Expression and distribution of phocein and members of the striatin family in neurones of rat peripheral ganglia.

Phocein and members of the striatin family (striatin, SG2NA and zinedin) are intracellular proteins, mainly expressed in neurones of the mammalian central nervous system where they are thought to be involved in vesicular traffic and Ca(2+) signalling. Here, we have investigated whether these proteins are also present in the peripheral nervous system, by analysing their expression and distribution within sensory neurones of the vagal (nodose and jugular) ganglia, the petrosal ganglion, the dorsal root ganglion, and also in the sympathetic neurones of the superior cervical ganglion. RT-PCR experiments showed that mRNAs of phocein, striatin, SG2NA and zinedin are present in all studied peripheral ganglia.

Interactions of phocein with nucleoside-diphosphate kinase, Eps15, and Dynamin I.

Phocein, an intracellular protein interacting with striatin, bears a few homologies with the sigma-subunits of clathrin adaptor proteins (Baillat, G., Moqrich, A., Castets, F.