Neurotoxins in neurobiology: from basic research to clinical application

Recently, we reported that in rat, cyclosporine A (CsA) markedly decreases the levels of calbindin-D (CABP-D) 28 kDa in kidney. CABP-D 28 kDa is a calcium-binding protein which is highly expressed in calcium-transporting tissues such as kidney or brain. In this study, we investigated whether, in addition to the kidney, CsA also has an effect on CABP-D 28 kDa in rat brain. Three groups of male Wistar rats received 15 mg/kg/day or 50 mg/kg/day of CsA orally for 12 days, whereas controls received vehicle solution for the same period. CABP-D 28-kDa protein and CsA were quantified in homogenates of kidney, cerebral cortex and cerebellum, and the localization of CABP-D 28 kDa was assessed in the different tissue sections by immunohistochemistry. In kidney, CABP-D 28 kDa was strongly and dose dependently decreased, and was located in tubular epithelial cells. In brain, CABP-D 28 kDa was not changed and was mainly located in pyramidal cells of the cortex and in cerebellum exclusively in Purkinje cells. High CsA concentrations were measured in kidney, more than 17-fold greater than those found in cortex. In cerebellum, CsA was below the limit of detection. These data suggest that at clinically relevant doses, CsA may not affect CABP-D 28-kDa levels in brain.