Are biological actions of neurokinin A in the adult brain mediated by a cross-talk between the NK1 and NK2 receptors?

Mice lacking the NK(1) receptor (NK(1)R-/- mice) and selective, high-affinity, non-peptide, NK(1), NK(2) and NK(3) receptor antagonists were used to identify the tachykinin receptor subtype(s) mediating the central responses induced by neurokinin A (NKA). The peptides, substance P (SP), NKA and senktide and the antagonists were injected intracerebroventricularly (ICV) through an implanted cannula. NKA (50 pmol) was as potent as SP (50 pmol) in inducing grooming behaviour (face washing and hind limb grooming) in wild-type mice, but both peptides failed to induce behavioural responses in NK(1)R-/- mice. In wild-type mice, the NK(1) receptor antagonist, RP 67580 (2 nmol), effectively inhibited grooming behaviour elicited by SP, but was inactive against grooming induced by NKA, which in turn was abolished after pre-treatment with the selective NK(2) receptor agonist, SR 48968 (2 nmol). Unlike NKA, the selective NK(2) receptor agonists, (ß Ala(8)) NKA 4-10 and (NLeu(10)) NKA 4-10, injected ICV at doses of 50 or 100 pmol did not elicit any behavioural response in wild-type mice. The NK(3) receptor antagonist, SR 142801, inhibited behaviours induced by the NK(3) receptor agonist, senktide, but did not alter behavioural responses to either SP or NKA in wild-type mice. The present findings demonstrate that central biological actions of SP and senktide are mediated by activation of NK(1) and NK(3) receptors, respectively. Our results also indicate that NK(1) receptors are essential for generating central actions induced by NKA, which are most probably mediated by a cross-talk between the NK(1) and NK(2) receptors.

The ducky mutation in Cacna2d2 results in altered Purkinje cell morphology and is associated with the expression of a truncated alpha 2 delta-2 protein with abnormal function.

The mouse mutant ducky, a model for absence epilepsy, is characterized by spike-wave seizures and cerebellar ataxia. A mutation in Cacna2d2, the gene encoding the alpha 2 delta-2 voltage-dependent calcium channel accessory subunit, has been found to underlie the ducky phenotype. The alpha 2 delta-2 mRNA is strongly expressed in cerebellar Purkinje cells. We show that du/du mice have abnormalities in their Purkinje cell dendritic tree. The mutation in alpha 2 delta-2 results in the introduction of a premature stop codon and predicts the expression of a truncated protein encoded by the first three exons of Cacna2d2, followed by 8 novel amino acids. We show that both mRNA and protein corresponding to this predicted transcript are expressed in du/du cerebellum and present in Purkinje cells. Whereas the alpha 2 delta-2 subunit increased the peak current density of the Ca(V)2.1/beta(4) channel combination when co-expressed in vitro, co-expression with the truncated mutant alpha 2 delta-2 protein reduced current density, indicating that it may contribute to the du phenotype.