Transcript Expression of Vesicular Glutamate Transporters in Rat Dorsal Root Ganglion and Spinal Cord Neurons: Impact of Spinal Blockade during Hindpaw Inflammation.

Studies in mouse, and to a lesser extent in rat, have revealed the neuroanatomical distribution of vesicular glutamate transporters (VGLUTs) and begun exposing the critical role of VGLUT2 and VGLUT3 in pain transmission. In the present study in rat, we used specific riboprobes to characterize the transcript expression of all three VGLUTs in lumbar dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) and in the thoracolumbar, lumbar, and sacral spinal cord. We show for the first time in rat a very discrete VGLUT3 expression in DRGs and in deep layers of the dorsal horn.

Deletion of the Creatine Transporter (Slc6a8) in Dopaminergic Neurons Leads to Hyperactivity in Mice.

The lack of cerebral creatine (Cr) causes intellectual disability and epilepsy. In addition, a significant portion of individuals with Cr transporter (Crt) deficiency (CTD), the leading cause of cerebral Cr deficiency syndromes (CCDS), are diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. While the neurological effects of CTD are clear, the mechanisms that underlie these deficits are unknown.

6-Hydroxydopamine-Induced Dopamine Reductions in the Nucleus Accumbens, but not the Medial Prefrontal Cortex, Impair Cincinnati Water Maze Egocentric and Morris Water Maze Allocentric Navigation in Male Sprague-Dawley Rats.

The nucleus accumbens (Nacc) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) receive dopaminergic innervation from the ventral tegmental area and are involved in learning. Male rats with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced dopaminergic and noradrenergic reductions in the Nacc or mPFC were tested for allocentric and egocentric learning to determine their role in these forms of neuroplasticity. mPFC dopaminergic and noradrenergic reductions did not result in changes to either type of learning or memory.

Maternal immune activation alters glutamic acid decarboxylase-67 expression in the brains of adult rat offspring.

Activation of the maternal innate immune system, termed "maternal immune activation" (MIA), represents a common environmental risk factor for schizophrenia. Whereas evidence suggests dysregulation of GABA systems may underlie the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, a role for MIA in alteration of GABAergic systems is less clear. Here, pregnant rats received either the viral mimetic polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidilic acid or vehicle injection on gestational day 14.

Modulation of schizophrenia-related genes in the forebrain of adolescent and adult rats exposed to maternal immune activation.

Maternal immune activation (MIA) is an environmental risk factor for schizophrenia, and may contribute to other developmental disorders including autism and epilepsy. Activation of pro-inflammatory cytokine systems by injection of the synthetic double-stranded RNA polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidilic acid (Poly I:C) mediates important neurochemical and behavioral corollaries of MIA, which have relevance to deficits observed in schizophrenia. We examined the consequences of MIA on forebrain expression of neuregulin-1 (NRG-1), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and their receptors, ErbB4 and trkB, respectively, genes associated with schizophrenia.

Chronic social subordination stress modulates glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) 67 mRNA expression in central stress circuits.

Chronic social subordination is a well-known precipitant of numerous psychiatric and physiological health concerns. In this study, we examine the effects of chronic social stress in the visible burrow system (VBS) on the expression of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) 67 and brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) mRNA in forebrain stress circuitry. Male rats in the VBS system form a dominance hierarchy, whereby subordinate males exhibit neuroendocrine and physiological profiles characteristic of chronic exposure to stress.

Dopamine depletion in either the dorsomedial or dorsolateral striatum impairs egocentric Cincinnati water maze performance while sparing allocentric Morris water maze learning.

Both egocentric route-based learning and spatial learning, as assessed by the Cincinnati water maze (CWM) and Morris water maze (MWM), respectively, are impaired following an 80% dopamine (DA) loss in the neostriatum after 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) administration in rats. The dorsolateral striatum (DLS) and the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) are implicated in different navigational learning types, namely the DLS is implicated in egocentric learning while the DMS is implicated in spatial learning. This experiment tested whether selective DA loss through 6-OHDA lesions in the DMS or DLS would impair one or both types of navigation.

Expression of vesicular glutamate transporters in sensory and autonomic neurons innervating the mouse bladder.

Purpose: VGLUTs, which are essential for loading glutamate into synaptic vesicles, are present in various neuronal systems. However, to our knowledge the expression of VGLUTs in neurons innervating the bladder has not yet been analyzed. We studied VGLUT1, VGLUT2 and VGLUT3 in mouse bladder neurons.

Expression of vesicular glutamate transporters type 1 and 2 in sensory and autonomic neurons innervating the mouse colorectum.

Vesicular glutamate transporters (VGLUTs) have been extensively studied in various neuronal systems, but their expression in visceral sensory and autonomic neurons remains to be analyzed in detail. Here we studied VGLUTs type 1 and 2 (VGLUT(1) and VGLUT(2) , respectively) in neurons innervating the mouse colorectum. Lumbosacral and thoracolumbar dorsal root ganglion (DRG), lumbar sympathetic chain (LSC), and major pelvic ganglion (MPG) neurons innervating the colorectum of BALB/C mice were retrogradely traced with Fast Blue, dissected, and processed for immunohistochemistry.

Some lumbar sympathetic neurons develop a glutamatergic phenotype after peripheral axotomy with a note on VGLUT₂-positive perineuronal baskets.

Glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the nervous system, including in primary afferent neurons. However, to date a glutamatergic phenotype of autonomic neurons has not been described. Therefore, we explored the expression of vesicular glutamate transporter (VGLUT) types 1, 2 and 3 in lumbar sympathetic chain (LSC) and major pelvic ganglion (MPG) of naïve BALB/C mice, as well as after pelvic nerve axotomy (PNA), using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization.

Neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects of the neuregulin glial growth factor-2 on dopaminergic neurons in rat primary midbrain cultures.

Glial growth factor-2 (GGF2) and other neuregulin (NRG) isoforms have been shown to play important roles in survival, migration, and differentiation of certain neural and non-neural cells. Because midbrain dopamine (DA) cells express the NRG receptor, ErbB4, the present study examined the potential neurotrophic and/or neuroprotective effects of GGF2 on cultured primary dopaminergic neurons. Embryonic day 14 rat mesencephalic cell cultures were maintained in serum-free medium and treated with GGF2 or vehicle.