Figure 1

Specificity of antibodies for tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO) by Western blot (A) and immunofluorescent staining (B). A: The total protein (20 μg) of the dentate gyrus, extracted from the wild-type (lanes 1 and 3) and Tdo-/- mice (lane 2), was subjected to 4% to 12% gradient sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and transferred to polyvinylidene difluoride membranes. TDO was detected as described in the Methods section. Note that a 45-kDa band was detected with the anti-TDO antibody. The positions of molecular weight markers are shown on the left. Lane 3: negative control without the primary antibody. β-Tubulin is a positive control for the Western blot. B: The hippocampal sections of wild-type and Tdo-/- mice were stained with anti-TDO antibody. In sections of Tdo-/- mice, immunofluorescence signals were not detected in granule cells, interneurons (arrowhead), CA1, or CA3 cells, suggesting that the secondary antibody used in this study bound specifically to the primary antibody (mouse IgG). g, granule cell layer; h, hilus.