title: The effects of neuropeptide urocortin 2 on the spontaneous discharge and glutamatergic neurotransmission of striatum neurons.
abstract: The primary cause of the neurodegenerative process that underlies Parkinson's disease (PD) is still unknown. Different mechanisms probably contribute to triggering neuronal death in the nigro-striatum pathway. The neuropeptide urocortin 2 (UCN2) plays an important role in the regulation of striatum (STR) neurons projection. We investigated the effects of UCN2 on spontaneous discharge and glutamatergic responses in STR for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of PD. The experiment used microiontophoresis method to observe the effects of UCN2 on STR neurons' firing rates in vivo. Corticotrophin releasing factor receptor 2 (CRF-R2) selective inhibitor, astressin-2B (AST-2B), was administered simultaneously with UCN2 to investigate the effects of UCN2 on CRF-R2. Moreover, we further explored the effects of UCN2 on glutamatergic responses in STR neurons. We found that UCN2 could significantly inhibit the firing rate of 84% of the tested STR neurons, and its inhibitory effect followed a concentration-dependent manner. During the microiontophoresis of GLU, the excitatory firing of glutamatergic neurons could be attenuated by the addition of UCN2, but enhanced by the application of AST-2B. The results suggest that UCN2 could regulate the effects of STR neurotransmitters (GLU) via CRF-R2 and may thereby contribute to the improvement of PD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Liaoning Medical University, JinZhou 121001, China. Electronic address: springnanaliu@163.com.
authors.forename: Chunna
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning Medical University, JinZhou 121001, China.
authors.forename: Xinyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: The China Medical University, ShenYang 110001, China.
authors.forename: Feiran
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning Medical University, JinZhou 121001, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Liaoning Medical University, JinZhou 121001, China.
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Liaoning Medical University, JinZhou 121001, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D000818:Animals; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003864:Depression, Chemical; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000502:physiology*; D007478:Iontophoresis; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000494:pharmacology; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018019:Receptors, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects*; D054832:Urocortins / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; C101531:CRF receptor type 2; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic; D018019:Receptors, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone; D054832:Urocortins; C528574:astressin-2B; C514216:urocortin 3, rat; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone
keywords: Coticortropin-releasing factor; Glutamate; Neuropeptide; Spontaneous discharge; Striatum; Urocortin