Mitochondrial voltage-dependent anion channel. Immunochemical and immunohistochemical characterization in rat brain.

The purified mitochondrial benzodiazepine receptor (mBzR) is a complex comprising the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC), adenine nucleotide carrier, and an 18-kDa protein that binds isoquinoline carboxamide ligands (McEnery, M. W., Snowman, A. M., Trifiletti, R. R., and Snyder, S. H. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89, 3170-3174). An antiserum raised against the mBzR complex reacts selectively with VDAC and is used, along with purification, electrophysiological and immunohistochemical techniques, to characterize the properties and distribution of rat brain VDAC. Although purified VDAC displays biochemical and electrical conductance properties similar to VDAC from other sources, the immunohistochemical distribution of VDAC in rat brain is heterogeneous with pronounced regional variations; the pontine nuclei, the supraoptic nucleus, Purkinje cells of the cerebellum, and the caudate putamen evidence the highest density. The distribution of VDAC is inclusive of the more discretely localized 18-kDa mBzR protein, suggesting that only a portion of the total VDAC participates in the mBzR. The histochemical localizations of the mitochondrial marker enzymes glutamate dehydrogenase and cytochrome c oxidase also indicate marked regional variability in both mitochondrial content and composition. The discrete expression of VDAC reflects a striking heterogeneity of rat brain mitochondria and underlying differences in the utilization of mitochondrial outer membrane ion channels.