title: Serotonergic modulation of retinal input to the mouse suprachiasmatic nucleus mediated by 5-HT1B and 5-HT7 receptors.
abstract: Serotonin (5-HT) and 5-HT receptor agonists can modify the response of the mammalian suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) to light. It remains uncertain which 5-HT receptor subtypes mediate these effects. The effects of 5-HT receptor activation on optic nerve-mediated input to SCN neurons were examined using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in horizontal slices of ventral hypothalamus from the male mouse. The hypothesis that 5-HT reduces the effect of retinohypothalamic tract (RHT) input to the SCN by acting at 5-HT1B receptors was tested first. As previously described in the hamster, a mixed 5-HT(1A/1B) receptor agonist, 1-[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-piperazine hydrochloride (TFMPP), reduced the amplitude of glutamatergic excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) evoked by selectively stimulating the optic nerve of wild-type mice. The agonist was negligibly effective in a 5-HT1B receptor knockout mouse, suggesting minimal contribution of 5-HT1A receptors to the TFMPP-induced reduction in the amplitude of the optic nerve-evoked EPSC. We next tested the hypothesis that 5-HT also reduces RHT input to the SCN via activation of 5-HT7 receptors. The mixed 5-HT(1A/7) receptor agonist, R(+)-8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin hydrobromide (8-OH-DPAT), reduced the evoked EPSC amplitude in both wild-type and 5-HT1B receptor knockout mice. This effect of 8-OH-DPAT was minimally attenuated by the selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist WAY 100635 but was reversibly and significantly reduced in the presence of ritanserin, a mixed 5-HT(2/7) receptor antagonist. Taken together with the authors' previous ultrastructural studies of 5-HT1B receptors in the mouse SCN, these results indicate that in the mouse, 5-HT reduces RHT input to the SCN by acting at 5-HT1B receptors located on RHT terminals. Moreover, activation of 5-HT7 receptors in the mouse SCN, but not 5-HT1A receptors, also results in a reduction in the amplitude of the optic nerve-evoked EPSC. The findings indicate that 5-HT may modulate RHT glutamatergic input to the SCN through 2 or more 5-HT receptors. The likely mechanism of altered RHT glutamatergic input to SCN neurons is an alteration of photic effects on the SCN circadian oscillator.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins 80523-1760, USA.
authors.forename: B N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Sollars
authors.forename: F E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Dudek
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Pickard
mesh_terms: D017371:8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects*; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D010879:Piperazines / Q000494:pharmacology; D011725:Pyridines / Q000494:pharmacology; D044302:Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1B; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012160:Retina / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D016713:Ritanserin / Q000494:pharmacology; D012701:Serotonin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D013493:Suprachiasmatic Nucleus / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D010879:Piperazines; D011725:Pyridines; D044302:Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1B; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists; C104425:serotonin 7 receptor; D016713:Ritanserin; C018406:1-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)piperazine; D012701:Serotonin; D018698:Glutamic Acid; C090413:N-(2-(4-(2-methoxyphenyl)-1-piperazinyl)ethyl)-N-(2-pyridinyl)cyclohexanecarboxamide; D017371:8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin