Ref-1 expression in adult mammalian neurons and astrocytes.

Ref-1 is a nuclear protein that possesses DNA repair activity and has a role in the redox activation of Fos and Jun transcription factors. Using an antibody to Ref-1 we investigated the expression and distribution of this protein in the adult rat brain. Ref-1 was located in the nucleus of neurons and glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive astrocytes throughout the brain. Levels were particularly high in granule cells of the dentate gyrus, piriform cortex neurons, and Purkinje cells of the cerebellum, and lower in CA1 pyramidal cells, striatal neurons, and the neurons of the neocortex. These results suggest that the action of inducible transcription factors such as c-Jun in mammalian neurons is likely to be regulated by constitutively expressed Ref-1, in particular in dentate granule cells. The high levels of Ref-1 in glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive astrocytes suggest that it may also modulate the action of inducible transcription factors in these cells, particularly after brain injury. The possibility also exists that Ref-1 may primarily function as a DNA repair enzyme in brain cells.