Distribution of corticosteroid receptors in the rhesus brain: relative absence of glucocorticoid receptors in the hippocampal formation.
(41/970)
Chronic stress has been associated with degenerative changes in the rodent and primate hippocampus, presumably mediated in part via neuronal glucocorticoid receptors (GRs). In the rat brain, GRs are widely distributed and are particularly dense in the hippocampus. The distribution of GRs in the primate brain, however, has not been fully characterized. In this study, we used in situ hybridization histochemistry and immunohistochemistry to map the distribution of GR mRNA and GR protein, respectively, in adult rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). In contrast to its well established distribution in the rat brain, GR mRNA was only weakly detected in the dentate gyrus (DG) and Cornu Ammonis (CA) of the macaque hippocampus, whereas it was abundant in the pituitary (PIT), cerebellum (CBL), hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), and, to a lesser extent, the neocortex. Immunohistochemical staining indicated a very low density of GR-like immunoreactive cells within the macaque hippocampal formation in contrast to the high density observed within the PVN, prefrontal and entorhinal cortices, and cerebellar cortex. Relative to the low level of GR, mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) mRNA and protein expression were abundant within the DG and CA of the rhesus monkey hippocampal formation. These results indicate that, in the primate, neocortical and hypothalamic areas may be more important targets for GR-mediated effects of glucocorticoids than the hippocampus. Alternatively, it is also possible that glucocorticoid effects are mediated through the MRs present in the hippocampal formation. (+info)
Onset and severity of inflammation in rats exposed to the learned helplessness paradigm.
(42/970)
OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that there is an association between susceptibility to inflammation and a hyporesponsive hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. METHODS: Animals were separated on the basis of behaviour in the learned helplessness (LH) paradigm into groups of LH(+) (i.e. animals which did not escape footshock) and LH(-) animals. Adjuvant-induced arthritis (AA) was subsequently induced in the LH(+) and LH(-) animals. RESULTS: Plasma corticosterone was significantly increased in response to the LH test in the LH(-) compared with the LH(+) rats. We observed an earlier onset and increased inflammation in the LH(-) rats in spite of the greater corticosterone response to the acute stress. We noted lower levels of plasma testosterone in the LH(-) animals suggesting a possible influence for this protective factor in AA. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that increased onset and severity of inflammation in AA is not a simple consequence of an attenuated HPA axis response to stress as proposed in the Lewis rat. Indeed we have observed the converse. Together these data suggest that the balance of pro- and anti-inflammatory factors released in response to stress may influence the progress of AA. (+info)
Lipopolysaccharide activates specific populations of hypothalamic and brainstem neurons that project to the spinal cord.
(43/970)
Sympathetic preganglionic neurons receive direct, monosynaptic input from a series of well defined nuclei in the brainstem and the hypothalamus. These premotor cell groups coordinate sympathetic control with ongoing endocrine and behavioral response. However, it is not known precisely which populations of sympathetic premotor neurons are activated during specific responses, such as fever after intravenous lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We used the activation of c-fos protein expression in spinally projecting neurons during intravenous LPS fever as a model for examining the functional organization of this system. Intravenous LPS (5 microg/kg) induced Fos-like immunoreactivity in sympathetic preganglionic neurons in the spinal cord as well as several sympathetic premotor nuclei, including the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, rostral and caudal levels of the ventrolateral medulla, and the nucleus of the solitary tract. After injecting Fluorogold into the intermediolateral column at the T1-L1 spinal levels, neurons that were both Fos immunoreactive and retrogradely labeled were found only in the dorsal parvicellular division of the paraventricular nucleus in the hypothalamus, the rostral ventrolateral medulla (C1 adrenergic cell group), and the A5 noradrenergic cell group in the brainstem. The same pattern of double-labeling was seen from injections at each spinal cord level. These findings suggest that only a limited pool of hypothalamo-sympathetic neurons contribute to the fever response and that they may do so by contacting specific populations of preganglionic neurons that are distributed across a wide range of spinal levels. The anatomical specificity of the paraventriculo-spinal projection is thus functional rather than topographic. (+info)
Disruption of arcuate/paraventricular nucleus connections changes body energy balance and response to acute stress.
(44/970)
The mediobasal hypothalamus regulates functions necessary for survival, including body energy balance and adaptation to stress. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the contribution of the arcuate nucleus (ARC) in controlling these two functions by the paraventricular nucleus (PVN). Circular, horizontal cuts (1.0 mm radius) were placed immediately above the anterior ARC to sever afferents to the PVN. In shams the knife was lowered to the same coordinates but was not rotated. Food intake and body weight were monitored twice daily, at the beginning and end of the light cycle, for 1 week. On the final day the animals were restrained for 30 min. Lesioned animals had increased food intake in light and dark periods, higher weight gain per day, and more body fat as compared with shams. There was no difference in caloric efficiency. Unlike shams, lesioned rats had no predictable relationship between plasma insulin and leptin. Plasma ACTH was increased at 0 min in lesioned rats but was decreased 15 and 30 min after restraint as compared with shams. There was no difference in plasma corticosterone. Immunostaining revealed that alpha-melanocortin (alphaMSH) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) accumulated below the cuts, and both were decreased in PVN. Food intake and body weight were correlated negatively to alphaMSH, but not NPY in PVN. There was no difference in proopiomelanocortin (POMC) mRNA, but NPY mRNA was reduced in the ARC of lesioned animals. We conclude that ARC controls body energy balance in unstressed rats, possibly by alphaMSH input to PVN, and that ARC also is necessary for PVN regulation of ACTH. (+info)
Somatostatin modulation of excitatory synaptic transmission between periventricular and arcuate hypothalamic nuclei in vitro.
(45/970)
Hypophysiotropic somatostatin (SRIF) and growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) neurons are primarily involved in the neurohormonal control of growth hormone (GH) secretion. They are located in periventricular (PEV) and arcuate (ARC) hypothalamic nuclei, respectively, but their connectivity is not well defined. To better understand the neuronal network involved in the control of GH secretion, connections from PEV to ARC neurons were reconstructed in vitro and neuronal phenotypes assessed by single-cell multiplex RT-PCR. Of 814 stimulated PEV neurons, monosynaptic responses were detected in only 45 ARC neurons. Monosynaptic excitatory currents were detected in 29 ARC neurons and inhibitory currents in 16, indicating a 2/1 ratio for excitatory versus inhibitory connections. Galanin (GAL), NPY, pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), and SRIF mRNAs were detected in neurons from both nuclei but GHRH mRNA almost exclusively in ARC. Among the five SRIF receptors, only sst1 and sst2 were expressed, in 94% of ARC and 59% of PEV neurons, respectively. Of 128 theoritical combinations between neuropeptides and sst receptors, only 22 were represented in PEV and 25 in ARC. For PEV neurons, neuropeptide phenotypes did not influence excitatory connections. However, the occurrence of presynaptic sst receptors on GAL and SRIF PEV neurons significantly increased their probability of connection to ARC neurons. GHRH ARC neurons expressing sst2, but not sst1, receptors were always connected with PEV neurons. Physiological responses to sst1 (CH-275) or sst2 (Octreotide) agonists were always correlated with the detection of respective sst mRNAs. In conclusion, 1) SRIF-modulated excitatory transmission develops in vitro from PEV to ARC neurons, 2) ARC GHRH neurons bearing sst2 receptors appears directly controlled by fast glutamatergic transmission from PEV neurons simultaneously expressing one to four neuropeptides, 3) GHRH neurons bearing sst1 receptors lack this control, and 4) these results suggest that fast excitatory neurotransmission and neuropeptide modulation can derive from a small subset of PEV hypothalamic neurons targeted at ARC neuronal subpopulations. (+info)
Stressor-specific activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis.
(46/970)
New information has accrued from in vivo microdialysis studies about stress-related changes in norepinephrine concentrations in extracellular fluid of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis. Our data on the effects of lower brainstem hemisections show that paraventricular noradrenergic terminals are derived mainly from medullary A1 and A2 catecholaminergic cells. The activation of these cells contributes importantly to stress-induced noradrenergic activation in the paraventricular nucleus of conscious animals. The results from brainstem hemisection experiments also indicate that baseline levels and immobilization-induced increments in corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) mRNA expression in the PVN depend on ipsilaterally ascending medullary tract. Thus, the prevalent concept that stress-induced noradrenergic activation of the HPA axis depends mainly on activation of locus ceruleus noradrenergic neurons requires re-evaluation. Our new stress concepts favor stressor-specific activation of the HPA axis. The present data also suggest the existence of stressor-specific central pathways that differentially participate in the regulation of sympathoneuronal and adrenomedullary outflows as well as of the activity of the HPA axis. Furthermore, the results are inconsistent with a founding tenet of Selye's stress theory, the doctrine of nonspecificity, which defines stress as the nonspecific response of the body to any demand. We expect that future studies in this area will focus on further examination of the notion of stressor-specific patterns of central neurotransmitter release and elucidate the genetic bases of these patterns. (+info)
Comparison of pancreatic and hypophysiotropic TRH systems.
(47/970)
The thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) is a molecule with widespread distribution through many organ systems. The function of TRH is probably not identical in each system so that TRH synthesis and secretion may be unique for each system under specific experimental conditions. The present study was designed to explore the common and diverse features of the regulation of TRH encoded with the same gene in two different organs: hypophysiotropic hypothalamus and pancreatic islets. During in vitro incubation, the TRH content in hypothalamic structures remained stable while that in isolated pancreatic islets increased sharply. In contrast to the pancreatic islets, exposure to different concentrations of D-glucose did not affect TRH release from the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus or median eminence. This divergence in the regulation of the hypophysiotropic and pancreatic TRH systems may be related to differences in the role of TRH produced in these tissues. (+info)
Neurobiological correlates of individual differences in novelty-seeking behavior in the rat: differential expression of stress-related molecules.
(48/970)
It is well established that individual rats exhibit marked differences in behavioral responses to a novel environment. Rats that exhibit high rates of locomotor activity and sustained exploration in such an environment also exhibit high concentrations of stress-induced plasma corticosterone, linking this behavior to the stress system. Furthermore, these high-responding (HR) rats, in contrast to their low-responding (LR) counterparts, have a greater propensity to self-administer drugs. Thus, HR rats have been described as "novelty" seeking in that they are more active and explore novel stimuli more vigorously, despite the fact that this elicits in them high stress responses. In this study, we have further characterized the behavior of HR and LR rats in tests of anxiety and characterized their stress responses to either experimenter- or self-imposed stressors. We then investigated the physiological basis of these individual differences, focusing on stress-related molecules, including the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) in the context of the limbic-hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis. We have found that HR rats did not differ from LR in their basal expression of POMC in the pituitary. However, HR rats exhibited higher levels of CRH mRNA in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus but lower basal levels in the central nucleus of the amygdala. The basal expression of hippocampal MR is not different between HR and LR rats. Interestingly, the basal expression of hippocampal GR mRNA is significantly lower in HR than in LR rats. This low level of hippocampal GR expression in HR rats appears to be responsible, at least in part, for their decreased anxiety in exploring novelty. Indeed, the anxiety level of LR rats becomes similar to HR rats after the administration into the hippocampus of a GR antagonist, RU38486. These data indicate that basal differences in gene expression of key stress-related molecules may play an important role in determining individual differences in responsiveness to stress and novelty. They point to a new role of hippocampal GR, strongly implicating this receptor in determining individual differences in anxiety and novelty-seeking behavior. (+info)