G-protein Golfalpha (GNAL) is expressed in the vestibular end organs and primary afferent neurons of Rattus norvegicus

Guanine nucleotide binding proteins (G-proteins) play an important role in mediating signals transduced across the cell membrane by membrane-bound receptors. The precise role of these proteins and their coupled receptors in the physiology of the vestibular neuroepithelium is poorly understood. Although Golfalpha was originally discovered in the olfactory neuroepithelium and striatum, we recently identified this G-protein alpha subunit in a normalized cDNA library constructed from rat vestibular end organs and vestibular nerves including Scarpa's ganglia. In order to further characterize Golfalpha in the rat vestibular periphery, we used in situ hybridization and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction to determine the anatomic context of this gene expression. Golfalpha was found in both the end organs and the ganglia and could serve unique roles in the physiology of the vestibular neuroepithelium.