Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol
August 2010
Circulating amylin inhibits food intake via activation of the area postrema (AP). The aim of this study was to identify the neurochemical phenotype of the neurons mediating amylin's hypophagic action by immunohistochemical and feeding studies in rats. Expression of c-Fos protein was used as a marker for neuronal activation and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH), the enzyme-catalyzing noradrenaline synthesis, as a marker for noradrenergic neurons.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBody weight is regulated by complex neurohormonal interactions between endocrine signals of long-term adiposity (e.g., leptin, a hypothalamic signal) and short-term satiety (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe receptor localization of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGlu) 2 and 3 was examined by using in situ hybridization and a well-characterized mGlu2-selective antibody in the rat forebrain. mGlu2 was highly and discretely expressed in cell bodies in almost all of the key regions of the limbic system in the forebrain, including the midline and intralaminar structures of the thalamus, the association cortices, the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, the medial mammillary nucleus, and the lateral and basolateral nuclei of the amygdala. Moreover, presynaptic mGlu2 terminals were found in most of the forebrain structures, especially in the lateral part of the central nucleus of the amygdala, and the CA1 region of the hippocampus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVoltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) play an essential role in controlling neurotransmitter release, neuronal excitability, and gene expression in the nervous system. The distribution of cells that contain mRNAs encoding the auxiliary alpha2delta-1, alpha2delta-2, and alpha2delta-3 subunits of the VGCCs in the central nervous system (CNS) and the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) was examined in rats by using in situ hybridization. Specific labeling of alpha2delta-1, alpha2delta-2, and alpha2delta-3 mRNAs appeared to be largely confined to neurons and was widely, although differentially, distributed in the brain, the spinal cord, and the DRG.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNorepinephrine (NE), glutamate (Glu), and GABA have been identified as important neurotransmitters governing neuroendocrine mechanisms represented in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVH). Microinjection studies were used to compare the efficacy of these transmitter mechanisms in stimulating PVH output neurons. Local administration of NE provoked an increase in plasma corticosterone levels and Fos induction in the both the parvocellular and magnocellular divisions of the nucleus.
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