Proliferation of lamellar whorls in arcuate neurons of the hypothalamus of castrated and morphine-treated male rats

Summary A comprehensive ultrastructural examination of one cross-sectional level (middle 1/3) of the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (AH) of male rats several weeks after castration or after two weeks of morphine treatment confirmed a marked increase in lamellar whorls of endoplasmic reticulum in AH neurons in each group. A comparable incidence of AH whorls was not detected in rats treated with lactose, those treated for only 1–3 days with morphine, or in those given testosterone plus morphine for 2 weeks. It is postulated that the testosterone deficiency following either castration or chronic morphine treatment stimulated the observed increase in AH whorls. A close correspondence was noted between the distribution within the AH of neurons containing whorls and those reported by others to contain luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LH-RH). The possibility that whorls may be a marker for hypothalamic neurons which play a role in the LH-RH regulatory system warrants further consideration.Supported by Grants DA-00259 and NS-09156 from the United States Public Health ServiceResearch Scientist Development Award MH-38894Research Scientist Development Award MH-70180     

Metabolic state, neurohormones, and vagal stimulation, not increased serotonin, orchestrate postprandial drowsiness

Several theories have arisen to explain postprandial sleepiness. Of these, the most prevalent theory assumes that blood flow is redistributed after a meal. This premise fails, however, because cardiac regulation strictly controls cerebral blood flow (CBF) and brain oxygenation. Another theory proposes that an elevated ratio of free l-tryptophan to large neutral amino acids (LNAA) in the blood increases cerebral serotonin (5HT) levels, which in turn induces drowsiness. But this theory does not explain why fatty meals, which reduce extracellular 5HT, induce more intense sleepiness than meals of carbohydrates, or why protein-rich meals, which actually lower cerebral 5HT, do not differ significantly from carbohydrate meals in promoting sleep. Some studies fail to confirm the presumptive role of 5HT in mood or drowsiness. Reviewing the history of theory and experimentation in this field, we conclude that 5HT is not the principal determinant in postprandial sleepiness. We propose instead that the arcuate nucleus (ARC) modulates satiety in response to metabolic indicators of energy state, postprandial neuropeptide secretion from the gut, and vagus nerve stimulation. The ARC integrates these satiety signals and forwards them to the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH), which indirectly stimulates the sleep centers (i.e., the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus (VLPO) and median preoptic nucleus (MnPO)) by inhibiting the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA), which coordinates arousal centers. Neuropeptides or satiety signals may activate sleep centers directly to provoke postprandial somnolence. This model may resolve contradictions and inconsistencies in data that previous theories could not explain.     

中缝背核参与下丘脑弓状核对蓝斑伤害性反应的抑制

实验在56只水合氯醛麻醉的成年雄性大鼠上进行。实验结果表明:电刺激中缝背核(DR)能减慢蓝斑(LC)大多数神经元自发放电频率;而损毁DR则增加大多数LC神经元的自发放电频率。电刺激下丘脑弓状核(ARC)能抑制LC神经元对外周坐骨神经伤害性刺激的反应。刺激DR可增强此种抑制作用;相反,损毁DR能部分减弱此种抑制效应。结果提示,DR对LC神经元有紧张性抑制作用,并对刺激ARC抑制LC神经元伤害性反应起着调制作用。     

The Distribution and Neurochemistry of the Parathyroid Hormone 2 Receptor in the Rat Hypothalamus

This study reports the distribution of parathyroid hormone 2 receptor (PTH2R)-immunoreactive fibers in the hypothalamus using fluorescent amplification immunocytochemistry. The pattern of immunolabeling is strikingly similar to that of tuberoinfundibular peptide of 39 residues (TIP39), a peptide recently purified from bovine hypothalamus and proposed to be a ligand of the PTH2R based on pharmacological data. To investigate the anatomical basis of suggestions that TIP39 affects the secretion of several hypophysiotropic hormones we performed double-labeling studies and found that only somatostatin fibers contain PTH2R in the median eminence, which suggests that somatostatin release could be directly regulated via the PTH2R. However, several hypothalamic nuclei projecting to the median eminence contain a high density of both TIP39 and PTH2R fibers and terminals. We report here, that the PTH2R terminals also contain vesicular glutamate transporter−2, and suggest that TIP39 terminals are ideally positioned to modulate glutamatergic influences on hypophysiotropic neurons.Special Issue Dedicated to Miklós Palkovits.     

Ghrelin对糖尿病大鼠下丘脑弓状核胃扩张敏感神经元和胃运动的影响

目的:探讨Ghrelin对糖尿病大鼠下丘脑弓状核胃扩张敏感神经元和胃运动的影响。方法:逆行追踪结合免疫组化观察ARC中GHSR-1的表达,细胞外放电记录,观察ghrelin对GD神经元放电活动的影响及电刺激ARC对GD神经元放电活动和胃运动的影响。结果:电生理实验结果表明,在ARC Ghrelin能够能激发GD兴奋性神经元(GD-E)和GD抑制性神经元(GD-I)。然而,ghrelin可以兴奋更少的GD-E神经元,在正常大鼠中ghrelin对于GD-E的兴奋作用比在DM大鼠中的作用弱。在体胃运动研究表明,在ARC中微量注射ghrelin可以明显的增强胃运动,并且呈现剂量依赖关系。Ghrelin在糖尿病大鼠促胃动力作用低于正常大鼠。Ghrelin诱导的效应可被生长激素促分泌素受体(GHSR)拮抗剂阻断[d-lys-3]-GHRP-6或bim28163。放射免疫法和实时荧光定量PCR数据表明胃血浆ghrelin水平,在ARC ghrelin mRNA的表达水平先上升后下降,糖尿病大鼠(DM)中,在ARC中GHSR-1a mRNA表达保持在一个比较低的水平。结论:ghrelin可以调节GD敏感神经元以及胃运动,通过ARC中ghrelin受体。在糖尿病大鼠中,Ghrelin促进胃运动作用减弱可能与ARC中ghrelin受体表达减少有关。     

Oxytocinergic circuit from paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei to arcuate POMC neurons in hypothalamus

Intracerebroventricular injection of oxytocin (Oxt), a neuropeptide produced in hypothalamic paraventricular (PVN) and supraoptic nuclei (SON), melanocortin-dependently suppresses feeding. However, the underlying neuronal pathway is unclear. This study aimed to determine whether Oxt regulates propiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus. Intra-ARC injection of Oxt decreased food intake. Oxt increased cytosolic Ca²⁺ in POMC neurons isolated from ARC. ARC POMC neurons expressed Oxt receptors and were contacted by Oxt terminals. Retrograde tracer study revealed the projection of PVN and SON Oxt neurons to ARC. These results demonstrate the novel oxytocinergic signaling from PVN/SON to ARC POMC, possibly regulating feeding.     

下丘脑弓状核微量注射Orexin-A对大鼠胃传入信息和胃运动的影响

目的:探讨ARC orexin-A对胃传入信息以及胃运动的调控及机制。方法:采用细胞外放电记录方法,鉴定ARC orexin胃牵张敏感神经元(Gastric distention sensitive neurons,GD),并探讨ARC内orexin-A对GD神经元放电活动的影响及机制;采用ARC微量注射orexin-A和及其受体阻断剂SB334867,观察大鼠胃收缩幅度和频率的改变。结果:大鼠ARC共记录到149个GD神经元,其中GD-E神经元91个,GD-I神经元58个。ARC微量注射orexin-A,62个(62/91,68.1%)GD-E神经元兴奋性显著增加,其放电频率由4.27±0.58 Hz增加到8.46±0.95 Hz(P0.01);39个(39/58,67.2%)GD-I神经元兴奋性也显著增强,其放电频率由4.02±0.53 Hz增加到5.43±0.57 Hz(P0.05)。然而,ARC给予大鼠orexin-A受体拮抗剂SB334867,再给予orexin-A,orexin-A兴奋效应完全被阻断(P0.05)。胃运动实验结果显示:在ARC注射不同浓度orexin-A,大约5 min后,大鼠胃收缩幅度和频率呈剂量依赖性增加(P0.05~0.01)。ARC注射SB334867,可完全消除orexin-A对大鼠胃运动的兴奋效应(P0.05)。结论:ARC orexin-A对大鼠GD神经元和胃运动有调控作用,该作用可能通过调控Orexin A受体活动实现的。     

Comparative analysis of kisspeptin-immunoreactivity reveals genuine differences in the hypothalamic Kiss1 systems between rats and mice

Kiss1 mRNA and its corresponding peptide products, kisspeptins, are expressed in two restricted brain areas of rodents, the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV) and the arcuate nucleus (ARC). The concentration of mature kisspeptins may not directly correlate with Kiss1 mRNA levels, because mRNA translation and/or posttranslational modification, degradation, transportation and release of kisspeptins could be regulated independently of gene expression, and there may thus be differences in kisspeptin expression even in species with similar Kiss1 mRNA profiles. We measured and compared kisspeptin-immunoreactivity in both nuclei and both sexes of rats and mice and quantified kisspeptin-immunoreactive nerve fibers. We also determined Kiss1 mRNA levels and measured kisspeptin-immunoreactivity in colchicine pretreated rats. Overall, we find higher levels of kisspeptin-immunoreactivity in the mouse compared to the rat, independently of brain region and gender. In the female mouse AVPV high numbers of kisspeptin-immunoreactive neurons were present, while in the rat, the female AVPV displays a similar number of kisspeptin-immunoreactive neurons compared to the level of Kiss1 mRNA expressing cells, only after axonal transport inhibition. Interestingly, the density of kisspeptin innervation in the anterior periventricular area was higher in female compared to male in both species. Species differences in the ARC were evident, with the mouse ARC containing dense fibers, while the rat ARC contains clearly discernable cells. In addition, we show a marked sex difference in the ARC, with higher kisspeptin levels in females. These findings show that the translation of Kiss1 mRNA and/or the degradation/transportation/release of kisspeptins are different in mice and rats.     

Cyto- and synaptogenesis in the arcuate nucleus of the rat hypothalamus during fetal and early postnatal life

Summary Morphogenesis of the arcuate nucleus of the rat from the 15th fetal day to the 6th postnatal day was investigated light and electron microscopically. The arcuate neurons exhibit a gradual development after the 15th fetal day. All cytoplasmic constituents are present in these nerve cells already during the last days of gestation. Nevertheless, they are not fully differentiated at birth. The first synapse-like structures (presynapses) were observed in 17 day-old, the first synapses in 18 day-old fetuses. During the early postnatal period the number of presynapses decreases, but at the same time there is a gradual increase in the number of the relatively mature synapses. This process starts already during the last days of prenatal life. Although all structural elements of the arcuate nucleus of the adult rat appear to be present at birth, the extent of the neuropil area and the number of the presynapses indicate that the arcuate nucleus is still in a fairly undeveloped stage during the first postnatal days.