Hokkaido University · Neuroscience
Professor Masahiko Watanabe's research lab specializes in molecular and cellular neuroscience, focusing on the subcellular organization and functional roles of neurotransmitter receptors and signaling molecules in the mammalian brain. The lab investigates the developmental and regional expression patterns of NMDA receptor subunits, endocannabinoid system components such as 2-AG and DAGLα, and the anatomical basis of cholinergic signaling, particularly muscarinic M1 receptors. Using advanced techniques like in situ hybridization, immunofluorescence, and immunoelectron microscopy, the lab elucidates the cellular mechanisms underlying synaptic transmission and neuromodulation in key brain regions including the cerebellum, forebrain, and hippocampus. Their work provides critical insights into the structural and functional diversity of neural circuits underlying cognition, behavior, and brain development.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
In situ hybridization analyses have revealed drastic changes in expression and distribution of five subunit mRNAs of the mouse NMDA receptor channel during brain development. The epsilon 1 subunit mRNA is expressed postnatally and widely in the brain. On the other hand, the epsilon 2 subunit mRNA is found throughout the entire embryonic brain, but its expression becomes restricted to the forebrain at postnatal stages. The epsilon 3 subunit mRNA appears postnatally and predominantly in the cerebe
2-arachidonoyl-glycerol (2-AG) is an endocannabinoid that is released from postsynaptic neurons, acts retrogradely on presynaptic cannabinoid receptor CB1, and induces short- and long-term suppression of transmitter release. To understand the mechanisms of the 2-AG-mediated retrograde modulation, we investigated subcellular localization of a major 2-AG biosynthetic enzyme, diacylglycerol lipase-alpha (DAGLalpha), by using immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy in the mouse brain. In th
Abstract The distributions of five NMDA receptor channel subunit mRNAs in the mouse forebrain at postnatal day 21 were semiquantitatively examined by in situ hybridization with subunit‐specific oligonucleotide probes. In contrast to ubiquitous distribution of the ζ1 subunit mRNA throughout the forebrain, distributions of four ϵ subunit mRNAs were highly variable from nucleus to nucleus. The telencephalon (except for the septum) expressed the ϵ1 and ϵ2 subunit mRNAs. Various combinations of the ϵ
Acetylcholine (ACh) plays important roles for higher brain functions, including arousal, attention, and cognition. These effects are mediated largely by muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs). However, it remains inconclusive whether the mode of ACh-mAChR signaling is synaptic, so-called "wired," transmission mediated by ACh released into the synaptic cleft, or nonsynaptic, so-called "volume," transmission by ambient ACh. To address this issue, we examined cellular and subcellular distribut
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