Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,234 studies31 sourcesUpdated 43 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BYFrontiers in Cellular Neuroscience

Cell-type-specific localization of huntingtin-associated protein 1 in neuroendocrine and neurosecretory systems of the mouse hypothalamic–pituitary axis

  • Naoya Horiguchi1
  • Naoya Horiguchi2
  • Md Nabiul Islam2
  • Yui Kobayashi2
  • Akie Yanai3
  • Shintaro Oka1
  • Koji Shiraishi1
  • Koh Shinoda4
4 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Urology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Minami-Kogushi, Japan
  2. 2Division of Neuroanatomy, Department of Neuroscience, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Minami-Kogushi, Japan
  3. 3Department of Basic Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Minami-Kogushi, Japan
  4. 4School of Human Care Studies, Nagoya University of Arts and Sciences, Takenoyama, Nisshin, Aichi, Japan
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Huntingtin-associated protein 1 (HAP1) is a neurocytoplasmic protein implicated in intracellular trafficking, vesicular transport, and neuroprotection. Although HAP1 is abundantly expressed in hypothalamic regions involved in neuroendocrine regulation, its distribution and cellular specificity within the hypothalamic–pituitary axis remain poorly understood. Therefore, the present study aimed to characterize the expression pattern and cellular localization of HAP1 in neuroendocrine and neurosecretory systems of the adult mouse hypothalamic–pituitary axis. Adult male C57BL/6 J mice were analyzed using Western blotting, single-label immunoperoxidase histochemistry, and double-label immunofluorescence immunohistochemistry combined with hormone-specific markers. HAP1 immunoreactivity was detected throughout the pituitary gland, showing moderate scattered labeling in the anterior lobe, diffuse expression in the intermediate lobe, and intense accumulation in the posterior lobe. In the anterior and intermediate pituitary, HAP1 was highly expressed in thyrotrophs, corticotrophs, and melanotrophs, whereas gonadotrophs exhibited relatively low expression. In contrast, somatotrophs and lactotrophs lacked detectable HAP1 immunoreactivity. In the posterior pituitary, HAP1 was absent from S100β-positive pituicytes but strongly co-localized with oxytocin (OXT)- and arginine vasopressin (AVP)-containing neurosecretory structures, putative herring bodies. In the hypothalamus, HAP1 was prominently expressed in magnocellular neurons of the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei and extensively co-localized with OXT- and AVP-producing neurons. Collectively, these findings demonstrate a highly cell-type-specific and compartmentalized distribution of HAP1 across the hypothalamic–pituitary axis. The continuous localization of HAP1 from hypothalamic neuronal somata to neurosecretory terminals provides an anatomical basis for investigating potential roles in vesicular trafficking, neuropeptide transport, and neurosecretory regulation, as well as its possible contribution to selective cellular resilience within neuroendocrine systems.

Related

  1. Depletion of border-associated macrophages impairs CSF flow and exacerbates extranuclear mutant Huntingtin aggregation in the zQ175DN mouse model of Huntington’s disease
    Yanli Jiang, Rahul Sondawle, Helen Moniz +2
    bioRxivPreprintCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Full textNeurosciencePMCbioRxiv
  2. Hypothalamic cell-type differences associated with selection for tameness in the silver fox
    Jared L. Klein, Darya V. Shepeleva, Anastasiya V. Vladimirova +4
    Current biology : CBPeer-reviewedLicence not statedFull textZoology & animal behaviourPMC
  3. Integrative Transcriptomics and Machine Learning Identify Temporal Stress Signatures and Astrocytic Neurocan Associated With Hypothalamic Injury.
    Weihao Zhu, Chenyu Li, Mengting He +4
    CNS neuroscience & therapeuticsPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textNeuroscienceEurope PMC
  4. Spatial epigenomics reveals stromal niche-associated regulatory programs across pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor grades
    Dejiang Wang, Xiangjun Di, Fu Gao +13
    iSciencePeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textGenetics & genomicsSystems & synthetic biologyCell PressCrossrefEurope PMC
  5. Huntingtin and Celsr3 Orchestrate Spontaneous Long-Distance Spinal Cord Regeneration
    J. Mathiaparanam, M. F. Navarro, M. Granato
    bioRxivPreprintAll rights reservedFull textNeurosciencebioRxiv

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{horiguchi2026celltypespecific,
  title = {{Cell-type-specific localization of huntingtin-associated protein 1 in neuroendocrine and neurosecretory systems of the mouse hypothalamic–pituitary axis}},
  author = {Naoya Horiguchi and Naoya Horiguchi and Md Nabiul Islam and Yui Kobayashi and Akie Yanai and Shintaro Oka and Koji Shiraishi and Koh Shinoda},
  journal = {Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3389/fncel.2026.1963485},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2026.1963485},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Cell-type-specific localization of huntingtin-associated protein 1 in neuroendocrine and neurosecretory systems of the mouse hypothalamic–pituitary axis
AU  - Naoya Horiguchi
AU  - Naoya Horiguchi
AU  - Md Nabiul Islam
AU  - Yui Kobayashi
AU  - Akie Yanai
AU  - Shintaro Oka
AU  - Koji Shiraishi
AU  - Koh Shinoda
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/26
JO  - Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience
DO  - 10.3389/fncel.2026.1963485
UR  - https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2026.1963485
AB  - Huntingtin-associated protein 1 (HAP1) is a neurocytoplasmic protein implicated in intracellular trafficking, vesicular transport, and neuroprotection. Although HAP1 is abundantly expressed in hypothalamic regions involved in neuroendocrine regulation, its distribution and cellular specificity within the hypothalamic–pituitary axis remain poorly understood. Therefore, the present study aimed to characterize the expression pattern and cellular localization of HAP1 in neuroendocrine and neurosecretory systems of the adult mouse hypothalamic–pituitary axis. Adult male C57BL/6 J mice were analyzed using Western blotting, single-label immunoperoxidase histochemistry, and double-label immunofluorescence immunohistochemistry combined with hormone-specific markers. HAP1 immunoreactivity was detected throughout the pituitary gland, showing moderate scattered labeling in the anterior lobe, diffuse expression in the intermediate lobe, and intense accumulation in the posterior lobe. In the anterior and intermediate pituitary, HAP1 was highly expressed in thyrotrophs, corticotrophs, and melanotrophs, whereas gonadotrophs exhibited relatively low expression. In contrast, somatotrophs and lactotrophs lacked detectable HAP1 immunoreactivity. In the posterior pituitary, HAP1 was absent from S100β-positive pituicytes but strongly co-localized with oxytocin (OXT)- and arginine vasopressin (AVP)-containing neurosecretory structures, putative herring bodies. In the hypothalamus, HAP1 was prominently expressed in magnocellular neurons of the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei and extensively co-localized with OXT- and AVP-producing neurons. Collectively, these findings demonstrate a highly cell-type-specific and compartmentalized distribution of HAP1 across the hypothalamic–pituitary axis. The continuous localization of HAP1 from hypothalamic neuronal somata to neurosecretory terminals provides an anatomical basis for investigating potential roles in vesicular trafficking, neuropeptide transport, and neurosecretory regulation, as well as its possible contribution to selective cellular resilience within neuroendocrine systems.
SN  - 1662-5102
ER  -