title: Acute stress induces down-regulation of large-conductance Ca2+-activated potassium channels in the lateral amygdala.
abstract: Large-conductance Ca2+-activated potassium channels (BKCa) are highly expressed in the lateral amygdala (LA), which is closely involved in assigning stress disorders, but data on their role in the neuronal circuits of stress disorders are limited. In the present study, a significant reduction in BKCa channel expression in the amygdala of mice accompanied anxiety-like behaviour induced by acute stress. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from LA neurons of the anxious animals revealed a pronounced reduction in the fast after-hyperpolarization (fAHP) of action potentials mediated by BKCa channels that led to hyperexcitability of the LA neurons. Activation of BKCa channels in the LA reversed stress-induced anxiety-like behaviour after stress. Furthermore, down-regulated BKCa channels notably increased the evoked NMDA receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic potentials at the thalamo-LA synapses. These data demonstrate, for the first time, that restraint stress-induced anxiety-like behaviour could at least partly be explained by alterations in the functional BKCa channels in the LA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Yan-yan
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Shui-bing
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Guang-Bin
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Jiang-hao
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xiao-qiang
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yu-mei
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Li-ze
authors.initials: LZ
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Weiqi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ming-gao
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000679:Amygdala / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D015536:Down-Regulation; D051037:Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channel alpha Subunits / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000502:physiology*; D012149:Restraint, Physical; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: C530995:BKCa protein, mouse; D051037:Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channel alpha Subunits; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate