Quantitative autoradiographic localization of central dopamine D-1 and D-2 receptors

Dopamine D2-Like Receptors Modulate Intrinsic Properties and Synaptic Transmission of Parvalbumin Interneurons in the Mouse Primary Motor Cortex

Dopamine (DA) plays a crucial role in the control of motor and higher cognitive functions such as learning, working memory, and decision making. The primary motor cortex (M1), which is essential for motor control and the acquisition of motor skills, receives dopaminergic inputs in its superficial and deep layers from the midbrain. However, the precise action of DA and DA receptor subtypes on the cortical microcircuits of M1 remains poorly understood. The aim of this work was to investigate in mice how DA, through the activation of D2-like receptors (D2Rs), modulates the cellular and synaptic activity of M1 parvalbumin-expressing interneurons (PVINs) which are crucial to regulate the spike output of pyramidal neurons (PNs). By combining immunofluorescence, ex vivo electrophysiology, pharmacology and optogenetics approaches, we show that D2R activation increases neuronal excitability of PVINs and GABAergic synaptic transmission between PVINs and PNs in Layer V of M1. Our data reveal how cortical DA modulates M1 microcircuitry, which could be important in the acquisition of motor skills.

Topography and collateralization of dopaminergic projections to primary motor cortex in rats

Dopaminergic signaling within the primary motor cortex (M1) is necessary for successful motor skill learning. Dopaminergic neurons projecting to M1 are located in the ventral tegmental area (VTA, nucleus A10) of the midbrain. It is unknown which behavioral correlates are encoded by these neurons. The objective here is to investigate whether VTA-M1 fibers are collaterals of projections to prefrontal cortex (PFC) or nucleus accumbens (NAc) or if they form a distinct pathway. In rats, multiple-site retrograde fluorescent tracers were injected into M1, PFC and the core region of the NAc and VTA sections investigated for concomitant labeling of different tracers. Dopaminergic neurons projecting to M1, PFC and NAc were found in nucleus A10 and to a lesser degree in the medial nucleus A9. Neurons show high target specificity, minimal collateral branching to other than their target area and hardly cross the midline. Whereas PFC- and NAc-projecting neurons are indistinguishably intermingled within the ventral portion of dopaminergic nuclei in middle and caudal midbrain, M1-projecting neurons are only located within the dorsal part of the rostral midbrain. Within M1, the forelimb representation receives sevenfold more dopaminergic projections than the hindlimb representation. This strong rostro-caudal gradient as well as the topographical preference to dorsal structures suggest that projections to M1 emerged late in the development of the dopaminergic systems in and form a functionally distinct system.

Localization of dopamine receptors in the tree shrew brain using [3H]-SCH23390 and [125I]-epidepride

The tree shrew is a mammalian species, which is phylogenetically related to insectivores and primates. The aim of the present study was to investigate the distribution of dopamine receptor D1- and D2-like binding sites in the brain of this non-rodent, non-primate mammal. Using in vitro autoradiography and employing the radioligands [3H]-SCH23390 and [125I]-epidepride, dopamine receptors were mapped and quantified. Significant findings with regard to the D1-like binding pattern include the presence of a "patchy" binding in the striatum. In the cortex, D1-like binding sites were observed in both the superficial and the deep layers. In the hippocampal formation, D1-like binding sites were seen primarily in the CAI region and not in the dentate gyrus. These characteristics of the D1 pattern in the tree shrew brain are shared by cat and monkey and human brain, but not by rodent brain. Significant findings with regard to the D2-like binding pattern include the presence of D2-like binding in the claustrum. In addition, the striatum demonstrated "patchy" D2-like binding. These characteristics of the D2 pattern in the tree shrew brain are shared by cat and monkey and human brain, but not by rodent brain. On the other hand, the significant densities of D2-like binding sites in the glomerular layer of the tree shrew olfactory bulb is a finding that discriminates tree shrews from higher evolutionary species who lack such binding. Overall, the evidence coincides with the view that tree shrews are phylogenetically related to primates.

Time-dependent effects of levodopa on regional brain dopamine metabolism and lipid peroxidation

Levodopa treatment in Parkinson's disease has been suggested to contribute to disease progression through free radical generation. We compared the time course of levodopa-induced dopamine metabolism, and the resulting oxidative stress, between rat brain regions with varying dopaminergic innervation. At 1, 4, 8, and 12 h after levodopa administration (100 mg/kg), dopamine, dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, and homovanillic acid were measured in striatum and ventral midbrain, regions containing marked dopaminergic innervation, and in prefrontal cortex and cerebellum, which possess little dopaminergic innervation. Malondialdehyde, a marker of oxidative stress, was measured in additional animals. The return of dopamine and its metabolites to control concentrations tended to be slower (by 3-8 h) in cerebellum and prefrontal cortex than in dopaminergic regions. Malondialdehyde concentrations were decreased (p < 0.05) in ventral midbrain 8 h posttreatment, but increased in cerebellum 12 h posttreatment. We concluded that levodopa increases dopamine metabolism in nondopaminergic as well as dopaminergic regions, with delayed clearance of dopamine and its metabolites in nondopaminergic regions. The slower return of dopamine to control levels in nondopaminergic regions may be relevant to some of the side effects of levodopa. No support was found for the hypothesis that levodopa treatment induces oxidative stress.

Dopamine D2 receptor binding is reduced in Wilson's disease: correlation of neurological deficits with striatal 123I-iodobenzamide binding

To visualise and quantify dopamine D2 receptor binding in the corpus striatum of patients with neurological Wilson's disease (WD) 123I-Iodobenzamide (IBZM) binding was measured using single photon emission computer tomography (SPECT). Ratios of striatal to frontal countrates were calculated in 8 patients and in 21 healthy control subjects. We found reduced IBZM binding ratios in all patients with WD in comparison to those in controls (1.48 +/- 0.13 vs. 1.73 +/- 0.09). The reduction in IBZM binding was correlated with the overall severity of neurological deficits and the severity of dysarthria (correlation coefficients -0.86 [p < 0.01] and -0.79 [p < 0.01], respectively). When patients of three different subgroups of neurological WD were compared no differences in IBZM binding were found. We conclude that assessing basal ganglia function in vivo using IBZM-SPECT is a valuable diagnostic tool in WD.

Behavioral and frontal cortical metabolic effects of apomorphine and muscimol microinjections into the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus

To study sensorimotor correlates of dopamine (DA) and gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) neurotransmission in the thalamus, we microinjected the DA agonist apomorphine (APO), the GABA agonist muscimol and vehicle into the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus (MdT) of rats and monitored catalepsy, sensorimotor asymmetries and the acoustic startle response. Unilateral MdT muscimol microinjections (50 ng) produced a lateralization of the removal of adhesive disks placed simultaneously on both forelegs in a tactile extinction task, but did not measurably influence any aspects of startle behavior. The sensorimotor asymmetry consisted of perferential orientation to the adhesive disk on the side ipsilateral to the microinjection. Vehicle and APO microinjections produced no significant behavioral results. In a follow-up study, unilateral MdT muscimol microinjections significantly depressed medial prefrontal cortical metabolism (measured by 2-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake) by 24%, but did not affect nucleus accumbens metabolic activity. Together, these findings are consistent with the concept that GABA-mediated inhibition of thalamocortical neurons in the MdT influences tactile extinction behavior, most likely by selectively suppressing excitatory input to the frontal cortex. The sensorimotor asymmetry observed in the present study resembles attentional and spatial memory deficits associated with frontal cortical lesions, and in conjunction with the 2-fluorodeoxyglucose results, suggests that elevated GABA neurotransmission in the thalamus may be involved in attentional and functional metabolic deficits in humans.

Dopamine receptors: molecular biology, biochemistry and behavioural aspects

The description of new dopamine (DA) receptor subtypes, D1-(D1 and D5) and D2-like (D2A, D2B, D3, D4), has given an impetus to DA research. While selective agonists and antagonists are not generally available yet, the receptor distribution in the brain suggests that they could be new targets for drug development. Binding characteristics and second messenger coupling has been explored in cell lines expressing the new cloned receptors. The absence of selective ligands has meant that in vivo studies have lagged behind. However, progress has been made in understanding the function of DA-containing discrete brain nuclei and the functional consequence of the DA's interaction with other neurotransmitters. This review explores some of the latest advances in these various areas.

Decrease of D2 receptors indicated by 123I-iodobenzamide single-photon emission computed tomography relates to neurological deficit in treated Wilson's disease

Single-photon emission computed tomography with 123I-iodobenzamide, a dopamine D2 receptor antagonist, was employed to study dopamine D2 receptor densities in 17 patients with biochemically proved Wilson's disease and stable neurological status with therapy and in 5 age-matched control subjects. Of the 17 patients with Wilson's disease, 5 were neurologically asymptomatic, 3 had cerebellar signs, 1 exhibited a mild parkinsonian syndrome, 7 showed a parkinsonian syndrome and cerebellar signs, and 1 had generalized dystonia and a parkinsonian syndrome. In 5 age-matched control subjects specific isotope binding as calculated by the basal ganglia to frontal cortex ratio was 1.57 +/- 0.04 (mean +/- standard deviation). The ratio in patients with Wilson's disease ranged from 1.56 +/- 0.05 (n = 5, asymptomatic patients) to 1.17 +/- 0.02 (n = 4, marked neurological impairment). We observed an almost linear correlation between the reduction of 123I-iodobenzamide (IBZM) binding and the severity of neurological signs at the time of IBZM-SPECT (correlation coefficient, -0.84; p < 0.01). We suggest that the reduction of postsynaptic striatal dopamine D2 receptors as detected by IBZM-SPECT reflects striatal neuronal damage in Wilson's disease.

Microiontophoretic studies of the effects of D-1 and D-2 receptor agonists on type I caudate nucleus neurons: Lack of synergistic interaction

Several lines of evidence have suggested there may be a physiologically relevant form of synergistic interaction between D-1 and D-2 dopamine (DA) receptors located on postsynaptic neurons in the forebrain that receive a dopaminergic innervation. Because of the theoretical importance of such an interaction with respect to understanding the normal physiology of dopaminergic systems, we evaluated effects of D-1 and D-2 selective agonists, applied microiontophoretically, on the spontaneous electrical activity of a single, identifiable subpopulation of neurons within the caudate nucleus, the type I striatal neuron, in locally anesthetized, gallamine-paralyzed rats. It was observed that the D-2 receptor agonist quinpirole (QUIN) produced biphasic effects on cell firing rate. Low ejection currents significantly increased firing rate, while higher currents produced an inhibition. Similar effects were observed for the D-1 agonists SKF 38393; however, the overall excitations observed at low ejection currents were far less than those observed for QUIN. When these two agonists were applied concurrently, a simple additive effect (but not synergism) was always observed. The acute reduction of striatal levels of DA, by as much as 84% (with pretreatment with alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine, AMPT), did not alter the responsiveness of type I striatal neurons to the DA receptor agonists applied alone or in combination. These observed effects were not altered either by chloral hydrate anesthesia (in which glutamate-driven activity was studied) or by a more severe depletion of striatal DA levels (98% depletion produced by combined pretreatment with AMPT and reserpine).

Functional recovery of supersensitive dopamine receptors after intrastriatal grafts of fetal substantia nigra

Interruption of the ascending dopamine neurons of the nigrostriatal pathway, by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesion in rats, produced a significant loss of the dopamine transport complexes labeled with the phencyclidine derivative [3H]BTCP. This loss of dopamine innervation in the striatum was present at least 12 to 14 months after lesioning and was functionally manifested by ipsilateral rotation of the animals in response to amphetamine. In these same animals, in comparison to controls, there was a significant increase in the number (Bmax) of [3H]SCH 23390-labeled D-1 receptors in the striatum (36.7%) and the substantia nigra (35.1%) and a 54.4% increase in the number (Bmax) of [3H]sulpiride-labeled striatal D-2 receptors without an apparent change in affinity (Kd). Ten to twelve months after the transplantation of homologous fetal substantia nigra into the denervated striatum, there was a significant decrease in amphetamine-induced turning behavior. In these animals, there was an ingrowth of dopamine nerve terminals in the striatum as demonstrated by a return of [3H]BTCP binding. Accompanying this reinnervation was the normalization of D-1 and D-2 receptors to control values in the striatum as well as the return of D-1 receptors to prelesion densities in the substantia nigra. In a subgroup of transplanted rats, amphetamine continued to induce ipsilateral turning. In these animals both D-1 and D-2 receptors remained supersensitive. These results support the hypothesis that the functional recovery of transplanted animals is due, in part, to reinnervation of the striatum. In addition, long-term alterations in receptor density may be related to the behavioral deficits that are associated with the 6-OHDA-lesioned rat. Furthermore, dopamine receptor plasticity may play a role in the functional recovery of substantia nigra transplanted animals and graft viability seems to be a prerequisite for behavioral recovery as well as receptor normalization.

Human dopamine receptor subtypes--in vitro binding analysis using 3H-SCH 23390 and 3H-raclopride

Affinities and regional densities of the D1- and D2-dopamine receptor subtypes were studied in the human post-mortem brain in vitro using the two selective radioligands 3H-SCH 23390 and 3H-raclopride. 3H-Raclopride binding was confined to the caudate nucleus, the putamen and the substantia nigra, while 3H-SCH 23390 bound to cortical regions as well. The binding of 3H-SCH 23390 was reduced by a low concentration of ketanserin, indicating binding to 5-HT2 receptors in addition to the D1-dopamine receptors. The endogenous neurotransmitter dopamine interacted potently both with the D1-dopamine receptor and the D2-dopamine receptor, displaying two affinity states for each subtype. The distribution of the dopamine receptor subtypes obtained in the present in vitro investigation is in agreement with data obtained with 11C-SCH 23390 and 11C-raclopride in positron emission tomographic studies in human volunteers.