title: Capsaicin augments synaptic transmission in the rat medial preoptic nucleus.
abstract: The medial preoptic nucleus (MPN) is the major nucleus of the preoptic area (POA), a hypothalamic area involved in the regulation of body-temperature. Injection of capsaicin into this area causes hypothermia in vivo. Capsaicin also causes glutamate release from hypothalamic slices. However, no data are available on the effect of capsaicin on synaptic transmission within the MPN. Here, we have studied the effect of exogenously applied capsaicin on spontaneous synaptic activity in hypothalamic slices of the rat. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings were made from visually identified neurons located in the MPN. In a subset of the studied neurons, capsaicin enhanced the frequency of spontaneous glutamatergic EPSCs. Remarkably, capsaicin also increased the frequency of GABAergic IPSCs, an effect that was sensitive to removal of extracellular calcium, but insensitive to tetrodotoxin. This suggests an action of capsaicin at presynaptic GABAergic terminals. In contrast to capsaicin, the TRPV4 agonist 4alpha-PDD did not affect GABAergic IPSCs. Our results show that capsaicin directly affects synaptic transmission in the MPN, likely through actions at presynaptic terminals as well as on projecting neurons. Our data add to the growing evidence that capsaicin receptors are not only expressed in primary afferent neurons, but also contribute to synaptic processing in some CNS regions.
authors.affiliation: AstraZeneca R&D Södertälje, S-151 85 Södertälje, Sweden. urban.karlsson@astrazeneca.com
authors.forename: Urban
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Karlsson
authors.forename: Anna K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Sundgren-Andersson
authors.forename: Staffan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Johansson
authors.forename: Johannes J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Krupp
mesh_terms: D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D002211:Capsaicin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002273:Carcinogens / Q000494:pharmacology; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins / Q000819:agonists / Q000502:physiology; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000819:agonists / Q000502:physiology; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000187:drug effects; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D010703:Phorbol Esters / Q000494:pharmacology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011301:Preoptic Area / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects*; D050916:TRPV Cation Channels; D013779:Tetrodotoxin / Q000494:pharmacology; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D002273:Carcinogens; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D007473:Ion Channels; D010703:Phorbol Esters; D050916:TRPV Cation Channels; C493922:Trpv1 protein, rat; C486577:Trpv4 protein, rat; C008876:phorbol-12,13-didecanoate; D013779:Tetrodotoxin; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D002211:Capsaicin