본 연구는 BALB/c 생쥐 맥악얼기내 ZnT3 및 zinc 이온을 ZnT3 항혈청을 이용한 면역세포화학법(ABC법)과 autometallography ($ZnSe^{AMG}$)로 각각 동정하였다. 저배율에서 맥락얼기내 ZnT3 면역반응은 미약하였으나, 고배율에서는 맥락상피와 맥락조직에 국한된 뚜렷한 면역반응이 관찰되었다. 전자현미경에서 관찰된 ZnT3 면역반응은 주로 맥락상피의 자유면쪽 미세융모 및 막성 소기관에 국한되었던 반면 맥락조직내 모세혈관의 내피세포에서는 면역반응이 전혀 관찰되지 않았다. AMG 염색결과 맥락상피와 맥락조직에서 강한 AMG 과립이 관찰되었으며, 특히 모세혈관의 내피상피에서 가장 많이 AMG 과립이 분포하고 있었다. 맥락상피내 AMG 과립은 주로 다소포체에서 관찰되었으며, 소수는 특정 세포질소기관과 상관없이 사이토졸에 산재해 있었다. 이러한 본 연구의 결과를 바탕으로 저자들은 맥락얼기가 일종의 zinc pool의 역할이 있을 것이며, 최소한 뇌척수액과 뇌실질간에 zinc의 이동에 중요한 역할을 담당할 것으로 믿는다.
We have detected the murine zinc transporter, ZnT3, and zinc ions in the mouse choroid plexus by immunocytochemistry (ICC) and zinc selenium autometallography ($ZnSe^{AMG}$), respectively. BALB/c mice served as experimental animals. Routine floating ABC immunocytochemical procedures were used for the ZnT3 immunocytochemistry, and the mice were injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) with sodium selenide (10 mg/kg) for the zinc selenium autometallography. The choroid plexus showed weak immunoreactivity (Ir) for ZnT3. At high magnification, ZnT3-Ir was seen to be located in the choroid epithelium and the connective tissue of the capillaries. At the EM level, a high electron density of ZnT3-immunoreactivity was restricted to vesicle membranes as well as microvilli in the apical membrane. In contrast, immunostaining of ZnT3 was completely absent in the basolateral plasma membrane and other cell organelles. After silver enhancement, fine $ZnSe^{AMG}$ grains were observed in both the epithelial and endothelial cells of the choroid plexus. Few $ZnSe^{AMG}$ grains present in the cell bodies of the choroid epithelial cells were located in multivesicular bodies. It is striking that very many $ZnSe^{AMG}$ grains were observed in the endothelial cells of the capillaries. These findings establish the choroid plexus as a non-neuronal pool of zinc ions in the brain, although the functional significance of this pool is not clear. The choroid epithelium, however, may play an important role in the transportation of zinc between the CSF and brain tissue.
