Aging associated changes in serotoninergic and dopaminergic pre- and postsynaptic neurochemical markers in the rat brain.

Measurements of endogenous levels of serotonin (5-HT), 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA), dopamine (DA) and dihydroxyphenyl acetic acid (DOPAC), and biochemical and autoradiographic investigations on 5-HT and DA receptors were made in various brain regions in male rats at three different ages: 3 months, 10 months and 22 months. Age-dependent decreases in 5-HT levels associated with parallel increases in 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio were observed in the hypothalamus, striatum, hippocampus and cerebral cortex, suggesting an accelerated 5-HT turnover in aged rats. Similarly, DA levels were lower, and DOPAC/DA ratio was higher in the striatum of 22-month-old compared to 3-month-old or 10-month-old rats. Of the three different classes of 5-HT receptors which were examined, 5-HT1B sites exhibited the largest age-dependent decrease in density, followed by 5-HT2 sites, while 5-HT1A sites remained practically unchanged during aging. By comparison, the loss of striatal D2 receptors in 22-month-old rats compared to young adults was much greater than that of any 5-HT receptor subtype. Such differential age-dependent alterations of the various classes of 5-HT receptors and of dopaminergic versus serotoninergic synaptic markers might be responsible for at least some of the functional deficits in aged animals.

Immunocytochemical localization of serotonin1A receptors in the rat central nervous system.

Specific anti-rat 5-hydroxytryptamine1A (serotonin1A) receptor antibodies raised in a rabbit injected with a synthetic peptide corresponding to a highly selective portion of the third intracellular loop of the receptor protein (El Mestikawy et al. [1990] Neurosci. Lett. 118:189-192) were used for immunohistochemical mapping of serotonin1A receptors in the brain and spinal cord of adult rats. The highest density of immunostaining was found in limbic areas (lateral septum, CA1 area of Ammon's horn and dentate gyrus in the hippocampus, and frontal and entorhinal cortices), in the anterior raphe nuclei, and in the interpeduncular nucleus, in agreement with previous autoradiographic studies with selective radioligands showing the enrichment of these regions in serotonin1A receptor binding sites. Serotonin1A receptor-like immunoreactivity was also present, but at a moderate level, in the neocortex, in some thalamic and hypothalamic nuclei, in the nucleus of the solitary tract, in the dorsal tegmentum, in the nucleus of the spinal tract of the trigeminal nerve, and in the superficial layers of the dorsal horn in the spinal cord. In contrast, extrapyramidal areas, including the caudate putamen, the globus pallidus, and the substantia nigra as well as the cerebellum, exhibited very low to no immunostaining by antiserotonin1A receptor antibodies. At the cellular level, both the plasma membrane of neuronal perikarya and fine neuronal processes probably corresponding to dendritic fields were found to bind antiserotonin1A receptor antibodies. Regional differences were noted regarding these two types of immunostaining, because only dendrites bound antibodies within the hippocampus and the lateral septum, whereas both dendrites and neuronal cell bodies were immunoreactive in the medial septum, in the diagonal band of Broca, and in the dorsal and median raphe nuclei. Therefore, differential addressing of serotonin1A receptors could occur from one neuron to another. In general, the distribution and density of serotonin1A receptor-like immunoreactivity in the whole brain and in spinal cord were consistent with the mapping of serotonin1A receptor binding sites and serotonin1A receptor mRNA previously established by immunoautoradiographic and in situ hybridization procedures.

Selective irreversible blockade of 5-hydroxytryptamine1A and 5-hydroxytryptamine1C receptor binding sites in the rat brain by 8-MeO-2'-chloro-PAT: a quantitative autoradiographic study.

The possible irreversible blockade of 5-hydroxytryptamine1 receptor subtypes 5-hydroxytryptamine1A, 5-hydroxytryptamine1B/5-hydroxytryptamine1D and 5-hydroxytryptamine1C by the chloramine 8-methoxy-2-(N-2'-chloropropyl,N-propyl)aminotetralin (8-MeO-2'-chloro-PAT) was investigated in rat brain sections by quantitative autoradiography using [3H]8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin [( 3H]8-OH-DPAT), [3H]5-hydroxytryptamine, [125I]BH-8-MeO-N-PAT and [125I]cyanopindolol as radio-ligands. A marked reduction (-50% to -75%) of [3H]8-OH-DPAT and [125I]BH-8-MeO-N-PAT specific binding to 5-hydroxytryptamine1A sites in the hippocampus (CA1 area) and the dorsal raphe nucleus, and of [3H]5-hydroxytryptamine specific binding to 5-hydroxytryptamine1C sites in the choroid plexus was found in sections exposed to 1 microM 8-MeO-2'-chloro-PAT and then washed extensively. In contrast the specific binding of [3H]5-hydroxytryptamine to 5-hydroxytryptamine1B/5-hydroxytryptamine1D sites and of [125I]cyanopindolol to 5-hydroxytryptamine1B sites in the substantia nigra and dorsal subiculum remained unaltered by this treatment. Similarly [125I]cyanopindolol binding to beta-adrenergic receptors was not affected by 8-MeO-2'-chloro-PAT. Prior occupancy of 5-hydroxytryptamine1A sites by 10 microM 5-hydroxytryptamine or 8-OH-DPAT, and of 5-hydroxytryptamine1C sites by 10 microM 5-hydroxytryptamine prevented any subsequent blockade by 8-MeO-2'-chloro-PAT. These data indicate that 8-MeO-2'-chloro-PAT should be a useful alkylating agent for achieving selective irreversible blockade of central 5-hydroxytryptamine1A and 5-hydroxytryptamine1C receptors in vivo in the rat.

Quantification of 5-hydroxytryptamine1A receptors in the cerebellum of normal and X-irradiated rats during postnatal development.

5-Hydroxytryptamine1A receptors were studied in rats during the first postnatal month in the normal cerebellum and in the granule cell-deprived cerebellum produced by X-irradiation at postnatal day 5. Quantitative autoradiographic studies on sagittal sections of cerebellar vermis, using [1251]BH-8-MeO-N-PAT as radioligand or specific anti-receptor antibodies, revealed that 5-hydroxytryptamine1A receptors existed in the molecular/Purkinje cell layer but at variable density from one lobule to another. Thus, in both normal and X-irradiated rats, the posterior lobules were more heavily labelled than the anterior ones, and the density of 5-hydroxytryptamine1A sites decreased progressively in all the cerebellar folia down to hardly detectable levels at postnatal day 21. However, the intensity of labelling remained higher at postnatal day 8 and postnatal day 12 in X-irradiated rats than in age-paired controls. Measurements of [3H]8-OH-DPAT specific binding to membranes from whole cerebellum confirmed that the density of 5-hydroxytryptamine1A sites per mg membrane protein (Bmax) was higher in X-irradiated animals than in age-paired controls. However, on a "per cerebellum" basis, no significant difference could be detected between the total number of 5-hydroxytryptamine1A sites, which progressively increased in both control and X-irradiated animals during the first postnatal month. These results therefore show that 5-hydroxytryptamine1A receptors are not located on developing granule cells. The progressive decrease in 5-hydroxytryptamine1A receptor density during the first postnatal month did not reflect a transient expression of 5-hydroxytryptamine1A receptors in the cerebellum of newborn rats, but resulted from the progressive "dilution" of these sites in this growing structure. The higher density of 5-hydroxytryptamine1A sites in X-irradiated rats simply reflected a lower "dilution" due to the delayed growth of the cerebellum in these animals.

Serotonin1A receptors are expressed by a subpopulation of cholinergic neurons in the rat medial septum and diagonal band of Broca--a double immunocytochemical study.

The possible colocalization of 5-hydroxytryptamine1A receptors and choline acetyltransferase in the same neurons of the medial septum and diagonal band of Broca was investigated using double immunocytochemical techniques, either on the same section or on adjacent thin sections of the rat brain. The presence of both antigens in the same neurons was demonstrated at the light and electron microscopic levels. The proportion of cholinergic neurons that express 5-hydroxytryptamine1A receptors was similar in the different parts of the septal complex (around 25%). By contrast, the proportion of 5-hydroxytryptamine1A receptor-positive neurons also exhibiting choline acetyltransferase immunoreactivity was much higher (40-44%) in the dorsal and ventral groups of cholinergic cells, than in the intermediate group (18%). In line with the topographical distribution of cholinergic projections, this result points out the potential involvement of 5-hydroxytryptamine1A receptors in the control of the septohippocampal cholinergic projection by serotonin. This connection might be relevant to learning and memory, and in the appearance of age-dependent or neurodegenerative cognitive deficits, which have been shown to involve alterations in both the serotoninergic and the cholinergic systems.

Autoradiography of serotonin receptor subtypes in the central nervous system.

The autoradiographic technique is the most relevant approach for the visualization at the light microscope level of the different classes (5-HT(1A), 5-HT(1B), 5-HT(1C), 5-HT(1D), 5-HT(2) and 5-HT(3)) of receptors for the monoamine neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) in the central nervous system of mammals, including man. The only exception is the 5-HT(4) subtype for which no satisfactory radioligand has been developed to date. Quantitative estimates of receptor labelling can be achieved by measurements of optical density on autoradiographic films of brain sections incubated with specific radioligands. This review summarizes the most significant contributions of quantitative autoradiography to the current knowledge of the respective regional distributions and differential regulations of the various classes of central 5-HT receptors.

Immunocytochemical localization of 5-HT1A receptors in the rat immature cerebellum.

The serotonin 5-HT1A receptors were visualized in the cerebellar vermis of 8-day-old and adult rats by immunocytochemistry using anti-5-HT1A receptor antibodies raised against a synthetic peptide corresponding to a highly selective portion of the receptor amino acid sequence (El Mestikawy et al, Neurosci Lett 118, 189-192, 1990). The 5-HT1A receptor-like immunoreactivity was particularly abundant in the posterior lobules (IXB-X) of the immature vermis where it was found in the molecular-Purkinje cell layers. Immunostaining was confined to the plasmic membrane of the Purkinje cell somas, dendrites and perhaps axons (at their somatic emergence) suggesting that 5-HT receptors might participate in non-junctional 5-HT neurotransmission in the immature cerebellum.

Qualitative and quantitative odour discrimation by mitral cells as compared to anterior olfactory nucleus cells.

The responses to odour stimulation of 61 single mitral cells and of 64 single anterior olfactory nucleus (AON) units were simultaneously recorded from rabbits. The test battery consisted of 6 chemical stimuli delivered at two intensity levels corresponding to a hundred-fold difference in concentration. The odour discrimination reaches its best for the mitral cells stimulated weakly; it decreased somewhere when the same cells are stimulated strongly. At AON level the odour discrimination already limited in the case of weak stimuli, almost disappears for strong stimuli. Multidimensional analysis of the odour similarities, respectively in the olfactory bulb and the AON, reveals an unexpectedly high loading of the first axis with an intensity factor. Our results indicate that the discriminatory ability in the mitral cells and in the AON cells are respectively better and poorer than in the chemoreceptors.

An autoradiographic study of serotonergic receptors in a murine genetic model of anxiety-related behaviors.

Modifications in serotonin (5-HT) neurotransmission have been associated with the physiopathology of anxiety and depression. Among the numerous 5-HT receptor subtypes, several (5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, 5-HT2 and 5-HT3) could be involved in these etiologies. By using a murine genetic model, we attempted to correlate variations in the density of receptor subtypes with modifications of anxiety-related behaviors. From a classic inbred strain (C57BL/6ByJ) and a linkage-testing inbred strain (ABP/Le), segregated F(2) populations for 3 loci located in the 4th, 7th and 9th chromosomes have been selected for their different responses in anxiety-related behavioral tests. The regional density of 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, 5-HT2A and 5-HT2B receptors has been measured in the brains of parental strains, F(1) and F(2) populations by quantitative autoradiography. The results suggest that chromosomal fragments containing the brown, pink-eyed dilution and the short-ear loci, previously shown to be involved in anxiogenic processes, are mainly associated with a variation in the density of the 5-HT1B receptors.

Transient expression of 5-HT1A receptor binding sites in some areas of the rat CNS during postnatal development.

The developmental evolution of 5-HT1A receptor binding sites was examined in the rat CNS during the early postnatal period using quantitative autoradiography and binding assays with 3H-8-OH-DPAT as the selective ligand. A progressive increase in the density of 5-HT1A sites was observed in the hippocampus, septum and cerebral cortex, up to adult levels which were reached around the third postnatal week. In contrast, complex biphasic (increase then decrease) changes were noted in other structures (for instance the nucleus of the lateral lemniscus), and even a progressive decrease in the density of 5-HT1A sites took place in the cerebellum during the first two postnatal weeks. The transient expression of 5-HT1A receptor binding sites in a structure such as the cerebellum which develops exclusively for the postnatal period further supports that 5-HT might play a trophic role during maturation of the CNS.

Plasticity of 5-hydroxytryptamine(1B) receptors during postnatal development in the rat visual cortex.

The distribution of 5-hydroxytryptamine1A and 5-hydroxytryptamine1B receptors in the visual cortex was studied by quantitative autoradiography during postnatal development. Overall, receptor densities increased throughout development, but exhibited regional rearrangements, particularly in the case of 5-hydroxytryptamine1B receptors. Neonatal treatment with 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine, which causes selective degeneration of serotoninergic neurons, had no effect on the density of 5-hydroxytryptamine1A receptors in the visual cortex. However, a transient increase in 5-hydroxytryptamine1B at postnatal days 10-12 was observed after this treatment, suggesting a regulation of postsynaptic receptors. Neonatal enucleation resulted in a marked increase in 5-hydroxytryptamine1B binding sites in all layers of the visual cortex by P16, whereas it had no effect upon 5-hydroxytryptamine1A binding sites. These results show that both receptor subtypes do not exhibit striking transient features in the visual cortex during postnatal development, but rather undergo discrete reorganizations. 5-Hydroxytryptamine1B receptors show changes in density after either neonatal degeneration of serotoninergic neurons or enucleation, indicating that the serotoninergic system involving this receptor subtype can exhibit some postnatal plasticity in the visual cortex.

Dopamine receptor subsensitivity in the substantia nigra after chronic morphine treatment in rats.

Several classes of 5-HT and dopamine (DA) receptor binding sites, and the levels of 5-HT, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), DA and dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) were examined in various brain regions 24 h after a 10-day treatment with morphine (2 X 15 mg/kg s.c. daily) in adult rats. Quantitative autoradiography of receptor binding sites revealed only a significant reduction of [3H]SCH-23390 and [3H]spiperone binding to D-1 and D-2 sites, respectively, in the substantia nigra pars compacta of morphine-treated rats. 5-HT and 5-HIAA levels remained unchanged in the substantia nigra and striatum, but the nigral levels of DA and DOPAC and the levels of DOPAC in the striatum were reduced significantly by morphine treatment. Apomorphine, at a dose (0.05 mg/kg s.c.) known to stimulate DA autoreceptors, decreased nigral and striatal DOPAC levels in controls but not in morphine-treated rats. It is concluded that chronic morphine treatment probably induces a down regulation of nigral D-1 and D-2 binding sites and reduces the negative feed-back mechanisms triggered by DA autoreceptors.

Postnatal development and localization of 5-HT1A receptor mRNA in rat forebrain and cerebellum.

The localization of the rat brain 5-HT1A receptor mRNA was analyzed by RNAse mapping and in situ hybridization during postnatal development, particularly in the cerebellum. The regional distribution of 5-HT1A mRNA during the first 2 postnatal weeks was different from that found in adults. In some areas of the immature brain (hippocampus, cerebral cortex), 5-HT1A mRNA was found in lower density than in the adult brain. In contrast, high concentrations of the transcript were present in other brain structures only during the first days after birth. Thus, in the cerebellum, the density of 5-HT1A mRNA decreased markedly from day 2 to day 9 after birth and could hardly be detected in the adult animal. The localization of the mRNA in the molecular/Purkinje cell layer of the immature cerebellum agreed with that of the 5-HT1A receptor protein visualized by immunocytochemistry and was consistent with the hypothesis that Purkinje cells express this receptor.

Autoradiographic evidence of serotonin1 binding sites on primary afferent fibres in the dorsal horn of the rat spinal cord.

Spinal serotonin1 (5-HT1)(labelled by [3H]5-HT), 5-HT1A (labelled by [3H]8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin ([3H]8-OH-DPAT)), mu- (labelled by [3H]Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-(Me)Phe-Gly-ol ([3H]DAGO) and [3H]naloxone) and delta-opiate (labelled by [3H]Tyr-D-Ser-Gly-Phe-Leu-Thr [( 3H]DSTLE] receptor binding sites were studied in adult rats using quantitative autoradiography after either neonatal treatment with capsaicin or unilateral cervical dorsal rhizotomy. Both treatments produced a significant loss of 5-HT (-20 to -30%) and opiate (-30 to -45%) binding sites within the superficial layers of the dorsal horn, suggesting they are partly located presynaptically on primary afferent fibres. Thus, 5-HT, as well as opiates, might generate analgesia by acting--at least partly--on primary afferent nociceptive fibres at the spinal level.

Production of specific anti-rat 5-HT1A receptor antibodies in rabbits injected with a synthetic peptide.

Polyclonal antibodies were raised by the repeated injection of rabbits with a synthetic peptide corresponding to a highly selective portion (amino acid residues 243 to 268) of the amino acid sequence of the rat 5-HT1A receptor. The anti-peptide antiserum allowed the immunoprecipitation of 5-HT1A receptors but not of other 5-HT1 sites solubilized from rat hippocampal membranes. Immunoautoradiographic labelling of rat brain sections with the anti-peptide antiserum was superimposed with the autoradiographic distribution of 5-HT1A sites labelled by the selective radioligand [3H]8-OH-DPAT.

[Mechanisms of chronic cough pathophysiology]. / Passage à la chronicité d'une toux: quels mécanismes?

INTRODUCTION: In some situations such as post-virus or post whooping cough, a non productive subacute cough may occur without apparent local inflammation, epithelium abnormalities or bronchoconstriction. This subacute or chronic cough represents a real syndrome (cough disease) due to the central nervous system (CNS) and its ortho and parasympathic outputs. At the CNS level, functional disturbancies and neosynaptogenesis can be described, with the intervention of the NMDA-type glutamatergic receptors. STATE OF ART: The neurons located in the expiratory area of the breathing center (Pre-Boetzinger complex of the lower brainstem) present exagerated responses to stimuli, due to the repetitive stimulation of the NMDA receptors; this phenomenon is similar to long-term-potentiation (LTP), the molecular basis of learning, memory and neosynaptogenesis. The cough reflex is thus amplified and rapidly chronic and would justify any pharmacological intervention at the NMDA-receptors level. PERSPECTIVES: More recently 5TH4 receptors have been implied in the control of respiration; an overexpression of these receptors in the Pre-Boetzinger area could contribute to an increase of the cough reflex. CONCLUSION: The present review aims at summarizing the main rationale target to pharmacologically block the chronic cough.

[Mitral cell single responses in the olfactory bulb of the rabbit to different intensities of olfactory stimulation]. / Réponses unitaires des cellules mitrales du bulbe olfactif de lapin à une stimulation odorante d'intensité variable.

Neural spike activity was recorded from 50 single mitral cells in the Rabbit olfactory bulb, with variable intensity of the odour stimulation. Six different concentrations were used for two olfactory stimuli, isoamyl acetate and propanol. The discharge frequency of 40 p. 100 of the cells remained constant regardless of the stimulus concentration; most of these cells (80%) showed inhibitory responses. On the other hand, most of the excitatory responses varied depending on stimulus concentration; the frequency vs stimulus concentration function either increased (25% of cells) or decreased (17%), or displayed a maximum (12%).

Pharmacological and physicochemical properties of pre-versus postsynaptic 5-hydroxytryptamine1A receptor binding sites in the rat brain: a quantitative autoradiographic study.

Numerous data suggested that the pharmacological and biochemical properties of 5-hydroxytryptamine1A (5-HT1A) receptors exhibit some regional differences in the CNS, notably within the raphe nuclei compared with various forebrain areas (such as the hippocampus). This possibility has been further investigated in the dorsal raphe nucleus and two areas within the hippocampus, the dentate gyrus and the CA1 area, using the quantitative autoradiographic technique. The potencies of 5'-guanylylimidodiphosphate to inhibit the specific binding of 125I-Bolton-Hunter-8-methoxy-2-(N-propyl-N-propylamino)tetralin (125I-BH-8-MeO-N-PAT) to 5-HT1A sites and of N-ethylmaleimide to block these sites irreversibly were identical in the dorsal raphe nucleus and the hippocampal areas in rat brain sections. In contrast, slight but significant differences were noted in the pH dependence and pharmacological properties of 5-HT1A sites labeled by 125I-BH-8-MeO-N-PAT in these three regions. Similarly, heat denaturation experiments and tissue exposure to either phospholipase A2 or the alkylating agent 8-methoxy-2-(N-2'-chloropropyl,N-propyl)aminotetraline revealed regional differences in the properties of 5-HT1A sites. However, in most cases, the observed variations were of greater amplitude between the CA1 area and the dentate gyrus, where 5-HT1A sites are located postsynaptically, than between any one of these areas and the dorsal raphe nucleus where they act as (presynaptic) somatodendritic autoreceptors. These data further support that subtypes of 5-HT1A receptors probably exist in the rat brain, but this heterogeneity seems unrelated to the pre- or post-synaptic location of these receptors.