Identification of the suprachiasmatic nucleus venous portal system in the mammalian brain.

There is only one known portal system in the mammalian brain - that of the pituitary gland, first identified in 1933 by Popa and Fielding. Here we describe a second portal pathway in the mouse linking the capillary vessels of the brain's clock suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) to those of the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis (OVLT), a circumventricular organ. The localized blood vessels of portal pathways enable small amounts of important secretions to reach their specialized targets in high concentrations without dilution in the general circulatory system. These brain clock portal vessels point to an entirely new route and targets for secreted SCN signals, and potentially restructures our understanding of brain communication pathways.

Keeping time in the lamina terminalis: Novel oscillator properties of forebrain sensory circumventricular organs.

Drinking behavior and osmotic regulatory mechanisms exhibit clear daily variation which is necessary for achieving the homeostatic osmolality. In mammals, the master clock in the brain's suprachiasmatic nuclei has long been held as the main driver of circadian (24 h) rhythms in physiology and behavior. However, rhythmic clock gene expression in other brain sites raises the possibility of local circadian control of neural activity and function. The subfornical organ (SFO) and the organum vasculosum laminae terminalis (OVLT) are two sensory circumventricular organs (sCVOs) that play key roles in the central control of thirst and water homeostasis, but the extent to which they are subject to intrinsic circadian control remains undefined. Using a combination of ex vivo bioluminescence and in vivo gene expression, we report for the first time that the SFO contains an unexpectedly robust autonomous clock with unusual spatiotemporal characteristics in core and noncore clock gene expression. Furthermore, putative single-cell oscillators in the SFO and OVLT are strongly rhythmic and require action potential-dependent communication to maintain synchrony. Our results reveal that these thirst-controlling sCVOs possess intrinsic circadian timekeeping properties and raise the possibility that these contribute to daily regulation of drinking behavior.

Beta-catenin signaling regulates barrier-specific gene expression in circumventricular organ and ocular vasculatures.

The brain, spinal cord, and retina are supplied by capillaries that do not permit free diffusion of molecules between serum and parenchyma, a property that defines the blood-brain and blood-retina barriers. Exceptions to this pattern are found in circumventricular organs (CVOs), small midline brain structures that are supplied by high permeability capillaries. In the eye and brain, high permeability capillaries are also present in the choriocapillaris, which supplies the retinal pigment epithelium and photoreceptors, and the ciliary body and choroid plexus, the sources of aqueous humor and cerebrospinal fluid, respectively. We show here that (1) endothelial cells in these high permeability vascular systems have very low beta-catenin signaling compared to barrier-competent endothelial cells, and (2) elevating beta-catenin signaling leads to a partial conversion of permeable endothelial cells to a barrier-type state. In one CVO, the area postrema, high permeability is maintained, in part, by local production of Wnt inhibitory factor-1.

From sensory circumventricular organs to cerebral cortex: Neural pathways controlling thirst and hunger.

Much progress has been made during the past 30 years with respect to elucidating the neural and endocrine pathways by which bodily needs for water and energy are brought to conscious awareness through the generation of thirst and hunger. One way that circulating hormones influence thirst and hunger is by acting on neurones within sensory circumventricular organs (CVOs). This is possible because the subfornical organ and organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis (OVLT), the sensory CVOs in the forebrain, and the area postrema in the hindbrain lack a normal blood-brain barrier such that neurones within them are exposed to blood-borne agents. The neural signals generated by hormonal action in these sensory CVOs are relayed to several sites in the cerebral cortex to stimulate or inhibit thirst or hunger. The subfornical organ and OVLT respond to circulating angiotensin II, relaxin and hypertonicity to drive thirst-related neural pathways, whereas circulating amylin, leptin and possibly glucagon-like peptide-1 act at the area postrema to influence neural pathways inhibiting food intake. As a result of investigations using functional brain imaging techniques, the insula and anterior cingulate cortex, as well as several other cortical sites, have been implicated in the conscious perception of thirst and hunger in humans. Viral tracing techniques show that the anterior cingulate cortex and insula receive neural inputs from thirst-related neurones in the subfornical organ and OVLT, with hunger-related neurones in the area postrema having polysynaptic efferent connections to these cortical regions. For thirst, initially, the median preoptic nucleus and, subsequently, the thalamic paraventricular nucleus and lateral hypothalamus have been identified as likely sites of synaptic links in pathways from the subfornical organ and OVLT to the cortex. The challenge remains to identify the links in the neural pathways that relay signals originating in sensory CVOs to cortical sites subserving either thirst or hunger.

TLR4 in circumventricular neural stem cells is a negative regulator for thermogenic pathways in the mouse brain.

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) recognizes bacteria-derived lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In the present study, we found that intraperitoneal LPS activated nuclear factor-κ B (NF-κB) in TLR4-expressing neural stem cells (NSCs) in the circumventricular brain regions of mice. Intracerebroventricular preadministration of low-dose TLR4 inhibitors significantly augmented hyperthermia together with the inhibition of NF-κB activation in circumventricular NSCs of LPS-inflamed animals. Moreover, intracerebroventricular administration of high-dose TLR4 inhibitors induced hyperthermia and Fos activation in circumventricular NSCs and hypothalamic neurons. These results suggest that TLR4 on circumventricular NSCs functions as a central regulator for thermogenesis under inflamed and normal conditions.

The choroid plexus is an important circadian clock component.

Mammalian circadian clocks have a hierarchical organization, governed by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus. The brain itself contains multiple loci that maintain autonomous circadian rhythmicity, but the contribution of the non-SCN clocks to this hierarchy remains unclear. We examine circadian oscillations of clock gene expression in various brain loci and discovered that in mouse, robust, higher amplitude, relatively faster oscillations occur in the choroid plexus (CP) compared to the SCN. Our computational analysis and modeling show that the CP achieves these properties by synchronization of "twist" circadian oscillators via gap-junctional connections. Using an in vitro tissue coculture model and in vivo targeted deletion of the Bmal1 gene to silence the CP circadian clock, we demonstrate that the CP clock adjusts the SCN clock likely via circulation of cerebrospinal fluid, thus finely tuning behavioral circadian rhythms.

Clarifying the Ghrelin System's Ability to Regulate Feeding Behaviours Despite Enigmatic Spatial Separation of the GHSR and Its Endogenous Ligand.

Ghrelin is a hormone predominantly produced in and secreted from the stomach. Ghrelin is involved in many physiological processes including feeding, the stress response, and in modulating learning, memory and motivational processes. Ghrelin does this by binding to its receptor, the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR), a receptor found in relatively high concentrations in hypothalamic and mesolimbic brain regions. While the feeding and metabolic effects of ghrelin can be explained by the effects of this hormone on regions of the brain that have a more permeable blood brain barrier (BBB), ghrelin produced within the periphery demonstrates a limited ability to reach extrahypothalamic regions where GHSRs are expressed. Therefore, one of the most pressing unanswered questions plaguing ghrelin research is how GHSRs, distributed in brain regions protected by the BBB, are activated despite ghrelin's predominant peripheral production and poor ability to transverse the BBB. This manuscript will describe how peripheral ghrelin activates central GHSRs to encourage feeding, and how central ghrelin synthesis and ghrelin independent activation of GHSRs may also contribute to the modulation of feeding behaviours.

The circumventricular organs.

The circumventricular organs (CVOs) are midline structures located around the third and fourth ventricles that are characterized by a lack of blood-brain barrier. The pineal gland, median eminence, neurohypophysis and the subcommisural organ are classified as secretory, whereas the subfornical organ, area postrema and the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis as the sensory CVOs. Glial cells consisting of astrocytes and microglia/macrophages are present in all these organs. The pineal gland, neurohypophysis and the median eminence lack the presence of neurons that are present in the rest of the circumventricular organs. Most of the circumventricular organs are lined by ependymal cells except the pineal and the neurohypophysis. Modified ependymal cells known as tanycytes are present in the ependymal lining. These organs are important sites for communication with the cerebrospinal fluid as well as between the brain and peripheral organs via blood-borne products as they lack the blood brain barrier.

The Na(x) Channel: What It Is and What It Does.

Na(x), which is preferentially expressed in the glial cells of sensory circumventricular organs in the brain, is a sodium channel that is poorly homologous to voltage-gated sodium channels. We previously reported that Na(x) is a sodium concentration ([Na(+)])-sensitive, but not a voltage-sensitive channel that is critically involved in body-fluid homeostasis. Na(x)-knockout mice do not stop ingesting salt even when dehydrated and transiently develop hypernatremia. [Na(+)] in body fluids is strictly controlled at 135 to 145 mM in mammals. Although the set point must be within this range, Na(x) was shown to have a threshold value of ~150 mM for extracellular [Na(+)] ([Na(+)]o) for activation in vitro. Therefore, the [Na(+)]o dependency of Na(x) in vivo is presumably modified by an as yet unidentified mechanism. We recently demonstrated that the [Na(+)]o dependency of Na(x) in the subfornical organ was adjusted to the physiological range by endothelin-3. Pharmacological experiments revealed that endothelin receptor B signaling was involved in this modulation of Na(x) gating through protein kinase C and ERK1/2 activation. In addition, we identified a case of essential hypernatremia caused by autoimmunity to Na(x). Occurrence of a ganglioneuroma composed of Schwann-like cells that robustly expressed Na(x) was likely to induce the autoimmune response in this patient. An intravenous injection of the immunoglobulin fraction of the patient's serum, which contained anti-Na(x) antibodies, into mice reproduced the patient's symptoms. This review provides an overview of the physiological functions of Na(x) by summarizing our recent studies.

Blood borne hormones in a cross-talk between peripheral and brain mechanisms regulating blood pressure, the role of circumventricular organs.

Accumulating evidence suggests that blood borne hormones modulate brain mechanisms regulating blood pressure. This appears to be mediated by the circumventricular organs which are located in the walls of the brain ventricular system and lack the blood-brain barrier. Recent evidence shows that neurons of the circumventricular organs express receptors for the majority of cardiovascular hormones. Intracerebroventricular infusions of hormones and their antagonists is one approach to evaluate the influence of blood borne hormones on the neural mechanisms regulating arterial blood pressure. Interestingly, there is no clear correlation between peripheral and central effects of cardiovascular hormones. For example, angiotensin II increases blood pressure acting peripherally and centrally, whereas peripherally acting pressor catecholamines decrease blood pressure when infused intracerebroventricularly. The physiological role of such dual hemodynamic responses has not yet been clarified. In the paper we review studies on hemodynamic effects of catecholamines, neuropeptide Y, angiotensin II, aldosterone, natriuretic peptides, endothelins, histamine and bradykinin in the context of their role in a cross-talk between peripheral and brain mechanisms involved in the regulation of arterial blood pressure.