Na+, K+-ATPase α3 isoform in frontal cortex GABAergic neurons in psychiatric diseases.

Na+, K+-ATPase is an essential membrane transporter. In the brain, the α3 isoform of Na+, K+-ATPase is vital for neuronal function. The enzyme and its regulators, endogenous cardiac steroids (ECS), were implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders. GABAergic neurotransmission was also studied extensively in diseases such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (BD). Post mortem brain samples from subjects with depression, schizophrenia or BD and non-psychiatric controls were provided by the Stanley Medical Research Institute. ECS levels were determined by ELISA. Expression levels of the three Na+, K+-ATPase-α isoforms, α1, α2 and α3, were determined by Western blot analysis. The α3 levels in GABAergic neurons in different regions of the brain were quantified by fluorescence immunohistochemistry. The results show that Na+, K+ -ATPase α3 isoform levels were lower in GABAergic neurons in the frontal cortex in BD and schizophrenia as compared with the controls (n = 15 subjects per group). A study on a 'mini-cohort' (n = 3 subjects per group) showed that the α3 isoform levels were also lower in GABAergic neurons in the hippocampus, but not amygdala, of bipolar and schizophrenic subjects. In the temporal cortex, higher Na+, K+ -ATPase α3 protein levels were found in the three psychiatric groups. No significant differences in ECS levels were found in this brain area. This is the first report on the distribution of α3 in specific neurons in the human brain in association with mental illness. These results strengthen the hypothesis for the involvement of Na+, K+ -ATPase in neuropsychiatric diseases.

Central relaxin-3 receptor (RXFP3) activation impairs social recognition and modulates ERK-phosphorylation in specific GABAergic amygdala neurons.

In mammals, the extended amygdala is a neural hub for social and emotional information processing. In the rat, the extended amygdala receives inhibitory GABAergic projections from the nucleus incertus (NI) in the pontine tegmentum. NI neurons produce the neuropeptide relaxin-3, which acts via the Gi/o-protein-coupled receptor, RXFP3. A putative role for RXFP3 signalling in regulating social interaction was investigated by assessing the effect of intracerebroventricular infusion of the RXFP3 agonist, RXFP3-A2, on performance in the 3-chamber social interaction paradigm. Central RXFP3-A2, but not vehicle, infusion, disrupted the capacity to discriminate between a familiar and novel conspecific subject, but did not alter differentiation between a conspecific and an inanimate object. Subsequent studies revealed that agonist-infused rats displayed increased phosphoERK(pERK)-immunoreactivity in specific amygdaloid nuclei at 20 min post-infusion, with levels similar to control again after 90 min. In parallel, we used immunoblotting to profile ERK phosphorylation dynamics in whole amygdala after RXFP3-A2 treatment; and multiplex histochemical labelling techniques to reveal that after RXFP3-A2 infusion and social interaction, pERK-immunopositive neurons in amygdala expressed vesicular GABA-transporter mRNA and displayed differential profiles of RXFP3 and oxytocin receptor mRNA. Overall, these findings demonstrate that central relaxin-3/RXFP3 signalling can modulate social recognition in rats via effects within the amygdala and likely interactions with GABA and oxytocin signalling.

Regulation of aromatase expression in the anterior amygdala of the developing mouse brain depends on ERß and sex chromosome complement.

During development sex differences in aromatase expression in limbic regions of mouse brain depend on sex chromosome factors. Genes on the sex chromosomes may affect the hormonal regulation of aromatase expression and this study was undertaken to explore that possibility. Male E15 anterior amygdala neuronal cultures expressed higher levels of aromatase (mRNA and protein) than female cultures. Furthermore, treatment with oestradiol (E2) or dihydrotestosterone (DHT) increased Cyp19a1 expression and aromatase protein levels only in female neuronal cultures. The effect of E2 on aromatase expression was not imitated by oestrogen receptor (ER) α agonist PPT or the GPER agonist G1, but it was fully reproduced by DPN, a specific ligand of ERß. By contrast, the effect of DHT on aromatase expression was not blocked by the anti-androgen flutamide, but completely abrogated by the ERß antagonist PHTPP. Experiments using the four core genotype model showed a sex chromosome effect in ERß expression (XY > XX) and regulation by E2 or DHT (only XX respond) in amygdala neurons. In conclusion, sex chromosome complement governs the hormonal regulation of aromatase expression through activation of ERß in developing mouse brain.

Exposure to extrinsic stressors, social defeat or bisphenol A, eliminates sex differences in DNA methyltransferase expression in the amygdala.

Chemical and psychological stressors can exert long lasting changes in brain function and behaviour. Changes in DNA methylation have been shown to be an important mechanism mediating long lasting changes in neural function and behaviour, especially for anxiety-like or stress responses. In the present study, we examined the effects of either a social or chemical stressor on DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) gene expression in the amygdala, an important brain region modulating stress responses and anxiety. In adult California mice (Peromyscus californicus) that were naïve to social defeat, females had higher levels of Dnmt1 expression in punch samples of the central amygdala (CeA) than males. In addition, mice that underwent social defeat stress showed reduced Dnmt1 and Dnmt3a expression in the CeA of females but not males. A second study using more anatomically specific punch samples replicated these effects for Dnmt1. Perinatal exposure (spanning from periconception through lactation) to bisphenol A or ethinyl oestradiol (oestrogens in birth control pills) also abolished sex differences in Dnmt1 expression in the CeA but not the basolateral amygdala. These findings identify a robust sex difference in Dnmt1 expression in the CeA that is sensitive to both psychological and chemical stressors. Future studies should aim to examine the impact of psychological and chemical stressors on DNA methylation in the CeA and also investigate whether Dnmt1 may have an underappreciated role in plasticity in behaviour.

A microsomal based method to detect aromatase activity in different brain regions of the rat using ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Aromatase (ARO) is a cytochrome P450 enzyme that accounts for local estrogen production in the brain. The goal of this study was to develop a microsomal based assay to sensitively and reliably detect the low levels of ARO activity in different brain regions. Enzyme activity was detected based on the conversion of testosterone to estradiol. Quantity of estradiol was measured using ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Detection was linear over a range of 2.5-200pg/ml estradiol, and was reproducible with intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation (CV) <15%. Estradiol production using isolated microsomes was linear with time up to 30min as well as linearly related to amount of microsome. Substrate concentration curves revealed enzymatic kinetics (hippocampus: Vmax and Km: 0.57pmol estradiol/h per mg microsome and 48.58nM; amygdala: Vmax and Km: 1.69pmol estradiol/h per mg microsome and 48.4nM; preoptic area: Vmax and Km: 0.96pmol estradiol/h per mg microsome and 44.31nM) with testosterone used at a saturating concentration of 400nM. Anastrozole treatment blocked ARO activity in hippocampal and ovarian microsomes, indicating that the assay is specific for ARO. Also, we showed that the distribution of the long form ARO mRNA (CYP19A1) in different regions of the brain is correlated with ARO activity, with highest levels in the amygdala, followed by preoptic area and hippocampus. In the frontal cortex, very little long form ARO mRNA, and little to no ARO activity, were detected. These findings demonstrate that the microsomal incubation (MIB) assay is a sensitive and reliable method for quantifying ARO activity in discrete brain regions.

Activation of protein kinase A in the amygdala modulates anxiety-like behaviors in social defeat exposed mice.

BACKGROUND: Social defeat (SD) stress induces social avoidance and anxiety-like phenotypes. Amygdala is recognized as an emotion-related brain region such as fear, aversion and anxiety. It is conceivable to hypothesize that activation of amygdala is involved in SD-dependent behavioral defects. RESULTS: SD model was established using C57BL/6J mice that were physically defeated by different CD-1 mice for 10 days. Stressed mice exhibited decreased social interaction level in social interaction test and significant anxiety-like behaviors in elevated plus maze and open field tests. Meanwhile, a higher phosphorylation of PKA and CREB with a mutually linear correlation, and increased Fos labeled cells in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) were observed. Activation of PKA in the BLA by 8-Br-cAMP, a PKA activitor, significantly upregulated pCREB and Fos expression. To address the role of PKA activation on SD stress-induced social avoidance and anxiety-like behaviors, 8-Br-cAMP or H-89, a PKA inhibitor, was continuously administered into the bilateral BLA by a micro-osmotic pump system during the 10-day SD period. Neither H-89 nor 8-Br-cAMP affected the social behavior. Differently, 8-Br-cAMP significantly relieved anxiety-like behaviors in both general and moderate SD protocols. H-89 per se did not have anxiogenic effect in naïve mice, but aggravated moderate SD stress-induced anxiety-like behaviors. The antidepressant clomipramine reduced SD-induced anxiety and up-regulated pPKA level in the BLA. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that SD-driven PKA activation in the basolateral amygdala is actually a compensatory rather than pathogenic response in the homeostasis, and modulating amygdaloid PKA may exhibit potency in the therapy of social derived disorders.

Specific Inhibition of Phosphodiesterase-4B Results in Anxiolysis and Facilitates Memory Acquisition.

Cognitive dysfunction is a core feature of dementia and a prominent feature in psychiatric disease. As non-redundant regulators of intracellular cAMP gradients, phosphodiesterases (PDE) mediate fundamental aspects of brain function relevant to learning, memory, and higher cognitive functions. Phosphodiesterase-4B (PDE4B) is an important phosphodiesterase in the hippocampal formation, is a major Disrupted in Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) binding partner and is itself a risk gene for psychiatric illness. To define the effects of specific inhibition of the PDE4B subtype, we generated mice with a catalytic domain mutant form of PDE4B (Y358C) that has decreased ability to hydrolyze cAMP. Structural modeling predictions of decreased function and impaired binding with DISC1 were confirmed in cell assays. Phenotypic characterization of the PDE4B(Y358C) mice revealed facilitated phosphorylation of CREB, decreased binding to DISC1, and upregulation of DISC1 and ß-Arrestin in hippocampus and amygdala. In behavioral assays, PDE4B(Y358C) mice displayed decreased anxiety and increased exploration, as well as cognitive enhancement across several tests of learning and memory, consistent with synaptic changes including enhanced long-term potentiation and impaired depotentiation ex vivo. PDE4B(Y358C) mice also demonstrated enhanced neurogenesis. Contextual fear memory, though intact at 24 h, was decreased at 7 days in PDE4B(Y358C) mice, an effect replicated pharmacologically with a non-selective PDE4 inhibitor, implicating cAMP signaling by PDE4B in a very late phase of consolidation. No effect of the PDE4B(Y358C) mutation was observed in the prepulse inhibition and forced swim tests. Our data establish specific inhibition of PDE4B as a promising therapeutic approach for disorders of cognition and anxiety, and a putative target for pathological fear memory.

Gene expression profiling of cytochromes P450, ABC transporters and their principal transcription factors in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex of alcoholics, smokers and drug-free controls by qRT-PCR.

1. Ethanol consumption and smoking alter the expression of certain drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters, potentially influencing the tissue-specific effects of xenobiotics. 2. Amygdala (AMG) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) are brain regions that modulate the effects of alcohol and smoking, yet little is known about the expression of cytochrome P450 enzymes (P450s) and ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters in these tissues. 3. Here, we describe the first study on the expression of 19 P450s, their redox partners, three ABC transporters and four related transcription factors in the AMG and PFC of smokers and alcoholics by quantitative RT-PCR. 4. CYP1A1, CYP1B1, CYP2B6, CYP2C8, CYP2C18, CYP2D6, CYP2E1, CYP2J2, CYP2S1, CYP2U1, CYP4X1, CYP46, adrenodoxin and NADPH-P450 reductase, ABCB1, ABCG2, ABCA1, and transcription factors aryl hydrocarbon receptor AhR and proliferator-activated receptor α were quantified in both areas. CYP2A6, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP3A4, CYP3A5, adrenodoxin reductase and the nuclear receptors pregnane X receptor and constitutive androstane receptor were detected but below the limit of quantification. CYP1A2 and CYP2W1 were not detected. 5. Adrenodoxin expression was elevated in all case groups over controls, and smokers showed a trend toward higher CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 expression. 6. Our study shows that most xenobiotic-metabolizing P450s and associated redox partners, transporters and transcription factors are expressed in human AMG and PFC.

Perinatal exposure to genistein affects the normal development of anxiety and aggressive behaviors and nitric oxide system in CD1 male mice.

Genistein is a phytoestrogen, particularly abundant in soybeans, that is able to bind estrogen receptors exerting both estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities. Genistein is largely present in the human diet even during pregnancy. Embryos and fetuses are therefore, commonly exposed to genistein during the development and after birth. In the present study, we used a murine model as a test end-point to investigate the effects of early exposure to genistein on adult male behavior and related neural circuits. Daily exposure of dams to genistein (100 µg/g of body weight) during late pregnancy and early lactation, produced in male offspring, when adults, significant changes in anxiety and aggressive behaviors. Moreover, we found statistically significant variations in the number of neuronal nitric-oxide synthase positive cells in the amygdala. In conclusions, these data indicate that early exposure to phytoestrogens may induce life-long effects on the differentiation of brain structures and behaviors.

Pam heterozygous mice reveal essential role for Cu in amygdalar behavioral and synaptic function.

Copper (Cu) is an essential element with many biological roles, but its roles in the mammalian nervous system are poorly understood. Mice deficient in the cuproenzyme peptidylglycine α-amidating monooxygenase (Pam(+/-) mice) were initially generated to study neuropeptide amidation. Pam(+/-) mice exhibit profound deficits in a few behavioral tasks, including enhancements in innate fear along with deficits in acquired fear. Interestingly, several Pam(+/-) phenotypes were recapitulated in Cu-restricted wild-type mice and rescued in Cu-supplemented Pam(+/-) mice. These behaviors correspond to enhanced excitability and deficient synaptic plasticity in the amygdala of Pam(+/-) mice, which are also rescued by Cu supplementation. Cu and ATP7A are present at synapses, in key positions to respond to and influence synaptic activity. Further study demonstrated that extracellular Cu is necessary for wild-type synaptic plasticity and sufficient to induce long-term potentiation. These experiments support roles for PAM in Cu homeostasis and for synaptic Cu in amygdalar function.

Involvement of amygdalar protein kinase A, but not calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, in the reconsolidation of cocaine-related contextual memories in rats.

RATIONALE: Contextual control over drug relapse depends on the successful reconsolidation and retention of context-response-cocaine associations in long-term memory stores. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) plays a critical role in cocaine memory reconsolidation and subsequent drug context-induced cocaine-seeking behavior; however, less is known about the cellular mechanisms of this phenomenon. OBJECTIVES: The present study evaluated the hypothesis that protein kinase A (PKA) and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) activation in the BLA is necessary for the reconsolidation of context-response-cocaine memories that promote subsequent drug context-induced cocaine-seeking behavior. METHODS: Rats were trained to lever-press for cocaine infusions in a distinct context, followed by extinction training in a different context. Rats were then briefly re-exposed to the previously cocaine-paired context or an unpaired context in order to reactivate cocaine-related contextual memories and initiate their reconsolidation or to provide a similar behavioral experience without explicit cocaine-related memory reactivation, respectively. Immediately after this session, rats received bilateral microinfusions of vehicle, the PKA inhibitor, Rp-adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphorothioate triethylammonium salt (Rp-cAMPS), or the CaMKII inhibitor, KN-93, into the BLA or the posterior caudate putamen (anatomical control region). Rats were then tested for cocaine-seeking behavior (responses on the previously cocaine-paired lever) in the cocaine-paired context and the extinction context. RESULTS: Intra-BLA infusion of Rp-cAMPS, but not KN-93, following cocaine memory reconsolidation impaired subsequent cocaine-seeking behavior in a dose-dependent, site-specific, and memory reactivation-dependent fashion. CONCLUSIONS: PKA, but not CaMKII, activation in the BLA is critical for cocaine memory re-stabilization processes that facilitate subsequent drug context-induced instrumental cocaine-seeking behavior.

[Changes of protein kinase A expressions in central amygdaloid nuclei during the process of chronic morphine-induced conditioned place aversion in rats].

OBJECTIVE: To explore neurobiological mechanisms of the withdrawal-induced aversion. The changes of protein kinase A were measured in central amygdaloid nucleic (CeA) of conditioned place aversion (CPA) model rats. METHODS: (1) All 72 male SD rats were divided into three groups, model group (MN group), and control group (MS group and SN group). MN group was injected with morphine,6.5 days, 10 mg/kg, intraperitoneally (ip), twice per day, naloxone injection, 0.3 mg/kg, ip, along with conditioned place aversion training, to develop the CPA model. The MS group was administrated equivalent volume of morphine and saline. Also the SN group was injected with equivalent volume of saline and naloxone. (2) During the process of morphine-induced CPA, the expression of protein kinase A was assayed with immunohistochemistry in the CeA. RESULTS: In the MN group, protein kinase A expressions in the CeA occurred adaptive changes at different points of CPA (P < 0.05). Protein kinase A expressions after establishment(Day7,134.43 +/- 4.481, P < 0.05), and after extinction (Day 13, 141.01 +/- 3.360, P < 0.01), and after reinstatement (Day 14,137.18 +/- 40.330, P < 0.05) were also lower than those before the establishment of the CPA (Day 5, 124.48 +/- 6.722). However, PKA expressions were not significantly different both in MS group (P > 0.05)and SN group (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: (1) Protein kinase A expression, in turn regulating the aversion expression, in the CeA probably is a key pathway contributing to the development of CPA. (2) The neuroadaptation mediated by protein kinase A may be one of the important molecular underpinnings of CPA.

Hypoxia/reoxygenation impairs memory formation via adenosine-dependent activation of caspase 1.

After hypoxia, a critical adverse outcome is the inability to create new memories. How anterograde amnesia develops or resolves remains elusive, but a link to brain-based IL-1 is suggested due to the vital role of IL-1 in both learning and brain injury. We examined memory formation in mice exposed to acute hypoxia. After reoxygenation, memory recall recovered faster than memory formation, impacting novel object recognition and cued fear conditioning but not spatially cued Y-maze performance. The ability of mice to form new memories after hypoxia/reoxygenation was accelerated in IL-1 receptor 1 knockout (IL-1R1 KO) mice, in mice receiving IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), and in mice given the caspase 1 inhibitor Ac-YVAD-CMK. Mechanistically, hypoxia/reoxygenation more than doubled caspase 1 activity in the brain, which was localized to the amygdala compared to the hippocampus. This reoxygenation-dependent activation of caspase 1 was prevented by broad-spectrum adenosine receptor (AR) antagonism with caffeine and by targeted A1/A2A AR antagonism with 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine plus 3,7-dimethyl-1-propargylxanthine. Additionally, perfusion of adenosine activated caspase 1 in the brain, while caffeine blocked this action by adenosine. Finally, resolution of anterograde amnesia was improved by both caffeine and by targeted A1/A2A AR antagonism. These findings indicate that amygdala-based anterograde amnesia after hypoxia/reoxygenation is sustained by IL-1ß generated through adenosine-dependent activation of caspase 1 after reoxygenation.

Stress history increases alcohol intake in relapse: relation to phosphodiesterase 10A.

Stressful experiences can result in elevated alcohol drinking, as exemplified in many individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder. However, how stress history, rather than acute stressors, influences alcohol intake remains uncertain. To model the protracted effects of past stress, male Wistar rats were subjected to light-cued footshock (stress history) or light cues alone (control) prior to acquisition of alcohol self-administration (1-hour sessions, fixed ratio 1-3, 100 µl of 10% v/v alcohol as reinforcer). Stress history did not alter mean alcohol intake during acquisition of self-administration, but it increased preference for the alcohol-paired lever over the inactive lever. Following an extinction period, rats with a history of stress exposure and low baseline alcohol intake showed a twofold elevation in alcohol self-administration, as compared with low-drinking rats with no stress history. Similar effects were not seen in rats self-administering 0.1% sucrose. Analysis of mRNA levels of phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A), a dual-specificity cyclic adenosine monophosphate and cyclic guanosine monophosphate hydrolyzing enzyme, showed that stress history increased Pde10a mRNA levels in the basolateral amygdala and, in low-drinking rats, the prelimbic prefrontal cortex (plPFC). Pde10a mRNA levels in the plPFC correlated directly with greater alcohol self-administration during the relapse-like phase, and greater BLA Pde10a mRNA levels correlated with increased ethanol preference after acquisition. The data demonstrate that stress history sensitizes otherwise low alcohol drinkers to consume more alcohol in a relapse-like situation and identify stress-induced neuroadaptations in amygdala and prefrontal cortical Pde10a expression as changes that may drive heightened alcohol intake and preference in susceptible individuals.

A memory retrieval-extinction procedure to prevent drug craving and relapse.

Drug use and relapse involve learned associations between drug-associated environmental cues and drug effects. Extinction procedures in the clinic can suppress conditioned responses to drug cues, but the extinguished responses typically reemerge after exposure to the drug itself (reinstatement), the drug-associated environment (renewal), or the passage of time (spontaneous recovery). We describe a memory retrieval-extinction procedure that decreases conditioned drug effects and drug seeking in rat models of relapse, and drug craving in abstinent heroin addicts. In rats, daily retrieval of drug-associated memories 10 minutes or 1 hour but not 6 hours before extinction sessions attenuated drug-induced reinstatement, spontaneous recovery, and renewal of conditioned drug effects and drug seeking. In heroin addicts, retrieval of drug-associated memories 10 minutes before extinction sessions attenuated cue-induced heroin craving 1, 30, and 180 days later. The memory retrieval-extinction procedure is a promising nonpharmacological method for decreasing drug craving and relapse during abstinence.

Na+, K+ ATPase activity is reduced in amygdala of rats with chronic stress-induced anxiety-like behavior.

In this study, we examined the effects of two chronic stress regimens upon anxiety-like behavior, Na(+), K(+)-ATPase activity and immunocontent, and oxidative stress parameters (antioxidant enzymes and reactive oxygen species production) in the amygdala. Male rats were subjected to chronic unpredictable and to chronic restraint stress for 40 days. Subsequently, anxiety-like behavior was examined. Both stressed groups presented increased anxiety-like behavior. Reduced amygdalal Na(+), K(+)-ATPase activity in the synaptic plasma membranes was also observed, without alterations in the amygdala immunocontent. In addition, when analyzing oxidative stress parameters, only superoxide dismutase activity was decreased in the amygdala of animals subjected to unpredictable stress. We conclude that both models of chronic stress lead to anxiety-like behavior and decreased amygdalal Na(+), K(+)-ATPase activity, which appears not to be related to oxidative imbalance. The relationship between this decreased activity and anxiety-like behavior remains to be studied.

Molecular mechanisms in hippocampus and basolateral amygdala but not in parietal or cingulate cortex are involved in extinction of one-trial avoidance learning.

The establishment of extinction of one-trial avoidance involves the dorsal hippocampus (DH) and basolateral amygdala (BLA), two areas that participate in its original consolidation. The posterior parietal (PARIE) and posterior cingulate (CING) cortices also participate in consolidation of this task but their role in extinction has not been explored. Here we study the effect on the extinction of one-trial avoidance in rats of three different drugs infused bilaterally into DH, BLA, PARIE or CING 5min before the first of four daily unreinforced test sessions: The glutamate NMDA receptor antagonist, AP5 (5.0microg/side),and the inhibitors of calcium-calmodulin dependent kinase II (CaMKII), KN-93 (0.3microg/side), or of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), Rp-cAMPs (0.5microg/side) hindered extinction when given into DH or BLA. Levels of pPKA and pCaMKII increased in DH after the first extinction trial; in BLA only the CaMKII increase was seen. Thus, this pathway appears to participate in extinction in BLA at the "basal" levels, and at enhanced levels in DH. None of the treatments affected extinction when given into PARIE or CING. The present findings indicate that: (1) the DH and BLA are important for the initiation of extinction at the time of the first unreinforced retrieval session; (2) both the CaMKII and the PKA signaling pathway are necessary for the development of extinction in the two regions; (3) PARIE and CING are probably unrelated to extinction.

Regulation of amygdalar PKA by beta-arrestin-2/phosphodiesterase-4 complex is critical for fear conditioning.

Beta-arrestins, key regulators of receptor signaling, are highly expressed in the central nervous system, but their roles in brain physiology are largely unknown. Here we show that beta-arrestin-2 is critically involved in the formation of associative fear memory and amygdalar synaptic plasticity. In response to fear conditioning, beta-arrestin-2 translocates to amygdalar membrane where it interacts with PDE-4, a cAMP-degrading enzyme, to inhibit PKA activation. Arrb2(-/-) mice exhibit impaired conditioned fear memory and long-term potentiation at the lateral amygdalar synapses. Moreover, expression of the beta-arrestin-2 in the lateral amygdala of Arrb2(-/-) mice, but not its mutant form that is incapable of binding PDE-4, restores basal PKA activity and rescues conditioned fear memory. Taken together, our data demonstrate that the feedback regulation of amygdalar PKA activation by beta-arrestin-2 and PDE-4 complex is critical for the formation of conditioned fear memory.

Sex differences in NADPH-diaphorase activity in the rat posterodorsal medial amygdala.

The rat posterodorsal medial amygdala (MePD) is a sexually dimorphic area implicated in the control of reproduction. Interestingly, nitric oxide (NO) synthetizing neurons are widely distributed in brain regions involved with the modulation of sexual behavior. Here we studied the NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d) activity and the number of positive cells in the MePD of adult males and adult females either across the estrous cycle (diestrus, proestrus, estrus, and metaestrus) or following ovariectomy and substitutive therapy (consisting of oil, estradiol alone, the combination of estradiol and progesterone, or progesterone alone). The NADPH-d histochemical technique was followed by a semi-quantitative analysis using optical densitometry. Males showed a higher MePD regional optical density and neuronal optical density than females across the estrous cycle, with the exception of the diestrus phase (P<0.01). No differences were found in these parameters during the ovarian cycle (P>0.05). There were no statistically significant differences among males and cycling females in the number of NADPH-d positive cells (P>0.05). Additionally, no statistically significant difference was found in the regional optical density, in the neuronal optical density, or in the number of NADPH-d positive neurons when comparing the data from ovariectomized females that received vehicle or the three different hormonal replacement therapies (P=0.07, P=0.18, and P=0.95, respectively). Results suggest that NADPH-d activity in the rat MePD is different between sexes but in females it is not affected by changing levels of circulating gonadal hormones in physiological or supraphysiological conditions.

Stress influences brain enkephalinase, oxytocinase and angiotensinase activities: a new hypothesis.

Brain enkephalin and oxytocin are anxiolytic agents involved in the response mechanism to stress. Degrading enzymes such as enkephalinase and oxytocinase could also be associated with this response. The effect of acute immobilization stress on enkephalinase and oxytocinase activities was determined in the soluble and membrane fractions of the medial prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala using alanyl- and leucyl-beta-naphthylamide as substrates, the latter in the presence and absence of 20 mM L-methionine. No change in aminopeptidase activities was observed in the prefrontal cortex of stressed rats. In contrast, enkephalinase activity decreased in the soluble fraction of the hippocampus but increased in the membrane fraction. In the amygdala, soluble oxytocinase and membrane enkephalinase activities decreased in stressed animals. These results show that acute immobilization stress affects differentially enkephalinase and oxytocinase activities depending on the fraction and brain region analyzed. A reduction in the activity of soluble enkephalinase in the hippocampus and soluble oxytocinase as well as membrane enkephalinase in the amygdala may suggest higher availability/longer action of enkephalin and oxytocin at these locations. This may explain the relative importance of these enzymatic activities in the anxiolytic properties proposed for enkephalins and oxytocin in the hippocampus and amygdala during stress conditions. This interpretation is not applicable to membrane enkephalinase activity in the hippocampus. However, alanyl-beta-naphthylamide hydrolyzing activity not only measures enkephalinase activity, it also reflects the angiotensinase-induced metabolism of angiotensin III to angiotensin IV. Therefore, our results may also mirror an increase in the formation of Ang IV in hippocampus and a decrease in the amygdala in acute stress. In conclusion, aminopeptidase activities in the hippocampus and amygdala may affect enkephalin, oxytocin and angiotensin III metabolism during acute immobilization stress and therefore be involved in the anxiolytic response.