Orexin decreases mRNA expressions of NMDA and AMPA receptor subunits in rat primary neuron cultures.
Orexin is one of the orexigenic neuropeptides in the hypothalamus. Orexin neurons in the lateral hypothalamus (LH) project into the cerebral cortex and hippocampus in which the receptors are distributed in high concentrations. Therefore, to elucidate the actions of orexin in the cerebral cortex, we examined its effects on the mRNA expressions of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunits (NR1, NR2A, NR2B) and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate (AMPA) receptor subunits (GluR1, GluR2) following 6-day application of orexin-A or orexin-B to rat primary cortical neuron cultures. The mRNAs of NR1 and NR2A subunits were significantly decreased by orexin-A and orexin-B at concentrations over 0.1 microM and 0.01 microM, respectively. The mRNA expression of NR2B subunit was also significantly decreased by orexin-A and orexin-B only at the concentration of 1 microM. Moreover, orexin-A and orexin-B at concentrations over 0.01 microM significantly decreased the mRNA expressions of AMPA receptor subunits, GluR1 and GluR2. The present study demonstrated that orexins significantly suppressed RNA expressions of NMDA and AMPA receptor subunits in cortical neuron cultures, suggesting that orexin may regulate the higher functions of the cerebral cortex as well as be involved in energy regulation in the hypothalamus.
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine and Clinical Science, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan. nobukito@kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Nobuko
N
Yamada
Goro
G
Katsuura
Ichiro
I
Tatsuno
Toshiyuki
T
Asaki
Shigenori
S
Kawahara
Ken
K
Ebihara
Yasushi
Y
Saito
Kazuwa
K
Nakao
D000818:Animals; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000502:physiology*; D000068797:Orexins; D021122:Protein Subunits / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000096:biosynthesis*
D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D009479:Neuropeptides; D000068797:Orexins; D021122:Protein Subunits; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018091:Receptors, AMPA; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate