title: Interaction of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 with actin cytoskeleton in supraoptic oxytocin neurons and astrocytes: role in burst firing.
abstract: Neuronal firing patterns determine the manner of neurosecretion, the underlying mechanisms of which are poorly understood. Using supraoptic nuclei in brain slices from lactating rats, we examined the involvement of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and filamentous actin (F-actin) in burst generation by oxytocin (OT) neurons. Blocking phosphorylation of ERK1/2 (pERK1/2) decreased miniature EPSCs and blocked OT-evoked bursts, as did intracellularly loading an antibody against pERK1/2. OT (10 pM) increased cytosolic pERK1/2 close to the cell membrane within the first 5 min, subsiding by 30 min, whereas OT elicited pERK1/2 nuclear translocation in closely associated supraoptic astrocytes. The increased pERK1/2 was tightly correlated with spatiotemporal actin dynamics. In OT neurons, OT initially increased F-actin, particularly at membrane subcortical areas, and then decreased it after 30 min. Both polymerization and depolymerization of actin cytoskeleton were associated with bursts, but only polymerization facilitated OT-evoked bursts. Blocking ERK1/2 activation blocked OT-evoked actin polymerization, whereas depolymerizing F-actin increased pERK1/2 expression. These changes were further identified in vivo. In intact animals, suckling increased ERK1/2 activation in the cytosol and membrane subcortical area F-actin formation in OT neurons, whereas it increased F-actin concentration in astrocytic somata. Coimmunoprecipitation showed that suckling increased molecular interactions between pERK1/2 and actin. Finally, two different blockers of ERK1/2 kinase injected intracerebroventricularly reduced suckling-evoked milk ejections. This is the first demonstration that OT mediation of suckling-evoked bursts/milk ejections is via interactions between pERK1/2 and actin cytoskeleton.
authors: Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, USA. yufengw@ucr.edu
authors: Yu-Feng
authors: YF
authors: Wang
authors: Glenn I
authors: GI
authors: Hatton
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism*; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D007276:Injections, Intraventricular; D007774:Lactation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008893:Milk Ejection / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013495:Supraoptic Nucleus / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D010121:Oxytocin; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3