemical studies of mouse brain by the peroxidase-antiperoxidase method using monospecific antimouse renin antibodies has revealed the intracellular localization of renin in stellate and small ovoid cells. Renin-containing ovoid cells were observed in the spinal cord, medulla oblongata, pons, granular layers of the cerebellum, deep cerebellar region, and the lamina terminalis; whereas immunostainable stellate cells were found in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, dentate gyrus and septum. Intracellular localization of renin rather than intravascular localization supports an endogenous origin of this enzyme in the brain. Wide distribution in different types of cells suggests different types of regulatory mechanisms. Double immunostaining with antigalactocerebroside and antirenin antibodies indicates the presence of renin in oligodendrocytes.