LPA receptor expression in the central nervous system in health and following injury

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is released from platelets following injury and also plays a role in neural development but little is known about its effects in the adult central nervous system (CNS). We have examined the expression of LPA receptors 1-3 (LPA(1-3)) in intact mouse spinal cord and cortical tissues and following injury. In intact and injured tissues, LPA(1) was expressed by ependymal cells in the central canal of the spinal cord and was upregulated in reactive astrocytes following spinal cord injury. LPA(2) showed low expression in intact CNS tissue, on grey matter astrocytes in spinal cord and in ependymal cells lining the lateral ventricle. Following injury, its expression was upregulated on astrocytes in both cortex and spinal cord. LPA(3) showed low expression in intact CNS tissue, viz. on cortical neurons and motor neurons in the spinal cord, and was upregulated on neurons in both regions after injury. Therefore, LPA(1-3) are differentially expressed in the CNS and their expression is upregulated in response to injury. LPA release following CNS injury may have different consequences for each cell type because of this differential expression in the adult nervous system.