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Warlow SM, Singhal SM, Hollon NG, Faget L, Dowlat DS, Zell V, Hunker AC, Zweifel LS, Hnasko TS. Mesoaccumbal glutamate neurons drive reward via glutamate release but aversion via dopamine co-release. Neuron 2024; 112:488-499.e5. [PMID: 38086374 PMCID: PMC10922836 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Ventral tegmental area (VTA) projections to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) drive reward-related motivation. Although dopamine neurons are predominant, a substantial glutamatergic projection is also present, and a subset of these co-release both dopamine and glutamate. Optogenetic stimulation of VTA glutamate neurons not only supports self-stimulation but can also induce avoidance behavior, even in the same assay. Here, we parsed the selective contribution of glutamate or dopamine co-release from VTA glutamate neurons to reinforcement and avoidance. We expressed channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) in mouse VTA glutamate neurons in combination with CRISPR-Cas9 to disrupt either the gene encoding vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGLUT2) or tyrosine hydroxylase (Th). Selective disruption of VGLUT2 abolished optogenetic self-stimulation but left real-time place avoidance intact, whereas CRISPR-Cas9 deletion of Th preserved self-stimulation but abolished place avoidance. Our results demonstrate that glutamate release from VTA glutamate neurons is positively reinforcing but that dopamine release from VTA glutamate neurons can induce avoidance behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelley M Warlow
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Sarthak M Singhal
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Nick G Hollon
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Lauren Faget
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Dina S Dowlat
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Vivien Zell
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Avery C Hunker
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Larry S Zweifel
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Thomas S Hnasko
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA.
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2
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Elhadi K, Daiwile AP, Cadet JL. Modeling methamphetamine use disorder and relapse in animals: short- and long-term epigenetic, transcriptional., and biochemical consequences in the rat brain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 155:105440. [PMID: 38707245 PMCID: PMC11068368 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
Methamphetamine use disorder (MUD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by binge drug taking episodes, intervals of abstinence, and relapses to drug use even during treatment. MUD has been modeled in rodents and investigators are attempting to identify its molecular bases. Preclinical experiments have shown that different schedules of methamphetamine self-administration can cause diverse transcriptional changes in the dorsal striatum of Sprague-Dawley rats. In the present review, we present data on differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified in the rat striatum following methamphetamine intake. These include genes involved in transcription regulation, potassium channel function, and neuroinflammation. We then use the striatal data to discuss the potential significance of the molecular changes induced by methamphetamine by reviewing concordant or discordant data from the literature. This review identified potential molecular targets for pharmacological interventions. Nevertheless, there is a need for more research on methamphetamine-induced transcriptional consequences in various brain regions. These data should provide a more detailed neuroanatomical map of methamphetamine-induced changes and should better inform therapeutic interventions against MUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khalid Elhadi
- Molecular Neuropsychiatry Research Branch, NIH/NIDA Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD, 21224
| | - Atul P. Daiwile
- Molecular Neuropsychiatry Research Branch, NIH/NIDA Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD, 21224
| | - Jean Lud Cadet
- Molecular Neuropsychiatry Research Branch, NIH/NIDA Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD, 21224
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3
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Barcomb K, Ford CP. Alterations in neurotransmitter co-release in Parkinson's disease. Exp Neurol 2023; 370:114562. [PMID: 37802381 PMCID: PMC10842357 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2023.114562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Revised: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease is a neurological disorder characterized by degeneration of midbrain dopamine neurons, which results in numerous adaptations in basal ganglia circuits. Research over the past twenty-five years has identified that midbrain dopamine neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) co-release multiple other transmitters including glutamate and GABA, in addition to their canonical transmitter, dopamine. This review summarizes previous work characterizing neurotransmitter co-release from dopamine neurons, work examining potential changes in co-release dynamics that result in animal models of Parkinson's disease, and future opportunities for determining how dysfunction in co-release may contribute to circuit dysfunction in Parkinson's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelsey Barcomb
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
| | - Christopher P Ford
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
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4
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Wallace ML, Sabatini BL. Synaptic and circuit functions of multitransmitter neurons in the mammalian brain. Neuron 2023; 111:2969-2983. [PMID: 37463580 PMCID: PMC10592565 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Revised: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
Neurons in the mammalian brain are not limited to releasing a single neurotransmitter but often release multiple neurotransmitters onto postsynaptic cells. Here, we review recent findings of multitransmitter neurons found throughout the mammalian central nervous system. We highlight recent technological innovations that have made the identification of new multitransmitter neurons and the study of their synaptic properties possible. We also focus on mechanisms and molecular constituents required for neurotransmitter corelease at the axon terminal and synaptic vesicle, as well as some possible functions of multitransmitter neurons in diverse brain circuits. We expect that these approaches will lead to new insights into the mechanism and function of multitransmitter neurons, their role in circuits, and their contribution to normal and pathological brain function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael L Wallace
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Bernardo L Sabatini
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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5
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Vrettou M, Thalhammer SB, Svensson AL, Dumas S, Nilsson KW, Wallén-Mackenzie Å, Fredriksson R, Nylander I, Comasco E. Vesicular glutamate transporter 2 expression in the ventral tegmental area of outbred male rats following exposure to nicotine and alcohol. DRUG AND ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE REPORTS 2023; 8:100180. [PMID: 37533815 PMCID: PMC10391930 DOI: 10.1016/j.dadr.2023.100180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Background Initiation of use/co-use of nicotine and alcohol, commonly occurring in an episodic manner during adolescence, can imprint vulnerability to the developing brain and lead to addiction. The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a key heterogeneous region of the mesocorticolimbic circuit involved in the binge-drinking and intoxication step of the addiction circuit. Higher human post-mortem VTA expression of vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGLUT2), a marker of the glutamatergic phenotype also expressed in dopaminergic [Tyrosine Hydroxylase (Th)-positive] neurons, has been associated with chronic nicotine use and co-use with alcohol. Methods The present study aimed to map and characterize the Vglut2- and Th-expressing neurons in the VTA of adolescent male rats exposed or not to prolonged (six-weeks) episodic (three consecutive days/week) nicotine and/or alcohol administration. Nicotine (0.35 mg/kg free base) was injected subcutaneously, whereas alcohol (2 g/kg 20%) was administrated via gavage. Vglut2 and Th mRNA was assessed in the anterior and posterior VTA by use of in situ hybridization. Results The profile of neurons varied with substance-exposure among VTA subregions. Th-only expressing neurons were more abundant in the posterior VTA of the group exposed to nicotine-only, compared to controls. The same neurons were, on the contrary, less present in the anterior VTA of animals exposed to alcohol-only, who also displayed a higher number of Vglut2-expressing neurons in the lateral anterior VTA. Conclusions VTA Vglut2- and Th-only neurons seem differentially involved in the effects of adolescent episodic nicotine and alcohol exposure in the anterior and posterior VTA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Vrettou
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Stefan Bernhard Thalhammer
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anne-Lie Svensson
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Kent W Nilsson
- Centre for Clinical Research Västerås, Uppsala University, Västmanland County Hospital Västerås, Sweden
| | | | - Robert Fredriksson
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ingrid Nylander
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Erika Comasco
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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6
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Urena ES, Diezel CC, Serna M, Hala'ufia G, Majuta L, Barber KR, Vanderah TW, Riegel AC. K v 7 Channel Opener Retigabine Reduces Self-Administration of Cocaine but Not Sucrose in Rats. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.18.541208. [PMID: 37292619 PMCID: PMC10245780 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.18.541208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The increasing rates of drug misuse highlight the urgency of identifying improved therapeutics for treatment. Most drug-seeking behaviors that can be modeled in rodents utilize the repeated intravenous self-administration (SA) of drugs. Recent studies examining the mesolimbic pathway suggest that K v 7/KCNQ channels may contribute in the transition from recreational to chronic drug use. However, to date, all such studies used noncontingent, experimenter-delivered drug model systems, and the extent to which this effect generalizes to rats trained to self-administer drug is not known. Here, we tested the ability of retigabine (ezogabine), a K v 7 channel opener, to regulate instrumental behavior in male Sprague Dawley rats. We first validated the ability of retigabine to target experimenter-delivered cocaine in a CPP assay and found that retigabine reduced the acquisition of place preference. Next, we trained rats for cocaine-SA under a fixed-ratio or progressive-ratio reinforcement schedule and found that retigabine-pretreatment attenuated the self-administration of low to moderate doses of cocaine. This was not observed in parallel experiments, with rats self-administering sucrose, a natural reward. Compared to sucrose-SA, cocaine-SA was associated with reductions in the expression of the K v 7.5 subunit in the nucleus accumbens, without alterations in K v 7.2 and K v 7.3. Therefore, these studies reveal a reward specific reduction in SA behavior considered relevant for the study of long-term compulsive-like behavior and supports the notion that K v 7 is a potential therapeutic target for human psychiatric diseases with dysfunctional reward circuitry.
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Bimpisidis Z, Serra GP, König N, Wallén-Mackenzie Å. Increased sucrose consumption in mice gene-targeted for Vmat2 selectively in NeuroD6-positive neurons of the ventral tegmental area. Front Mol Neurosci 2023; 16:1069834. [PMID: 36825278 PMCID: PMC9941196 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2023.1069834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine (DA) neurons are implicated in reward processing, motivation, reward prediction error, and in substance use disorder. Recent studies have identified distinct neuronal subpopulations within the VTA that can be clustered based on their molecular identity, neurotransmitter profile, physiology, projections and behavioral role. One such subpopulation is characterized by expression of the NeuroD6 gene, and projects primarily to the nucleus accumbens medial shell. We recently showed that optogenetic stimulation of these neurons induces real-time place preference while their targeted deletion of the Vmat2 gene caused altered response to rewarding substances, including ethanol and psychostimulants. Based on these recent findings, we wanted to further investigate the involvement of the NeuroD6-positive VTA subpopulation in reward processing. Using the same NeuroD6Cre+/wt ;Vmat2flox/flox mice as in our prior study, we now addressed the ability of the mice to process sucrose reward. In order to assess appetitive behavior and motivation to obtain sucrose reward, we tested conditional knockout (cKO) and control littermate mice in an operant sucrose self-administration paradigm. We observed that cKO mice demonstrate higher response rates to the operant task and consume more sucrose rewards than control mice. However, their motivation to obtain sucrose is identical to that of control mice. Our results highlight previous observations that appetitive behavior and motivation to obtain rewards can be served by distinct neuronal circuits, and demonstrate that the NeuroD6 VTA subpopulation is involved in mediating the former, but not the latter. Together with previous studies on the NeuroD6 subpopulation, our findings pinpoint the importance of unraveling the molecular and functional role of VTA subpopulations in order to better understand normal behavior and psychiatric disease.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gian Pietro Serra
- Unit of Comparative Physiology, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Niclas König
- Unit of Comparative Physiology, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Åsa Wallén-Mackenzie
- Unit of Comparative Physiology, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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8
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Kim MJ, Kaang BK. Distinct cell populations of ventral tegmental area process motivated behavior. THE KOREAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY & PHARMACOLOGY 2022; 26:307-312. [PMID: 36039731 PMCID: PMC9437368 DOI: 10.4196/kjpp.2022.26.5.307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Min Jung Kim
- School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
| | - Bong-Kiun Kaang
- School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
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9
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Cai J, Tong Q. Anatomy and Function of Ventral Tegmental Area Glutamate Neurons. Front Neural Circuits 2022; 16:867053. [PMID: 35669454 PMCID: PMC9164627 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2022.867053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is well known for regulating reward consumption, learning, memory, and addiction behaviors through mediating dopamine (DA) release in downstream regions. Other than DA neurons, the VTA is known to be heterogeneous and contains other types of neurons, including glutamate neurons. In contrast to the well-studied and established functions of DA neurons, the role of VTA glutamate neurons is understudied, presumably due to their relatively small quantity and a lack of effective means to study them. Yet, emerging studies have begun to reveal the importance of glutamate release from VTA neurons in regulating diverse behavioral repertoire through a complex intra-VTA and long-range neuronal network. In this review, we summarize the features of VTA glutamate neurons from three perspectives, namely, cellular properties, neural connections, and behavioral functions. Delineation of VTA glutamatergic pathways and their interactions with VTA DA neurons in regulating behaviors may reveal previously unappreciated functions of the VTA in other physiological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Cai
- Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases, UTHealth McGovern Medical School, Houston, TX, United States.,Neuroscience Program, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Qingchun Tong
- Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases, UTHealth McGovern Medical School, Houston, TX, United States.,Neuroscience Program, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, United States
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10
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Abstract
Astroglia are key regulators of synaptic function, playing central roles in homeostatic ion buffering, energy dynamics, transmitter uptake, maintenance of neurotransmitter pools, and regulation of synaptic plasticity through release of neuroactive chemicals. Given the myriad of crucial homeostatic and signaling functions attributed to astrocytes and the variety of neurotransmitter receptors expressed by astroglia, they serve as prime cellular candidates for establishing maladaptive synaptic plasticity following drug exposure. Initial studies on astroglia and addiction have placed drug-mediated disruptions in the homeostatic regulation of glutamate as a central aspect of relapse vulnerability. However, the generation of sophisticated tools to study and manipulate astroglia have proven that the interaction between addictive substances, astroglia, and relapse-relevant synaptic plasticity extends far beyond the homeostatic regulation of glutamate. Here we present astroglial systems impacted by drug exposure and discuss how changes in astroglial biology contribute to addiction biology.
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11
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Serra GP, Guillaumin A, Dumas S, Vlcek B, Wallén-Mackenzie Å. Midbrain Dopamine Neurons Defined by TrpV1 Modulate Psychomotor Behavior. Front Neural Circuits 2021; 15:726893. [PMID: 34858142 PMCID: PMC8632262 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2021.726893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Dopamine (DA) neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) continue to gain attention as far more heterogeneous than previously realized. Within the medial aspect of the VTA, the unexpected presence of TrpV1 mRNA has been identified. TrpV1 encodes the Transient Receptor Potential cation channel subfamily V member 1, TRPV1, also known as the capsaicin receptor, well recognized for its role in heat and pain processing by peripheral neurons. In contrast, the brain distribution of TrpV1 has been debated. Here, we hypothesized that the TrpV1+ identity defines a distinct subpopulation of VTA DA neurons. To explore these brain TrpV1+ neurons, histological analyses and Cre-driven mouse genetics were employed. TrpV1 mRNA was most strongly detected at the perinatal stage forming a band of scattered neurons throughout the medial VTA, reaching into the posterior hypothalamus. Within the VTA, the majority of TrpV1 co-localized with both Tyrosine hydroxylase (Th) and Vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (Vmat2), confirming a DA phenotype. However, TrpV1 also co-localized substantially with Vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (Vglut2), representing the capacity for glutamate (GLU) release. These TrpV1+/Th+/Vglut2+/Vmat2+ neurons thus constitute a molecularly and anatomically distinct subpopulation of DA-GLU co-releasing neurons. To assess behavioral impact, a TrpV1Cre -driven strategy targeting the Vmat2 gene in mice was implemented. This manipulation was sufficient to alter psychomotor behavior induced by amphetamine. The acute effect of the drug was accentuated above control levels, suggesting super-sensitivity in the drug-na ve state resembling a "pre-sensitized" phenotype. However, no progressive increase with repeated injections was observed. This study identifies a distinct TrpV1+ VTA subpopulation as a critical modulatory component in responsiveness to amphetamine. Moreover, expression of the gene encoding TRPV1 in selected VTA neurons opens up for new possibilities in pharmacological intervention of this heterogeneous, but clinically important, brain area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gian Pietro Serra
- Unit of Comparative Physiology, Department of Organism Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Adriane Guillaumin
- Unit of Comparative Physiology, Department of Organism Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Bianca Vlcek
- Unit of Comparative Physiology, Department of Organism Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Åsa Wallén-Mackenzie
- Unit of Comparative Physiology, Department of Organism Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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12
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Vrettou M, Yan L, Nilsson KW, Wallén-Mackenzie Å, Nylander I, Comasco E. DNA methylation of Vesicular Glutamate Transporters in the mesocorticolimbic brain following early-life stress and adult ethanol exposure-an explorative study. Sci Rep 2021; 11:15322. [PMID: 34321562 PMCID: PMC8319394 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-94739-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
DNA methylation and gene expression can be altered by early life stress (ELS) and/or ethanol consumption. The present study aimed to investigate whether DNA methylation of the Vesicular Glutamate Transporters (Vglut)1-3 is related to previously observed Vglut1-3 transcriptional differences in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), nucleus accumbens (Acb), dorsal striatum (dStr) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of adult rats exposed to ELS, modelled by maternal separation, and voluntary ethanol consumption. Targeted next-generation bisulfite sequencing was performed to identify the methylation levels on 61 5′-cytosine-phosphate-guanosine-3′ sites (CpGs) in potential regulatory regions of Vglut1, 53 for Vglut2, and 51 for Vglut3. In the VTA, ELS in ethanol-drinking rats was associated with Vglut1-2 CpG-specific hypomethylation, whereas bidirectional Vglut2 methylation differences at single CpGs were associated with ELS alone. Exposure to both ELS and ethanol, in the Acb, was associated with lower promoter and higher intronic Vglut3 methylation; and in the dStr, with higher and lower methylation in 26% and 43% of the analyzed Vglut1 CpGs, respectively. In the mPFC, lower Vglut2 methylation was observed upon exposure to ELS or ethanol. The present findings suggest Vglut1-3 CpG-specific methylation signatures of ELS and ethanol drinking, underlying previously reported Vglut1-3 transcriptional differences in the mesocorticolimbic brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Vrettou
- Department of Neuroscience, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Kent W Nilsson
- Centre for Clinical Research Västerås, Uppsala University, Västmanland County Hospital Västerås, Uppsala, Sweden.,The School of Health, Care and Social Welfare, Mälardalen University, Västerås, Sweden
| | | | - Ingrid Nylander
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Erika Comasco
- Department of Neuroscience, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
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13
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Eskenazi D, Malave L, Mingote S, Yetnikoff L, Ztaou S, Velicu V, Rayport S, Chuhma N. Dopamine Neurons That Cotransmit Glutamate, From Synapses to Circuits to Behavior. Front Neural Circuits 2021; 15:665386. [PMID: 34093138 PMCID: PMC8170480 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2021.665386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Discovered just over 20 years ago, dopamine neurons have the ability to cotransmit both dopamine and glutamate. Yet, the functional roles of dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission and their implications for therapeutic use are just emerging. This review article encompasses the current body of evidence investigating the functions of dopamine neurons of the ventral midbrain that cotransmit glutamate. Since its discovery in dopamine neuron cultures, further work in vivo confirmed dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission across species. From there, growing interest has led to research related to neural functioning including roles in synaptic signaling, development, and behavior. Functional connectome mapping reveals robust connections in multiple forebrain regions to various cell types, most notably to cholinergic interneurons in both the medial shell of the nucleus accumbens and the lateral dorsal striatum. Glutamate markers in dopamine neurons reach peak levels during embryonic development and increase in response to various toxins, suggesting dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission may serve neuroprotective roles. Findings from behavioral analyses reveal prominent roles for dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission in responses to psychostimulants, in positive valence and cognitive systems and for subtle roles in negative valence systems. Insight into dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission informs the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders such as addiction, schizophrenia and Parkinson Disease, with therapeutic implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Eskenazi
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, United States
| | - Lauren Malave
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, United States
| | - Susana Mingote
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, United States
- Neuroscience Initiative, Advanced Science Research Center, Graduate Center of The City University of New York, New York, NY, United States
| | - Leora Yetnikoff
- Department of Psychology, College of Staten Island, City University of New York, Staten Island, NY, United States
- CUNY Neuroscience Collaborative, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, United States
| | - Samira Ztaou
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, United States
| | - Vlad Velicu
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, United States
| | - Stephen Rayport
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, United States
| | - Nao Chuhma
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, United States
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14
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Ragu Varman D, Subler MA, Windle JJ, Jayanthi LD, Ramamoorthy S. Novelty-induced hyperactivity and suppressed cocaine induced locomotor activation in mice lacking threonine 53 phosphorylation of dopamine transporter. Behav Brain Res 2021; 408:113267. [PMID: 33794225 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2020] [Revised: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Dopamine (DA) transporter (DAT) is dynamically regulated by several protein kinases and the Thr53 phosphorylation of DAT (pT53-DAT) is documented in heterologous cell models and in rat brain. However, the role of endogenous pT53-DAT in living animals has never been addressed. Here we generated and studied the pT53-lacking DAT mouse model (DAT-Ala53) by CRISPR/Cas9 technology. DAT-Ala53 mice showed normal growth, body weight, body temperature, grip strength, and sucrose preference while pT53-DAT was completely absent. However, DAT-Ala53 mice showed hyperlocomotion, pronounced vertical exploratory behavior, and stereotypy in a novel environment compared to wild-type littermates (WT). DAT-Ala53 mice displayed unaltered levels of monoamines, glutamate, and GABA in the striatum compared to WT. There were also no significant differences between DAT-Ala53 mice and WT in tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and phospho-TH levels, or in total and surface DAT levels, or in DA-transport kinetic parameters Vmax and Km. Immunohistochemical and colocalization analyses of TH and DAT in caudate-putamen and nucleus accumbens revealed no significant differences between DAT-Ala53 and WT mice. Interestingly, cocaine's potency to inhibit striatal DA transport and cocaine-induced locomotor activation were significantly reduced in the DAT-Ala53 mice. Also, ERK1/2 inhibitors completely failed to inhibit striatal DA uptake in DAT-Ala53 mice. Collectively, our findings reveal that the mice lacking pT53-DAT display novelty-induced hyperactive phenotype despite having normal transporter protein expression, DA-transport kinetics and DA-linked markers. The results also reveal that the lack of endogenous pT53-DAT renders DAT resistant to ERK1/2 inhibition and also less susceptible to cocaine inhibition and cocaine-evoked locomotor stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Durairaj Ragu Varman
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA
| | - Mark A Subler
- Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA
| | - Jolene J Windle
- Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA
| | - Lankupalle D Jayanthi
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA
| | - Sammanda Ramamoorthy
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA.
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15
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Fischer KD, Knackstedt LA, Rosenberg PA. Glutamate homeostasis and dopamine signaling: Implications for psychostimulant addiction behavior. Neurochem Int 2021; 144:104896. [PMID: 33159978 PMCID: PMC8489281 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2020.104896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Revised: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 10/31/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Cocaine, amphetamine, and methamphetamine abuse disorders are serious worldwide health problems. To date, there are no FDA-approved medications for the treatment of these disorders. Elucidation of the biochemical underpinnings contributing to psychostimulant addiction is critical for the development of effective therapies. Excitatory signaling and glutamate homeostasis are well known pathophysiological substrates underlying addiction-related behaviors spanning multiple types of psychostimulants. To alleviate relapse behavior to psychostimulants, considerable interest has focused on GLT-1, the major glutamate transporter in the brain. While many brain regions are implicated in addiction behavior, this review focuses on two regions well known for their role in mediating the effects of cocaine and amphetamines, namely the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA). In addition, because many investigators have utilized Cre-driver lines to selectively control gene expression in defined cell populations relevant for psychostimulant addiction, we discuss potential off-target effects of Cre-recombinase that should be considered in the design and interpretation of such experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn D Fischer
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.
| | - Lori A Knackstedt
- Psychology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Paul A Rosenberg
- Department of Neurology, F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA; Program in Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
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16
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Deletion of VGLUT2 in midbrain dopamine neurons attenuates dopamine and glutamate responses to methamphetamine in mice. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2021; 202:173104. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2021.173104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Revised: 12/19/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
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17
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Steinkellner T, Madany M, Haberl MG, Zell V, Li C, Hu J, Mackey M, Ramachandra R, Adams S, Ellisman MH, Hnasko TS, Boassa D. Genetic Probe for Visualizing Glutamatergic Synapses and Vesicles by 3D Electron Microscopy. ACS Chem Neurosci 2021; 12:626-639. [PMID: 33522227 PMCID: PMC7899175 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.0c00643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Communication between neurons relies on the release of diverse neurotransmitters, which represent a key-defining feature of a neuron's chemical and functional identity. Neurotransmitters are packaged into vesicles by specific vesicular transporters. However, tools for labeling and imaging synapses and synaptic vesicles based on their neurochemical identity remain limited. We developed a genetically encoded probe to identify glutamatergic synaptic vesicles at the levels of both light and electron microscopy (EM) by fusing the mini singlet oxygen generator (miniSOG) probe to an intralumenal loop of the vesicular glutamate transporter-2. We then used a 3D imaging method, serial block-face scanning EM, combined with a deep learning approach for automatic segmentation of labeled synaptic vesicles to assess the subcellular distribution of transporter-defined vesicles at nanometer scale. These tools represent a new resource for accessing the subcellular structure and molecular machinery of neurotransmission and for transmitter-defined tracing of neuronal connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Steinkellner
- Department of Neurosciences, University
of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United
States
- Institute of Pharmacology, Center for Physiology and
Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna 1090,
Austria
| | - Matthew Madany
- Department of Neurosciences, University
of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United
States
- Center for Research in Biological Systems, National
Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, University of California, San
Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Matthias G. Haberl
- Department of Neurosciences, University
of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United
States
- Center for Research in Biological Systems, National
Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, University of California, San
Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Charité−Universitätsmedizin
Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität
zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Neuroscience Research Center,
Berlin 10117, Germany
| | - Vivien Zell
- Department of Neurosciences, University
of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United
States
| | - Carolina Li
- Center for Research in Biological Systems, National
Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, University of California, San
Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Junru Hu
- Department of Neurosciences, University
of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United
States
- Center for Research in Biological Systems, National
Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, University of California, San
Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Mason Mackey
- Department of Neurosciences, University
of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United
States
- Center for Research in Biological Systems, National
Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, University of California, San
Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Ranjan Ramachandra
- Department of Neurosciences, University
of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United
States
- Center for Research in Biological Systems, National
Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, University of California, San
Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Stephen Adams
- Department of Pharmacology, University of
California, San Diego, La Jolla California 92093, United
States
| | - Mark H. Ellisman
- Department of Neurosciences, University
of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United
States
- Center for Research in Biological Systems, National
Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, University of California, San
Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Thomas S. Hnasko
- Department of Neurosciences, University
of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United
States
- Research Service, VA San Diego Healthcare
System, San Diego, California 92161, United
States
| | - Daniela Boassa
- Department of Neurosciences, University
of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United
States
- Center for Research in Biological Systems, National
Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, University of California, San
Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
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18
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Costa KM, Schenkel D, Roeper J. Sex-dependent alterations in behavior, drug responses and dopamine transporter expression in heterozygous DAT-Cre mice. Sci Rep 2021; 11:3334. [PMID: 33558587 PMCID: PMC7870653 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-82600-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2019] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Heterozygous mice that express Cre-recombinase under the dopamine transporter promoter (DAT-Cre knock in mice, or KI) are widely used for targeting midbrain dopamine neurons, under the assumption that their constitutive physiology is not affected. We report here that these mice display striking sex-dependent behavioral and molecular differences in relation to wildtypes (WT). Male and female KI mice were constitutively hyperactive, and male KI mice showed attenuated hyperlocomotor responses to amphetamine. In contrast, female KIs displayed a marked reduction in locomotion ("calming" effect) in response to the same dose of amphetamine. Furthermore, male and female DAT-Cre KI mice showed opposing differences in reinforcement learning, with females showing faster conditioning and males showing slower extinction. Other behavioral variables, including working memory and novelty preference, were not changed compared to WT. These effects were paralleled by differences in striatal DAT expression that disproportionately affected female KI mice. Our findings reveal clear limitations of the DAT-Cre line that must be considered when using this model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kauê Machado Costa
- grid.7839.50000 0004 1936 9721Institute of Neurophysiology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60596 Frankfurt am Main, Germany ,grid.94365.3d0000 0001 2297 5165Present Address: National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, 251 Bayview Blvd, Baltimore, MD 21224 USA
| | - Daniela Schenkel
- grid.7839.50000 0004 1936 9721Institute of Neurophysiology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60596 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Jochen Roeper
- grid.7839.50000 0004 1936 9721Institute of Neurophysiology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60596 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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19
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Zell V, Steinkellner T, Hollon NG, Warlow SM, Souter E, Faget L, Hunker AC, Jin X, Zweifel LS, Hnasko TS. VTA Glutamate Neuron Activity Drives Positive Reinforcement Absent Dopamine Co-release. Neuron 2020; 107:864-873.e4. [PMID: 32610039 PMCID: PMC7780844 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2019] [Revised: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 06/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Like ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine (DA) neurons, VTA glutamate neuron activity can support positive reinforcement. However, a subset of VTA neurons co-release DA and glutamate, and DA release might be responsible for behavioral reinforcement induced by VTA glutamate neuron activity. To test this, we used optogenetics to stimulate VTA glutamate neurons in which tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), and thus DA biosynthesis, was conditionally ablated using either floxed Th mice or viral-based CRISPR/Cas9. Both approaches led to loss of TH expression in VTA glutamate neurons and loss of DA release from their distal terminals in nucleus accumbens (NAc). Despite loss of the DA signal, optogenetic activation of VTA glutamate cell bodies or axon terminals in NAc was sufficient to support reinforcement. These results suggest that glutamate release from VTA is sufficient to promote reinforcement independent of concomitant DA co-release, establishing a non-DA mechanism by which VTA activity can support reward-seeking behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivien Zell
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Thomas Steinkellner
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Nick G Hollon
- Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Shelley M Warlow
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Elizabeth Souter
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Lauren Faget
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Avery C Hunker
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Xin Jin
- Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Larry S Zweifel
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Thomas S Hnasko
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Research Service VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA 92161, USA.
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20
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Buck SA, Torregrossa MM, Logan RW, Freyberg Z. Roles of dopamine and glutamate co-release in the nucleus accumbens in mediating the actions of drugs of abuse. FEBS J 2020; 288:1462-1474. [PMID: 32702182 DOI: 10.1111/febs.15496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2020] [Revised: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Projections of ventral tegmental area dopamine (DA) neurons to the medial shell of the nucleus accumbens have been increasingly implicated as integral to the behavioral and physiological changes involved in the development of substance use disorders (SUDs). Recently, many of these nucleus accumbens-projecting DA neurons were found to also release the neurotransmitter glutamate. This glutamate co-release from DA neurons is critical in mediating the effect of drugs of abuse on addiction-related behaviors. Potential mechanisms underlying the role(s) of dopamine/glutamate co-release in contributing to SUDs are unclear. Nevertheless, an important clue may relate to glutamate's ability to potentiate loading of DA into synaptic vesicles within terminals in the nucleus accumbens in response to drug-induced elevations in neuronal activity, enabling a more robust release of DA after stimulation. Here, we summarize how drugs of abuse, particularly cocaine, opioids, and alcohol, alter DA release in the nucleus accumbens medial shell, examine the potential role of DA/glutamate co-release in mediating these effects, and discuss future directions for further investigating these mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silas A Buck
- Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Mary M Torregrossa
- Department of Psychiatry, Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Ryan W Logan
- Department of Psychiatry, Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Center for Systems Neurogenetics of Addiction, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA
| | - Zachary Freyberg
- Department of Psychiatry, Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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21
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Carpenter MD, Hu Q, Bond AM, Lombroso SI, Czarnecki KS, Lim CJ, Song H, Wimmer ME, Pierce RC, Heller EA. Nr4a1 suppresses cocaine-induced behavior via epigenetic regulation of homeostatic target genes. Nat Commun 2020; 11:504. [PMID: 31980629 PMCID: PMC6981219 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14331-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Endogenous homeostatic mechanisms can restore normal neuronal function following cocaine-induced neuroadaptations. Such mechanisms may be exploited to develop novel therapies for cocaine addiction, but a molecular target has not yet been identified. Here we profiled mouse gene expression during early and late cocaine abstinence to identify putative regulators of neural homeostasis. Cocaine activated the transcription factor, Nr4a1, and its target gene, Cartpt, a key molecule involved in dopamine metabolism. Sustained activation of Cartpt at late abstinence was coupled with depletion of the repressive histone modification, H3K27me3, and enrichment of activating marks, H3K27ac and H3K4me3. Using both CRISPR-mediated and small molecule Nr4a1 activation, we demonstrated the direct causal role of Nr4a1 in sustained activation of Cartpt and in attenuation of cocaine-evoked behavior. Our findings provide evidence that targeting abstinence-induced homeostatic gene expression is a potential therapeutic target in cocaine addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco D Carpenter
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Penn Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Qiwen Hu
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Penn Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Allison M Bond
- Penn Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Sonia I Lombroso
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Penn Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Kyle S Czarnecki
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Penn Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Carissa J Lim
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Hongjun Song
- Penn Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Mathieu E Wimmer
- Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Temple University, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19122, USA
| | - R Christopher Pierce
- Center for Nurobiology and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Heller
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
- Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
- Penn Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
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22
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Dumas S, Wallén-Mackenzie Å. Developmental Co-expression of Vglut2 and Nurr1 in a Mes-Di-Encephalic Continuum Preceeds Dopamine and Glutamate Neuron Specification. Front Cell Dev Biol 2019; 7:307. [PMID: 31850343 PMCID: PMC6892754 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2019.00307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2019] [Accepted: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons exist as several subtypes and are found in a heterogeneous environment including GABAergic and glutamatergic neurons as well as various types of co-releasing neurons. Developmental programs underlying this heterogeneity have remained elusive. In this study, combinatorial mRNA analysis was performed at stages when neuronal phenotypes are first specified. Vesicular transporters for dopamine and other monoamines (VMAT2), GABA (VIAAT), and glutamate (VGLUT2) were assessed by systematically applying fluorescent in situ hybridization through the mes-di-encephalon of the mouse embryo at embryonal days (E) 9.5–14.5. The results show that early differentiating dopamine neurons express the gene encoding VGLUT2 before onset of any dopaminergic markers. Prior to its down-regulation in maturing dopamine neurons, Vglut2 mRNA co-localizes extensively with Tyrosine hydroxylase (Th) and Nurr1, commonly used as markers for DA neurons. Further, Vglut2 and Nurr1 mRNAs are shown to overlap substantially in diencephalic neurons that maintain a glutamatergic phenotype. The results suggest that Vglut2/Nurr1-double positive cells give rise both to dopaminergic and glutamatergic neurons within the mes-di-encephalic area. Finally, analysis of markers representing subtypes of dopamine neurons, including the newly described NeuroD6 subtype, shows that certain subtype specifications arise early. Histological findings are outlined in the context of neuroanatomical concepts and the prosomeric model of brain development. The study contributes to the current decoding of the recently discovered heterogeneity among neurons residing along the cephalic flexure.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Åsa Wallén-Mackenzie
- Department of Organismal Biology, Unit of Comparative Physiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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23
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Bimpisidis Z, Wallén-Mackenzie Å. Neurocircuitry of Reward and Addiction: Potential Impact of Dopamine-Glutamate Co-release as Future Target in Substance Use Disorder. J Clin Med 2019; 8:E1887. [PMID: 31698743 PMCID: PMC6912639 DOI: 10.3390/jcm8111887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Revised: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 11/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Dopamine-glutamate co-release is a unique property of midbrain neurons primarily located in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Dopamine neurons of the VTA are important for behavioral regulation in response to rewarding substances, including natural rewards and addictive drugs. The impact of glutamate co-release on behaviors regulated by VTA dopamine neurons has been challenging to probe due to lack of selective methodology. However, several studies implementing conditional knockout and optogenetics technologies in transgenic mice have during the past decade pointed towards a role for glutamate co-release in multiple physiological and behavioral processes of importance to substance use and abuse. In this review, we discuss these studies to highlight findings that may be critical when considering mechanisms of importance for prevention and treatment of substance abuse.
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24
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Off-Target Effects in Transgenic Mice: Characterization of Dopamine Transporter (DAT)-Cre Transgenic Mouse Lines Exposes Multiple Non-Dopaminergic Neuronal Clusters Available for Selective Targeting within Limbic Neurocircuitry. eNeuro 2019; 6:ENEURO.0198-19.2019. [PMID: 31481399 PMCID: PMC6873162 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0198-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2019] [Revised: 08/20/2019] [Accepted: 08/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Transgenic mouse lines are instrumental in our attempt to understand brain function. Promoters driving transgenic expression of the gene encoding Cre recombinase are crucial to ensure selectivity in Cre-mediated targeting of floxed alleles using the Cre-Lox system. For the study of dopamine (DA) neurons, promoter sequences driving expression of the Dopamine transporter (Dat) gene are often implemented and several DAT-Cre transgenic mouse lines have been found to faithfully direct Cre activity to DA neurons. While evaluating an established DAT-Cre mouse line, reporter gene expression was unexpectedly identified in cell somas within the amygdala. To indiscriminately explore Cre activity in DAT-Cre transgenic lines, systematic whole-brain analysis of two DAT-Cre mouse lines was performed upon recombination with different types of floxed reporter alleles. Results were compared with data available from the Allen Institute for Brain Science. The results identified restricted DAT-Cre-driven reporter gene expression in cell clusters within several limbic areas, including amygdaloid and mammillary subnuclei, septum and habenula, areas classically associated with glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmission. While no Dat gene expression was detected, ample co-localization between DAT-Cre-driven reporter and markers for glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons was found. Upon viral injection of a fluorescent reporter into the amygdala and habenula, distinct projections from non-dopaminergic DAT-Cre neurons could be distinguished. The study demonstrates that DAT-Cre transgenic mice, beyond their usefulness in recombination of floxed alleles in DA neurons, could be implemented as tools to achieve selective targeting in restricted excitatory and inhibitory neuronal populations within the limbic neurocircuitry.
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25
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Maloney SE, Rieger MA, Al-Hasani R, Bruchas MR, Wozniak DF, Dougherty JD. Loss of CELF6 RNA binding protein impairs cocaine conditioned place preference and contextual fear conditioning. GENES, BRAIN, AND BEHAVIOR 2019; 18:e12593. [PMID: 31215739 PMCID: PMC7059558 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Revised: 05/13/2019] [Accepted: 06/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
In addition to gene expression differences in distinct cell types, there is substantial post-transcriptional regulation driven in part by RNA binding proteins (RBPs). Loss-of-function RBP mutations have been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Fragile-X syndrome and syndromic autism. Work performed in animal models to elucidate the influence of neurodevelopmental disorder-associated RBPs on distinct behaviors has showed a connection between normal post-transcriptional regulation and conditioned learning. We previously reported cognitive inflexibility in a mouse model null for the RBP CUG-BP, Elav-like factor 6 (CELF6), which we also found to be associated with human autism. Specifically, these mice failed to potentiate exploratory hole-poking behavior in response to familiarization to a rewarding stimuli. Characterization of Celf6 gene expression showed high levels in monoaminergic populations such as the dopaminergic midbrain populations. To better understand the underlying behavioral disruption mediating the resistance to change exploratory behavior in the holeboard task, we tested three hypotheses: Does Celf6 loss lead to global restricted patterns of behavior, failure of immediate response to reward or failure to alter behavior in response to reward (conditioning). We found the acute response to reward was intact, yet Celf6 mutant mice exhibited impaired conditioned learning to both reward and aversive stimuli. Thus, we found that the resistance to change by the Celf6 mutant in the holeboard was most parsimoniously explained as a failure of conditioning, as the mice had blunted responses even to potent rewarding stimuli such as cocaine. These findings further support the role of RBPs in conditioned learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan E. Maloney
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Michael A. Rieger
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Ream Al-Hasani
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Michael R. Bruchas
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - David F. Wozniak
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Joseph D. Dougherty
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
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26
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Vrettou M, Nilsson KW, Tuvblad C, Rehn M, Åslund C, Andershed AK, Wallén-Mackenzie Å, Andershed H, Hodgins S, Nylander I, Comasco E. VGLUT2 rs2290045 genotype moderates environmental sensitivity to alcohol-related problems in three samples of youths. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2019; 28:1329-1340. [PMID: 30805764 PMCID: PMC6785645 DOI: 10.1007/s00787-019-01293-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 02/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The importance of Vesicular Glutamate Transporter 2 (VGLUT2)-mediated neurotransmission has been highlighted in studies on addiction-related phenotypes. The single nucleotide polymorphism rs2290045 in VGLUT2 has been associated with alcohol dependence, but it is unknown whether or how this association is affected by environmental factors. The present study determined whether the association of alcohol-related problems with the rs2290045 in the VGLUT2 gene was modified by negative and positive environmental factors. Three samples were included: a clinical sample of 131 adolescents followed from age 17 to 22; a general population sample of 1794 young adults; and a general population sample of 1687 adolescents followed from age 14 to 17. DNA was extracted from saliva and the rs2290045 (T/C) was genotyped. Alcohol-related problems were assessed using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Stressful life events (SLE) and parenting were assessed by questionnaires. Gene-environment interactions were investigated using a dual statistical approach. In all samples (effect sizes 0.6-6.2%), and consistent with the differential susceptibility framework, T carriers exposed to SLE reported more alcohol-related problems if they had experienced poor parenting, and lower alcohol-related problems if they had received supportive parenting. T carriers not exposed to SLE reported higher alcohol-related problems if they had received supportive parenting and lower alcohol-related problems if they had received poor parenting. Among CC carriers, alcohol-related problems did not vary as a function of negative and positive environmental factors. In conclusion, in three samples of youths, alcohol-related problems were associated with an interaction of VGLUT2 rs2290045, SLE, and parenting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Vrettou
- grid.8993.b0000 0004 1936 9457Department of Neuroscience, Science for Life Laboratory, BMC, Uppsala University, Box 593, 751 24 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Kent W. Nilsson
- grid.8993.b0000 0004 1936 9457Centre for Clinical Research Västerås, Västmanland County Hospital Västerås, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Catherine Tuvblad
- grid.15895.300000 0001 0738 8966School of Law, Psychology and Social Work, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden ,grid.42505.360000 0001 2156 6853Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Mattias Rehn
- grid.8993.b0000 0004 1936 9457Centre for Clinical Research Västerås, Västmanland County Hospital Västerås, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Cecilia Åslund
- grid.8993.b0000 0004 1936 9457Centre for Clinical Research Västerås, Västmanland County Hospital Västerås, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anna-Karin Andershed
- grid.15895.300000 0001 0738 8966School of Law, Psychology and Social Work, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
| | - Åsa Wallén-Mackenzie
- grid.8993.b0000 0004 1936 9457Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Henrik Andershed
- grid.15895.300000 0001 0738 8966School of Law, Psychology and Social Work, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
| | - Sheilagh Hodgins
- grid.4714.60000 0004 1937 0626Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden ,grid.14848.310000 0001 2292 3357Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Ingrid Nylander
- grid.8993.b0000 0004 1936 9457Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Erika Comasco
- Department of Neuroscience, Science for Life Laboratory, BMC, Uppsala University, Box 593, 751 24, Uppsala, Sweden.
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27
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Trudeau LE, El Mestikawy S. Glutamate Cotransmission in Cholinergic, GABAergic and Monoamine Systems: Contrasts and Commonalities. Front Neural Circuits 2018; 12:113. [PMID: 30618649 PMCID: PMC6305298 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2018.00113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2018] [Accepted: 12/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Multiple discoveries made since the identification of vesicular glutamate transporters (VGLUTs) two decades ago revealed that many neuronal populations in the brain use glutamate in addition to their "primary" neurotransmitter. Such a mode of cotransmission has been detected in dopamine (DA), acetylcholine (ACh), serotonin (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE) and surprisingly even in GABA neurons. Interestingly, work performed by multiple groups during the past decade suggests that the use of glutamate as a cotransmitter takes different forms in these different populations of neurons. In the present review, we will provide an overview of glutamate cotransmission in these different classes of neurons, highlighting puzzling differences in: (1) the proportion of such neurons expressing a VGLUT in different brain regions and at different stages of development; (2) the sub-cellular localization of the VGLUT; (3) the localization of the VGLUT in relation to the neurons' other vesicular transporter; and (4) the functional role of glutamate cotransmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louis-Eric Trudeau
- CNS Research Group, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Department of Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Salah El Mestikawy
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie UM 119-CNRS UMR 8246-INSERM U1130, Neurosciences Paris Seine-Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS-IBPS), Paris, France
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28
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Genetic deletion of vesicular glutamate transporter in dopamine neurons increases vulnerability to MPTP-induced neurotoxicity in mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:E11532-E11541. [PMID: 30442663 PMCID: PMC6298109 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1800886115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
A subset of midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons express vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VgluT2), which facilitates synaptic vesicle loading of glutamate. Recent studies indicate that such expression can modulate DA-dependent reward behaviors, but little is known about functional consequences of DA neuron VgluT2 expression in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease (PD). Here, we report that selective deletion of VgluT2 in DA neurons in conditional VgluT2-KO (VgluT2-cKO) mice abolished glutamate release from DA neurons, reduced their expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tyrosine receptor kinase B (TrkB), and exacerbated the pathological effects of exposure to the neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). Furthermore, viral rescue of VgluT2 expression in DA neurons of VglutT2-cKO mice restored BDNF/TrkB expression and attenuated MPTP-induced DA neuron loss and locomotor impairment. Together, these findings indicate that VgluT2 expression in DA neurons is neuroprotective. Genetic or environmental factors causing reduced expression or function of VgluT2 in DA neurons may place some individuals at increased risk for DA neuron degeneration. Therefore, maintaining physiological expression and function of VgluT2 in DA neurons may represent a valid molecular target for the development of preventive therapeutic interventions for PD.
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29
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PKMζ in the nucleus accumbens acts to dampen cocaine seeking. Neuropsychopharmacology 2018; 43:2390-2398. [PMID: 30111812 PMCID: PMC6180118 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0170-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2018] [Revised: 07/23/2018] [Accepted: 07/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The constitutively active, atypical protein kinase C, protein kinase M-ζ (PKMζ), is exclusively expressed in the brain and its expression increases following exposure to drugs of abuse. However, the limitations of currently available tools have made it difficult to examine the role of PKMζ in cocaine self-administration and relapse. The current study demonstrates that constitutive deletion of PKMζ potentiates cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking and increases both food and cocaine self-administration, without affecting cue-driven food seeking in both male and female mice. Conditional deletion of PKMζ within the nucleus accumbens recapitulated the increase in cocaine taking and seeking seen in the constitutive knockout mice, but only in male animals. Site-specific knockdown of PKMζ in the nucleus accumbens had no effect on cocaine taking or seeking in female mice. Additionally, neither male nor female mice exhibited any alterations in food self-administration or cue-induced reinstatement of food seeking following accumbal deletion of PKMζ. Taken together these results indicate that PKMζ may act to dampen cocaine taking and seeking. Furthermore, these results indicate that PKMζ is playing divergent roles in reward seeking in males and females.
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30
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Papathanou M, Creed M, Dorst MC, Bimpisidis Z, Dumas S, Pettersson H, Bellone C, Silberberg G, Lüscher C, Wallén-Mackenzie Å. Targeting VGLUT2 in Mature Dopamine Neurons Decreases Mesoaccumbal Glutamatergic Transmission and Identifies a Role for Glutamate Co-release in Synaptic Plasticity by Increasing Baseline AMPA/NMDA Ratio. Front Neural Circuits 2018; 12:64. [PMID: 30210305 PMCID: PMC6123381 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2018.00064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2018] [Accepted: 07/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Expression of the Vglut2/Slc17a6 gene encoding the Vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGLUT2) in midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons enables these neurons to co-release glutamate in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a feature of putative importance to drug addiction. For example, it has been shown that conditional deletion of Vglut2 gene expression within developing DA neurons in mice causes altered locomotor sensitization to addictive drugs, such as amphetamine and cocaine, in adulthood. Alterations in DA neurotransmission in the mesoaccumbal pathway has been proposed to contribute to these behavioral alterations but the underlying molecular mechanism remains largely elusive. Repeated exposure to cocaine is known to cause lasting adaptations of excitatory synaptic transmission onto medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in the NAc, but the putative contribution of VGLUT2-mediated glutamate co-release from the mesoaccumbal projection has never been investigated. In this study, we implemented a tamoxifen-inducible Cre-LoxP strategy to selectively probe VGLUT2 in mature DA neurons of adult mice. Optogenetics-coupled patch clamp analysis in the NAc demonstrated a significant reduction of glutamatergic neurotransmission, whilst behavioral analysis revealed a normal locomotor sensitization to amphetamine and cocaine. When investigating if the reduced level of glutamate co-release from DA neurons caused a detectable post-synaptic effect on MSNs, patch clamp analysis identified an enhanced baseline AMPA/NMDA ratio in DA receptor subtype 1 (DRD1)-expressing accumbal MSNs which occluded the effect of cocaine on synaptic transmission. We conclude that VGLUT2 in mature DA neurons actively contributes to glutamatergic neurotransmission in the NAc, a finding which for the first time highlights VGLUT2-mediated glutamate co-release in the complex mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in drug addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Papathanou
- Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Meaghan Creed
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Matthijs C Dorst
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet (KI), Solna, Sweden
| | - Zisis Bimpisidis
- Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Hanna Pettersson
- Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Camilla Bellone
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Gilad Silberberg
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet (KI), Solna, Sweden
| | - Christian Lüscher
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Service of Neurology, Geneva University Hospital (HUG), Geneva, Switzerland
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31
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Pérez-López JL, Contreras-López R, Ramírez-Jarquín JO, Tecuapetla F. Direct Glutamatergic Signaling From Midbrain Dopaminergic Neurons Onto Pyramidal Prefrontal Cortex Neurons. Front Neural Circuits 2018; 12:70. [PMID: 30210308 PMCID: PMC6123373 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2018.00070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2018] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The dopaminergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) have been identified with the ability to co-release dopamine and glutamate. This ability was first documented in the nucleus accumbens but showed to be absent in the dorsal striatum. Recently the ability to release glutamate from a subpopulation of the VTA dopaminergic neurons has been shown to control the prefrontal cortex (PFC) excitation through the exclusive innervation of GABAergic fast spiking interneurons. Here, using an optogenetic approach, we expand this view by presenting that the VTA dopaminergic neurons do not only innervate interneurons but also pyramidal PFC neurons. This finding opens the range of possibilities for the VTA dopaminergic neurons to modulate the activity of PFC.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Luis Pérez-López
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular (IFC), Neuropatología Molecular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Rubén Contreras-López
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular (IFC), Neuropatología Molecular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Josué O Ramírez-Jarquín
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular (IFC), Neuropatología Molecular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Fatuel Tecuapetla
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular (IFC), Neuropatología Molecular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
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32
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Fortin GM, Ducrot C, Giguère N, Kouwenhoven WM, Bourque MJ, Pacelli C, Varaschin RK, Brill M, Singh S, Wiseman PW, Trudeau LÉ. Segregation of dopamine and glutamate release sites in dopamine neuron axons: regulation by striatal target cells. FASEB J 2018; 33:400-417. [PMID: 30011230 DOI: 10.1096/fj.201800713rr] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Dopamine (DA) is a key regulator of circuits controlling movement and motivation. A subset of midbrain DA neurons has been shown to express the vesicular glutamate transporter (VGLUT)2, underlying their capacity for glutamate release. Glutamate release is found mainly by DA neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and can be detected at terminals contacting ventral, but not dorsal, striatal neurons, suggesting the possibility that target-derived signals regulate the neurotransmitter phenotype of DA neurons. Whether glutamate can be released from the same terminals that release DA or from a special subset of axon terminals is unclear. Here, we provide in vitro and in vivo data supporting the hypothesis that DA and glutamate-releasing terminals in mice are mostly segregated and that striatal neurons regulate the cophenotype of midbrain DA neurons and the segregation of release sites. Our work unveils a fundamental feature of dual neurotransmission and plasticity of the DA system.-Fortin, G. M., Ducrot, C., Giguère, N., Kouwenhoven, W. M., Bourque, M.-J., Pacelli, C., Varaschin, R. K., Brill, M., Singh, S., Wiseman, P. W., Trudeau, L.-E. Segregation of dopamine and glutamate release sites in dopamine neuron axons: regulation by striatal target cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume M Fortin
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Charles Ducrot
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.,Department of Neurosciences, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Nicolas Giguère
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.,Department of Neurosciences, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | | | - Marie-Josée Bourque
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Consiglia Pacelli
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | | | - Marion Brill
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Sherdeep Singh
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; and
| | - Paul W Wiseman
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; and
| | - Louis-Éric Trudeau
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.,Department of Neurosciences, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Groupe de Recherche sur le Système Nerveux Central, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
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33
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Burke SJ, Batdorf HM, Martin TM, Burk DH, Noland RC, Cooley CR, Karlstad MD, Johnson WD, Collier JJ. Liquid Sucrose Consumption Promotes Obesity and Impairs Glucose Tolerance Without Altering Circulating Insulin Levels. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2018; 26:1188-1196. [PMID: 29901267 PMCID: PMC6014929 DOI: 10.1002/oby.22217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2018] [Revised: 04/26/2018] [Accepted: 04/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Multiple factors contribute to the rising rates of obesity and to difficulties in weight reduction that exist in the worldwide population. Caloric intake via sugar-sweetened beverages may be influential. This study tested the hypothesis that liquid sucrose intake promotes obesity by increasing serum insulin levels and tissue lipid accumulation. METHODS C57BL/6J mice were given 30% sucrose in liquid form. Changes in weight gain, body composition, energy expenditure (EE), and tissue lipid content were measured. RESULTS Mice drinking sucrose gained more total body mass (TBM), had greater fat mass, and displayed impaired glucose tolerance relative to control mice. These metabolic changes occurred without alterations in circulating insulin levels and despite increases in whole body EE. Lipid accrued in liver, but not skeletal muscle, of sucrose-consuming mice. Oxygen consumption (VO2 ) correlated with fat-free mass and moderately with TBM, but not with fat mass. ANCOVA for treatment effects on EE, with TBM, VO2 , lean body mass, and fat-free mass taken as potential covariates for EE, revealed VO2 as the most significant correlation. CONCLUSIONS Weight gain induced by intake of liquid sucrose in mice is associated with lipid accrual in liver, but not skeletal muscle, and occurs without an increase in circulating insulin.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - David H. Burk
- Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA
| | | | - Christopher R. Cooley
- Department of Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Knoxville, TN
| | - Michael D. Karlstad
- Department of Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Knoxville, TN
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34
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Lee PC, Ahmed I, Loriot MA, Mulot C, Paul KC, Bronstein JM, Ritz B, Elbaz A. Smoking and Parkinson disease: Evidence for gene-by-smoking interactions. Neurology 2018; 90:e583-e592. [PMID: 29352099 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000004953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2017] [Accepted: 10/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate whether cigarette smoking interacts with genes involved in individual susceptibility to xenobiotics for the risk of Parkinson disease (PD). METHODS Two French population-based case-control studies (513 patients, 1,147 controls) were included as a discovery sample to examine gene-smoking interactions based on 3,179 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 289 genes involved in individual susceptibility to xenobiotics. SNP-by-cigarette smoking interactions were tested in the discovery sample through an empirical Bayes (EB) approach. Nine SNPs were selected for replication in a population-based case-control study from California (410 patients, 845 controls) with standard logistic regression and the EB approach. For SNPs that replicated, we performed pooled analyses including the discovery and replication datasets and computed pooled odds ratios and confidence intervals (CIs) using random-effects meta-analysis. RESULTS Nine SNPs interacted with smoking in the discovery dataset and were selected for replication. Interactions of smoking with rs4240705 in the RXRA gene and rs1900586 in the SLC17A6 gene were replicated. In pooled analyses (logistic regression), the interactions between smoking and rs4240705-G and rs1900586-G were 1.66 (95% CI 1.28-2.14, p = 1.1 × 10-4, p for heterogeneity = 0.366) and 1.61 (95% CI 1.17-2.21, p = 0.003, p for heterogeneity = 0.616), respectively. For both SNPs, while smoking was significantly less frequent in patients than controls in AA homozygotes, this inverse association disappeared in G allele carriers. CONCLUSIONS We identified and replicated suggestive gene-by-smoking interactions in PD. The inverse association of smoking with PD was less pronounced in carriers of minor alleles of both RXRA-rs4240705 and SLC17A6-rs1900586. These findings may help identify biological pathways involved in the inverse association between smoking and PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei-Chen Lee
- From the Department of Health Care Management (P.-C.L.), College of Health Technology, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taiwan; Biostatistics, Biomathematics, Pharmacoepidemiology and Infectious Diseases (I.A.), INSERM, UVSQ, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris-Saclay, Villejuif; Assistance-Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (M.-A.L.), Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Biochimie, Pharmacogénétique et Oncologie Moléculaire; INSERM UMR-S 1147 (C.M.), CRB EPIGENETEC, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France; Departments of Epidemiology (K.C.P., B.R.) and Environmental Health (J.M.B., B.R.), Fielding School of Public Health, and Department of Neurology (J.M.B., B.R.), Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles; and Université Paris-Saclay (A.E.), Université Paris-Sud, UVSQ, CESP, INSERM, Villejuif, France
| | - Ismaïl Ahmed
- From the Department of Health Care Management (P.-C.L.), College of Health Technology, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taiwan; Biostatistics, Biomathematics, Pharmacoepidemiology and Infectious Diseases (I.A.), INSERM, UVSQ, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris-Saclay, Villejuif; Assistance-Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (M.-A.L.), Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Biochimie, Pharmacogénétique et Oncologie Moléculaire; INSERM UMR-S 1147 (C.M.), CRB EPIGENETEC, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France; Departments of Epidemiology (K.C.P., B.R.) and Environmental Health (J.M.B., B.R.), Fielding School of Public Health, and Department of Neurology (J.M.B., B.R.), Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles; and Université Paris-Saclay (A.E.), Université Paris-Sud, UVSQ, CESP, INSERM, Villejuif, France
| | - Marie-Anne Loriot
- From the Department of Health Care Management (P.-C.L.), College of Health Technology, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taiwan; Biostatistics, Biomathematics, Pharmacoepidemiology and Infectious Diseases (I.A.), INSERM, UVSQ, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris-Saclay, Villejuif; Assistance-Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (M.-A.L.), Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Biochimie, Pharmacogénétique et Oncologie Moléculaire; INSERM UMR-S 1147 (C.M.), CRB EPIGENETEC, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France; Departments of Epidemiology (K.C.P., B.R.) and Environmental Health (J.M.B., B.R.), Fielding School of Public Health, and Department of Neurology (J.M.B., B.R.), Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles; and Université Paris-Saclay (A.E.), Université Paris-Sud, UVSQ, CESP, INSERM, Villejuif, France
| | - Claire Mulot
- From the Department of Health Care Management (P.-C.L.), College of Health Technology, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taiwan; Biostatistics, Biomathematics, Pharmacoepidemiology and Infectious Diseases (I.A.), INSERM, UVSQ, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris-Saclay, Villejuif; Assistance-Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (M.-A.L.), Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Biochimie, Pharmacogénétique et Oncologie Moléculaire; INSERM UMR-S 1147 (C.M.), CRB EPIGENETEC, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France; Departments of Epidemiology (K.C.P., B.R.) and Environmental Health (J.M.B., B.R.), Fielding School of Public Health, and Department of Neurology (J.M.B., B.R.), Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles; and Université Paris-Saclay (A.E.), Université Paris-Sud, UVSQ, CESP, INSERM, Villejuif, France
| | - Kimberly C Paul
- From the Department of Health Care Management (P.-C.L.), College of Health Technology, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taiwan; Biostatistics, Biomathematics, Pharmacoepidemiology and Infectious Diseases (I.A.), INSERM, UVSQ, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris-Saclay, Villejuif; Assistance-Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (M.-A.L.), Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Biochimie, Pharmacogénétique et Oncologie Moléculaire; INSERM UMR-S 1147 (C.M.), CRB EPIGENETEC, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France; Departments of Epidemiology (K.C.P., B.R.) and Environmental Health (J.M.B., B.R.), Fielding School of Public Health, and Department of Neurology (J.M.B., B.R.), Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles; and Université Paris-Saclay (A.E.), Université Paris-Sud, UVSQ, CESP, INSERM, Villejuif, France
| | - Jeff M Bronstein
- From the Department of Health Care Management (P.-C.L.), College of Health Technology, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taiwan; Biostatistics, Biomathematics, Pharmacoepidemiology and Infectious Diseases (I.A.), INSERM, UVSQ, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris-Saclay, Villejuif; Assistance-Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (M.-A.L.), Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Biochimie, Pharmacogénétique et Oncologie Moléculaire; INSERM UMR-S 1147 (C.M.), CRB EPIGENETEC, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France; Departments of Epidemiology (K.C.P., B.R.) and Environmental Health (J.M.B., B.R.), Fielding School of Public Health, and Department of Neurology (J.M.B., B.R.), Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles; and Université Paris-Saclay (A.E.), Université Paris-Sud, UVSQ, CESP, INSERM, Villejuif, France
| | - Beate Ritz
- From the Department of Health Care Management (P.-C.L.), College of Health Technology, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taiwan; Biostatistics, Biomathematics, Pharmacoepidemiology and Infectious Diseases (I.A.), INSERM, UVSQ, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris-Saclay, Villejuif; Assistance-Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (M.-A.L.), Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Biochimie, Pharmacogénétique et Oncologie Moléculaire; INSERM UMR-S 1147 (C.M.), CRB EPIGENETEC, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France; Departments of Epidemiology (K.C.P., B.R.) and Environmental Health (J.M.B., B.R.), Fielding School of Public Health, and Department of Neurology (J.M.B., B.R.), Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles; and Université Paris-Saclay (A.E.), Université Paris-Sud, UVSQ, CESP, INSERM, Villejuif, France
| | - Alexis Elbaz
- From the Department of Health Care Management (P.-C.L.), College of Health Technology, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taiwan; Biostatistics, Biomathematics, Pharmacoepidemiology and Infectious Diseases (I.A.), INSERM, UVSQ, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris-Saclay, Villejuif; Assistance-Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (M.-A.L.), Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Biochimie, Pharmacogénétique et Oncologie Moléculaire; INSERM UMR-S 1147 (C.M.), CRB EPIGENETEC, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France; Departments of Epidemiology (K.C.P., B.R.) and Environmental Health (J.M.B., B.R.), Fielding School of Public Health, and Department of Neurology (J.M.B., B.R.), Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles; and Université Paris-Saclay (A.E.), Université Paris-Sud, UVSQ, CESP, INSERM, Villejuif, France.
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35
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Wang DV, Viereckel T, Zell V, Konradsson-Geuken Å, Broker CJ, Talishinsky A, Yoo JH, Galinato MH, Arvidsson E, Kesner AJ, Hnasko TS, Wallén-Mackenzie Å, Ikemoto S. Disrupting Glutamate Co-transmission Does Not Affect Acquisition of Conditioned Behavior Reinforced by Dopamine Neuron Activation. Cell Rep 2017; 18:2584-2591. [PMID: 28297663 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.02.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2016] [Revised: 01/12/2017] [Accepted: 02/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) were previously found to express vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGLUT2) and to co-transmit glutamate in the ventral striatum (VStr). This capacity may play an important role in reinforcement learning. Although it is known that activation of the VTA-VStr dopamine system readily reinforces behavior, little is known about the role of glutamate co-transmission in such reinforcement. By combining electrode recording and optogenetics, we found that stimulation of VTA dopamine neurons in vivo evoked fast excitatory responses in many VStr neurons of adult mice. Whereas conditional knockout of the gene encoding VGLUT2 in dopamine neurons largely eliminated fast excitatory responses, it had little effect on the acquisition of conditioned responses reinforced by dopamine neuron activation. Therefore, glutamate co-transmission appears dispensable for acquisition of conditioned responding reinforced by DA neuron activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong V Wang
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Thomas Viereckel
- Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Vivien Zell
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | | | - Carl J Broker
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Aleksandr Talishinsky
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Ji Hoon Yoo
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Melissa H Galinato
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Emma Arvidsson
- Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Andrew J Kesner
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Thomas S Hnasko
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | | | - Satoshi Ikemoto
- Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
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36
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Horváth HR, Fazekas CL, Balázsfi D, Jain SK, Haller J, Zelena D. Contribution of Vesicular Glutamate Transporters to Stress Response and Related Psychopathologies: Studies in VGluT3 Knockout Mice. Cell Mol Neurobiol 2017; 38:37-52. [PMID: 28776199 DOI: 10.1007/s10571-017-0528-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2017] [Accepted: 07/28/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Maintenance of the homeostasis in a constantly changing environment is a fundamental process of life. Disturbances of the homeostatic balance is defined as stress response and is induced by wide variety of challenges called stressors. Being the main excitatory neurotransmitter of the central nervous system glutamate is important in the adaptation process of stress regulating both the catecholaminergic system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. Data are accumulating about the role of different glutamatergic receptors at all levels of these axes, but little is known about the contribution of different vesicular glutamate transporters (VGluT1-3) characterizing the glutamatergic neurons. Here we summarize basic knowledge about VGluTs, their role in physiological regulation of stress adaptation, as well as their contribution to stress-related psychopathology. Most of our knowledge comes from the VGluT3 knockout mice, as VGluT1 and 2 knockouts are not viable. VGluT3 was discovered later than, and is not as widespread as the VGluT1 and 2. It may co-localize with other transmitters, and participate in retrograde signaling; as such its role might be unique. Previous reports using VGluT3 knockout mice showed enhanced anxiety and innate fear compared to wild type. Moreover, these knockout animals had enhanced resting corticotropin-releasing hormone mRNA levels in the hypothalamus and disturbed glucocorticoid stress responses. In conclusion, VGluT3 participates in stress adaptation regulation. The neuroendocrine changes observed in VGluT3 knockout mice may contribute to their anxious, fearful phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanga Réka Horváth
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 43, Szigony utca, Szigony 43, 1083, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Csilla Lea Fazekas
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 43, Szigony utca, Szigony 43, 1083, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Diána Balázsfi
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 43, Szigony utca, Szigony 43, 1083, Budapest, Hungary.,János Szentágothai School of Neurosciences, Semmelweis University, 26, Üllői út, 1085, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - József Haller
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 43, Szigony utca, Szigony 43, 1083, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Dóra Zelena
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 43, Szigony utca, Szigony 43, 1083, Budapest, Hungary. .,Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre, Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
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37
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Mingote S, Chuhma N, Kalmbach A, Thomsen GM, Wang Y, Mihali A, Sferrazza C, Zucker-Scharff I, Siena AC, Welch MG, Lizardi-Ortiz J, Sulzer D, Moore H, Gaisler-Salomon I, Rayport S. Dopamine neuron dependent behaviors mediated by glutamate cotransmission. eLife 2017; 6. [PMID: 28703706 PMCID: PMC5599237 DOI: 10.7554/elife.27566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2017] [Accepted: 07/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area use glutamate as a cotransmitter. To elucidate the behavioral role of the cotransmission, we targeted the glutamate-recycling enzyme glutaminase (gene Gls1). In mice with a dopamine transporter (Slc6a3)-driven conditional heterozygous (cHET) reduction of Gls1 in their dopamine neurons, dopamine neuron survival and transmission were unaffected, while glutamate cotransmission at phasic firing frequencies was reduced, enabling a selective focus on the cotransmission. The mice showed normal emotional and motor behaviors, and an unaffected response to acute amphetamine. Strikingly, amphetamine sensitization was reduced and latent inhibition potentiated. These behavioral effects, also seen in global GLS1 HETs with a schizophrenia resilience phenotype, were not seen in mice with an Emx1-driven forebrain reduction affecting most brain glutamatergic neurons. Thus, a reduction in dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission appears to mediate significant components of the GLS1 HET schizophrenia resilience phenotype, and glutamate cotransmission appears to be important in attribution of motivational salience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susana Mingote
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, United States.,Department of Molecular Therapeutics, NYS Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States
| | - Nao Chuhma
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, United States.,Department of Molecular Therapeutics, NYS Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States
| | - Abigail Kalmbach
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, United States.,Department of Molecular Therapeutics, NYS Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States
| | | | - Yvonne Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, United States
| | - Andra Mihali
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, United States
| | | | | | - Anna-Claire Siena
- Department of Molecular Therapeutics, NYS Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States
| | - Martha G Welch
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, United States.,Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, United States.,Department of Developmental Neuroscience, NYS Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States
| | | | - David Sulzer
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, United States.,Department of Molecular Therapeutics, NYS Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States.,Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, United States.,Department of Pharmacology, Columbia University, New York, United States
| | - Holly Moore
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, United States.,Department of Integrative Neuroscience, NYS Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States
| | - Inna Gaisler-Salomon
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, United States.,Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Stephen Rayport
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, United States.,Department of Molecular Therapeutics, NYS Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States
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38
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Scofield MD, Heinsbroek JA, Gipson CD, Kupchik YM, Spencer S, Smith ACW, Roberts-Wolfe D, Kalivas PW. The Nucleus Accumbens: Mechanisms of Addiction across Drug Classes Reflect the Importance of Glutamate Homeostasis. Pharmacol Rev 2017; 68:816-71. [PMID: 27363441 DOI: 10.1124/pr.116.012484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 358] [Impact Index Per Article: 51.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The nucleus accumbens is a major input structure of the basal ganglia and integrates information from cortical and limbic structures to mediate goal-directed behaviors. Chronic exposure to several classes of drugs of abuse disrupts plasticity in this region, allowing drug-associated cues to engender a pathologic motivation for drug seeking. A number of alterations in glutamatergic transmission occur within the nucleus accumbens after withdrawal from chronic drug exposure. These drug-induced neuroadaptations serve as the molecular basis for relapse vulnerability. In this review, we focus on the role that glutamate signal transduction in the nucleus accumbens plays in addiction-related behaviors. First, we explore the nucleus accumbens, including the cell types and neuronal populations present as well as afferent and efferent connections. Next we discuss rodent models of addiction and assess the viability of these models for testing candidate pharmacotherapies for the prevention of relapse. Then we provide a review of the literature describing how synaptic plasticity in the accumbens is altered after exposure to drugs of abuse and withdrawal and also how pharmacological manipulation of glutamate systems in the accumbens can inhibit drug seeking in the laboratory setting. Finally, we examine results from clinical trials in which pharmacotherapies designed to manipulate glutamate systems have been effective in treating relapse in human patients. Further elucidation of how drugs of abuse alter glutamatergic plasticity within the accumbens will be necessary for the development of new therapeutics for the treatment of addiction across all classes of addictive substances.
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Affiliation(s)
- M D Scofield
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina (M.D.S., J.A.H., S.S., D.R.-W., P.W.K.); Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (C.D.G.); Department of Neuroscience, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel (Y.M.K.); and Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York (A.C.W.S.)
| | - J A Heinsbroek
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina (M.D.S., J.A.H., S.S., D.R.-W., P.W.K.); Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (C.D.G.); Department of Neuroscience, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel (Y.M.K.); and Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York (A.C.W.S.)
| | - C D Gipson
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina (M.D.S., J.A.H., S.S., D.R.-W., P.W.K.); Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (C.D.G.); Department of Neuroscience, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel (Y.M.K.); and Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York (A.C.W.S.)
| | - Y M Kupchik
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina (M.D.S., J.A.H., S.S., D.R.-W., P.W.K.); Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (C.D.G.); Department of Neuroscience, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel (Y.M.K.); and Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York (A.C.W.S.)
| | - S Spencer
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina (M.D.S., J.A.H., S.S., D.R.-W., P.W.K.); Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (C.D.G.); Department of Neuroscience, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel (Y.M.K.); and Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York (A.C.W.S.)
| | - A C W Smith
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina (M.D.S., J.A.H., S.S., D.R.-W., P.W.K.); Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (C.D.G.); Department of Neuroscience, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel (Y.M.K.); and Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York (A.C.W.S.)
| | - D Roberts-Wolfe
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina (M.D.S., J.A.H., S.S., D.R.-W., P.W.K.); Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (C.D.G.); Department of Neuroscience, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel (Y.M.K.); and Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York (A.C.W.S.)
| | - P W Kalivas
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina (M.D.S., J.A.H., S.S., D.R.-W., P.W.K.); Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (C.D.G.); Department of Neuroscience, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel (Y.M.K.); and Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York (A.C.W.S.)
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39
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Vrettou M, Granholm L, Todkar A, Nilsson KW, Wallén-Mackenzie Å, Nylander I, Comasco E. Ethanol affects limbic and striatal presynaptic glutamatergic and DNA methylation gene expression in outbred rats exposed to early-life stress. Addict Biol 2017; 22:369-380. [PMID: 26610727 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2015] [Revised: 09/10/2015] [Accepted: 10/20/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder is the outcome of both genetic and environmental influences and their interaction via epigenetic mechanisms. The neurotransmitter glutamate is an important regulator of reward circuits and implicated in adaptive changes induced by ethanol intake. The present study aimed at investigating corticolimbic and corticostriatal genetic signatures focusing on the glutamatergic phenotype in relation to early-life stress (ELS) and consequent adult ethanol consumption. A rodent maternal separation model was employed to mimic ELS, and a free-choice paradigm was used to assess ethanol intake in adulthood. Gene expression levels of the Vesicular Glutamate Transporters (Vglut) 1, 2 and 3, as well as two key regulators of DNA methylation, DNA (cytosine-5)-methyltransferase 1 (Dnmt1) and methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (Mecp2), were analyzed. Brain regions of interest were the ventral tegmental area (VTA), nucleus accumbens (Acb), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and dorsal striatum (dStr), all involved in mediating aspects of ethanol reward. Region-specific Vglut, Dnmt1 and Mecp2 expression patterns were observed. ELS was associated with down-regulated expression of Vglut2 in the VTA and mPFC. Rats exposed to ELS were more sensitive to ethanol-induced changes in Vglut expression in the VTA, Acb, and dStr and in Dnmt1 and Mecp2 expression in the striatal regions. These findings suggest long-term glutamatergic and DNA methylation neuroadaptations as a consequence of ELS, and show an association between voluntary drinking in non-preferring, non-dependent, rodents and different Vglut, Dnmt1 and Mecp2 expression depending on early-life history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Vrettou
- Department of Neuroscience; Uppsala University; Uppsala Sweden
| | - Linnea Granholm
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences; Uppsala University; Uppsala Sweden
| | | | - Kent W. Nilsson
- Västerås Centre for Clinical Research; Uppsala University; Västerås Sweden
| | - Åsa Wallén-Mackenzie
- Department of Organismal Biology/Comparative Physiology; Uppsala University; Uppsala Sweden
| | - Ingrid Nylander
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences; Uppsala University; Uppsala Sweden
| | - Erika Comasco
- Department of Neuroscience; Uppsala University; Uppsala Sweden
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40
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Evans MC, Anderson GM. Neuroendocrine integration of nutritional signals on reproduction. J Mol Endocrinol 2017; 58:R107-R128. [PMID: 28057770 DOI: 10.1530/jme-16-0212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2016] [Accepted: 01/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Reproductive function in mammals is energetically costly and therefore tightly regulated by nutritional status. To enable this integration of metabolic and reproductive function, information regarding peripheral nutritional status must be relayed centrally to the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GNRH) neurons that drive reproductive function. The metabolically relevant hormones leptin, insulin and ghrelin have been identified as key mediators of this 'metabolic control of fertility'. However, the neural circuitry through which they act to exert their control over GNRH drive remains incompletely understood. With the advent of Cre-LoxP technology, it has become possible to perform targeted gene-deletion and gene-rescue experiments and thus test the functional requirement and sufficiency, respectively, of discrete hormone-neuron signaling pathways in the metabolic control of reproductive function. This review discusses the findings from these investigations, and attempts to put them in context with what is known from clinical situations and wild-type animal models. What emerges from this discussion is clear evidence that the integration of nutritional signals on reproduction is complex and highly redundant, and therefore, surprisingly difficult to perturb. Consequently, the deletion of individual hormone-neuron signaling pathways often fails to cause reproductive phenotypes, despite strong evidence that the targeted pathway plays a role under normal physiological conditions. Although transgenic studies rarely reveal a critical role for discrete signaling pathways, they nevertheless prove to be a good strategy for identifying whether a targeted pathway is absolutely required, critically involved, sufficient or dispensable in the metabolic control of fertility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maggie C Evans
- Centre for Neuroendocrinology and Department of AnatomyUniversity of Otago School of Medical Sciences, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Greg M Anderson
- Centre for Neuroendocrinology and Department of AnatomyUniversity of Otago School of Medical Sciences, Dunedin, New Zealand
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41
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Morales M, Margolis EB. Ventral tegmental area: cellular heterogeneity, connectivity and behaviour. Nat Rev Neurosci 2017; 18:73-85. [DOI: 10.1038/nrn.2016.165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 594] [Impact Index Per Article: 84.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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42
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Yoo JH, Zell V, Gutierrez-Reed N, Wu J, Ressler R, Shenasa MA, Johnson AB, Fife KH, Faget L, Hnasko TS. Ventral tegmental area glutamate neurons co-release GABA and promote positive reinforcement. Nat Commun 2016; 7:13697. [PMID: 27976722 PMCID: PMC5171775 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 136] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2016] [Accepted: 10/26/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In addition to dopamine neurons, the ventral tegmental area (VTA) contains GABA-, glutamate- and co-releasing neurons, and recent reports suggest a complex role for the glutamate neurons in behavioural reinforcement. We report that optogenetic stimulation of VTA glutamate neurons or terminals serves as a positive reinforcer on operant behavioural assays. Mice display marked preference for brief over sustained VTA glutamate neuron stimulation resulting in behavioural responses that are notably distinct from dopamine neuron stimulation and resistant to dopamine receptor antagonists. Whole-cell recordings reveal EPSCs following stimulation of VTA glutamate terminals in the nucleus accumbens or local VTA collaterals; but reveal both excitatory and monosynaptic inhibitory currents in the ventral pallidum and lateral habenula, though the net effects on postsynaptic firing in each region are consistent with the observed rewarding behavioural effects. These data indicate that VTA glutamate neurons co-release GABA in a projection-target-dependent manner and that their transient activation drives positive reinforcement.
Ventral tegmental area (VTA) is involved in reward behaviours, but the precise contribution of VTA glutamatergic neurons to this process is not known. Here the authors show that phasic but not sustained optogenetic stimulation of VTA glutamatergic neurons is rewarding and involves co-release of GABA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji Hoon Yoo
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Vivien Zell
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Navarre Gutierrez-Reed
- Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Johnathan Wu
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Reed Ressler
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Mohammad Ali Shenasa
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Alexander B Johnson
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Kathryn H Fife
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Lauren Faget
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
| | - Thomas S Hnasko
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
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43
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Midbrain Gene Screening Identifies a New Mesoaccumbal Glutamatergic Pathway and a Marker for Dopamine Cells Neuroprotected in Parkinson's Disease. Sci Rep 2016; 6:35203. [PMID: 27762319 PMCID: PMC5071886 DOI: 10.1038/srep35203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2016] [Accepted: 09/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) of the midbrain are associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD), schizophrenia, mood disorders and addiction. Based on the recently unraveled heterogeneity within the VTA and SNc, where glutamate, GABA and co-releasing neurons have been found to co-exist with the classical dopamine neurons, there is a compelling need for identification of gene expression patterns that represent this heterogeneity and that are of value for development of human therapies. Here, several unique gene expression patterns were identified in the mouse midbrain of which NeuroD6 and Grp were expressed within different dopaminergic subpopulations of the VTA, and TrpV1 within a small heterogeneous population. Optogenetics-coupled in vivo amperometry revealed a previously unknown glutamatergic mesoaccumbal pathway characterized by TrpV1-Cre-expression. Human GRP was strongly detected in non-melanized dopaminergic neurons within the SNc of both control and PD brains, suggesting GRP as a marker for neuroprotected neurons in PD. This study thus unravels markers for distinct subpopulations of neurons within the mouse and human midbrain, defines unique anatomical subregions within the VTA and exposes an entirely new glutamatergic pathway. Finally, both TRPV1 and GRP are implied in midbrain physiology of importance to neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Faget L, Osakada F, Duan J, Ressler R, Johnson AB, Proudfoot JA, Yoo JH, Callaway EM, Hnasko TS. Afferent Inputs to Neurotransmitter-Defined Cell Types in the Ventral Tegmental Area. Cell Rep 2016; 15:2796-808. [PMID: 27292633 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.05.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2016] [Revised: 04/07/2016] [Accepted: 05/13/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The ventral tegmental area (VTA) plays a central role in the neural circuit control of behavioral reinforcement. Though considered a dopaminergic nucleus, the VTA contains substantial heterogeneity in neurotransmitter type, containing also GABA and glutamate neurons. Here, we used a combinatorial viral approach to transsynaptically label afferents to defined VTA dopamine, GABA, or glutamate neurons. Surprisingly, we find that these populations received qualitatively similar inputs, with dominant and comparable projections from the lateral hypothalamus, raphe, and ventral pallidum. However, notable differences were observed, with striatal regions and globus pallidus providing a greater share of input to VTA dopamine neurons, cortical input preferentially on to glutamate neurons, and GABA neurons receiving proportionally more input from the lateral habenula and laterodorsal tegmental nucleus. By comparing inputs to each of the transmitter-defined VTA cell types, this study sheds important light on the systems-level organization of diverse inputs to VTA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Faget
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Fumitaka Osakada
- Systems Neurobiology Laboratories, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Laboratory of Cellular Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan; Laboratory of Neural Information Processing, Institute for Advanced Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
| | - Jinyi Duan
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Reed Ressler
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Alexander B Johnson
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - James A Proudfoot
- Clinical and Translational Research Institute, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Ji Hoon Yoo
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Edward M Callaway
- Systems Neurobiology Laboratories, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Thomas S Hnasko
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
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Barker DJ, Root DH, Zhang S, Morales M. Multiplexed neurochemical signaling by neurons of the ventral tegmental area. J Chem Neuroanat 2016; 73:33-42. [PMID: 26763116 PMCID: PMC4818729 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchemneu.2015.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2015] [Revised: 12/31/2015] [Accepted: 12/31/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is an evolutionarily conserved structure that has roles in reward-seeking, safety-seeking, learning, motivation, and neuropsychiatric disorders such as addiction and depression. The involvement of the VTA in these various behaviors and disorders is paralleled by its diverse signaling mechanisms. Here we review recent advances in our understanding of neuronal diversity in the VTA with a focus on cell phenotypes that participate in 'multiplexed' neurotransmission involving distinct signaling mechanisms. First, we describe the cellular diversity within the VTA, including neurons capable of transmitting dopamine, glutamate or GABA as well as neurons capable of multiplexing combinations of these neurotransmitters. Next, we describe the complex synaptic architecture used by VTA neurons in order to accommodate the transmission of multiple transmitters. We specifically cover recent findings showing that VTA multiplexed neurotransmission may be mediated by either the segregation of dopamine and glutamate into distinct microdomains within a single axon or by the integration of glutamate and GABA into a single axon terminal. In addition, we discuss our current understanding of the functional role that these multiplexed signaling pathways have in the lateral habenula and the nucleus accumbens. Finally, we consider the putative roles of VTA multiplexed neurotransmission in synaptic plasticity and discuss how changes in VTA multiplexed neurons may relate to various psychopathologies including drug addiction and depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Barker
- Neuronal Networks Section, Integrative Neuroscience Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 251 Bayview Blvd Suite 200, Baltimore, MD 21224, United States
| | - David H Root
- Neuronal Networks Section, Integrative Neuroscience Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 251 Bayview Blvd Suite 200, Baltimore, MD 21224, United States
| | - Shiliang Zhang
- Neuronal Networks Section, Integrative Neuroscience Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 251 Bayview Blvd Suite 200, Baltimore, MD 21224, United States
| | - Marisela Morales
- Neuronal Networks Section, Integrative Neuroscience Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 251 Bayview Blvd Suite 200, Baltimore, MD 21224, United States.
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Lo Iacono L, Valzania A, Visco-Comandini F, Viscomi MT, Felsani A, Puglisi-Allegra S, Carola V. Regulation of nucleus accumbens transcript levels in mice by early-life social stress and cocaine. Neuropharmacology 2015; 103:183-94. [PMID: 26706499 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2015.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2015] [Revised: 12/10/2015] [Accepted: 12/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Much interest has been piqued regarding the quality of one's environment at early ages in modulating the susceptibility to drug addiction in adulthood. However, the molecular mechanisms that are engaged during early trauma and mediate the risk for drug addiction are poorly understood. In rodents, exposure to early-life stress alters the rewarding effects of cocaine, amphetamine, and morphine in adulthood. Recently, we demonstrated that the exposure of juvenile mice to social threat (Social Stress, S-S) promoted cocaine-seeking behavior and relapse of cocaine-seeking after periods of withdrawal, compared with unhandled controls (UN) and with juvenile mice that experienced only daily isolation in a novel environment (no social stress, NS-S). Interestingly, while the exposure to NS-S slightly increased cocaine-seeking behavior compared with UN, the same was not sufficient to promote cocaine reinstatement. In this study, we examined the long-term transcriptional changes that are induced by S-S compared to NS-S and linked the increased susceptibility of S-S mice to cocaine reinstatement. To this end, we performed genome-wide RNA sequencing analysis in the nucleus accumbens (NAC), which revealed that 89 transcripts were differentially expressed between S-S and NS-S mice. By Gene Ontology classification, these hits were enriched in genes that mediate cell proliferation, neuronal differentiation, and neuron/forebrain development. Eleven of these genes have been reported to be involved in substance use disorders, and the remaining genes are novel candidates in this area. We characterized 4 candidates with regard to their significant neurobiological relevance (ZIC1, ZIC2, FABP7, and PRDM12) and measured their expression in the NAC by immunohistochemistry. These findings provide insights into novel molecular mechanisms in NAC that might be associated with the risk of relapse in cocaine-dependent individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Federica Visco-Comandini
- Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, University College of London, Great Britain, UK
| | | | - Armando Felsani
- Institute of Cellular Biology and Neurobiology, CNR, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Puglisi-Allegra
- IRCSS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; Department of Psychology and "Daniel Bovet" Center, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Italy
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Morello F, Partanen J. Diversity and development of local inhibitory and excitatory neurons associated with dopaminergic nuclei. FEBS Lett 2015; 589:3693-701. [PMID: 26453835 DOI: 10.1016/j.febslet.2015.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2015] [Revised: 09/28/2015] [Accepted: 10/01/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
For regulation of voluntary movement and motivation the midbrain dopaminergic system receives input from a variety of brain regions. Often this input is mediated by local non-dopaminergic neurons within or closely associated with the dopaminergic nuclei. In addition to the dopaminergic neurons, some of these non-dopaminergic neurons also send functionally important output from the ventral midbrain to forebrain targets. The aim of this review is to introduce subtypes of GABAergic and glutamatergic neurons, which are located in the dopaminergic nuclei or the adjacent brainstem and are important for the regulation of the dopaminergic pathways. In addition, we discuss recent studies beginning to reveal mechanisms for their development, which may hold the key to understanding the diversity of these neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Morello
- Department of Biosciences, Division of Genetics, P.O. Box 56, Viikinkaari 9, 00014 University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Juha Partanen
- Department of Biosciences, Division of Genetics, P.O. Box 56, Viikinkaari 9, 00014 University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
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Cre-driven optogenetics in the heterogeneous genetic panorama of the VTA. Trends Neurosci 2015; 38:375-86. [PMID: 25962754 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2015.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2015] [Revised: 04/08/2015] [Accepted: 04/10/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The selectivity of optogenetics commonly relies on genetic promoters to manipulate specific populations of neurons through the use of Cre-driver lines. All studies performed in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) so far have utilized promoters present in groups of cells that release dopamine (DA), GABA, or glutamate. However, neurons that co-release neurotransmitters and variabilities within groups of neurons that release the same neurotransmitter present challenges when evaluating the results. Further complexity is introduced by ectopic expression patterns often occurring in transgenic Cre-drivers. New perspectives could be unfolded by identifying and selecting different types of promoter for driving the Cre recombinase. Here, we discuss some promising candidates and highlight the advantages or disadvantages of different methods for creating novel transgenic lines.
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Yamaguchi T, Qi J, Wang HL, Zhang S, Morales M. Glutamatergic and dopaminergic neurons in the mouse ventral tegmental area. Eur J Neurosci 2015; 41:760-72. [PMID: 25572002 PMCID: PMC4363208 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.12818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2014] [Accepted: 12/02/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The ventral tegmental area (VTA) comprises dopamine (DA), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate (Glu) neurons. Some rat VTA Glu neurons, expressing vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGluT2), co-express tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). While transgenic mice are now being used in attempts to determine the role of VGluT2/TH neurons in reward and neuronal signaling, such neurons have not been characterized in mouse tissue. By cellular detection of VGluT2 mRNA and TH immunoreactivity (TH-IR), we determined the cellular expression of VGluT2 mRNA within VTA TH-IR neurons in the mouse. We found that some mouse VGluT2 neurons coexpressed TH-IR, but their frequency was lower than in the rat. To determine whether low expression of TH mRNA or TH-IR accounts for this low frequency, we evaluated VTA cellular coexpression of TH transcripts and TH protein. Within the medial aspects of the VTA, some neurons expressed TH mRNA but lacked TH-IR; among them a subset coexpressed VGluT2 mRNA. To determine if lack of VTA TH-IR was due to TH trafficking, we tagged VTA TH neurons by Cre-inducible expression of mCherry in TH::Cre mice. By dual immunofluorescence, we detected axons containing mCherry, but lacking TH-IR, in the lateral habenula, indicating that low frequency of VGluT2 mRNA (+)/TH-IR (+) neurons in the mouse is due to lack of synthesis of TH protein, rather than TH protein trafficking. In conclusion, VGluT2 neurons are present in the rat and mouse VTA, but they differ in the populations of VGluT2/TH and TH neurons. Under normal conditions, the translation of TH protein is suppressed in the mouse mesohabenular TH neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi
- TY. Current address, Department of Histology and Neurobiology, Dokkyo Medical University, 880 Kitakobayashi, Mibu-machi, Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi, 321-0293 JAPAN,
| | | | - Hui-Ling Wang
- National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program. Neuronal Networks Section. 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224
| | - Shiliang Zhang
- National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program. Neuronal Networks Section. 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224
| | - Marisela Morales
- National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program. Neuronal Networks Section. 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224
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Filippi A, Mueller T, Driever W. vglut2 and gad expression reveal distinct patterns of dual GABAergic versus glutamatergic cotransmitter phenotypes of dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurons in the zebrafish brain. J Comp Neurol 2015; 522:2019-37. [PMID: 24374659 PMCID: PMC4288968 DOI: 10.1002/cne.23524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2013] [Revised: 11/27/2013] [Accepted: 11/27/2013] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Throughout the vertebrate lineage, dopaminergic neurons form important neuromodulatory systems that influence motor behavior, mood, cognition, and physiology. Studies in mammals have established that dopaminergic neurons often use γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) or glutamatergic cotransmission during development and physiological function. Here, we analyze vglut2, gad1b and gad2 expression in combination with tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in 4-day-old larval and 30-day-old juvenile zebrafish brains to determine which dopaminergic and noradrenergic groups may use GABA or glutamate as a second transmitter. Our results show that most dopaminergic neurons also express GABAergic markers, including the dopaminergic groups of the olfactory bulb (homologous to mammalian A16) and the subpallium, the hypothalamic groups (A12, A14), the prethalamic zona incerta group (A13), the preoptic groups (A15), and the pretectal group. Thus, the majority of catecholaminergic neurons are gad1b/2-positive and coexpress GABA. A very few gad1/2-negative dopaminergic groups, however, express vglut2 instead and use glutamate as a second transmitter. These glutamatergic dual transmitter phenotypes are the Orthopedia transcription factor–dependent, A11-type dopaminergic neurons of the posterior tuberculum. All together, our results demonstrate that all catecholaminergic groups in zebrafish are either GABAergic or glutamatergic. Thus, cotransmission of dopamine and noradrenaline with either GABA or glutamate appears to be a regular feature of zebrafish catecholaminergic systems. We compare our results with those that have been described for mammalian systems, discuss the phenomenon of transmitter dualism in the context of developmental specification of GABAergic and glutamatergic regions in the brain, and put this phenomenon in an evolutionary perspective. J. Comp. Neurol. 522:2019–2037, 2014.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alida Filippi
- Developmental Biology, Institute of Biology I, Faculty of Biology, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
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