title: Involvement of CGRP receptors in retinal spreading depression.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cortical spreading depression (CSD) is a transient propagating excitation of synaptic activity followed by depression, which is implicated in migraine with aura and is regarded as the underlying cause of migraine. Calcitonin-gene related peptide (CGRP) receptors play a crucial role in mediating the magnitude of CSD in rat cortical slice. This study aimed to examine whether CGRP receptors are involved in retinal spreading depression (RSD) in chicks.
  
  
  METHODS
  Western blot was used for detection of calcitonin-receptor like receptor (CALCRL) and intrinsic optical imaging was used for pharmacological investigation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that the key component of CGRP receptor, CALCRL, is expressed in the chick retina. Using an in vitro migraine RSD model, we demonstrated that BIBN4096, a potent antagonist for CGRP receptors, markedly reduced the magnitude of RSD induced by K(+), but also the propagation rate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data suggest that CGRP receptors mediate RSD propagation involving neuronal mechanism and approve that RSD is an efficient in vitro approach for assessing anti-migraine drugs targeting CGRP receptors.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neuroscience, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, PR China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neuroscience, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, PR China.
authors.forename: Yanli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neuroscience, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, PR China; Department of Biological Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, PR China. Electronic address: minyan.wang@xjtlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Minyan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D013181:Cortical Spreading Depression / Q000502:physiology*; D003863:Depression / Q000378:metabolism*; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000378:metabolism; D018015:Receptors, Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide / Q000378:metabolism*; D012160:Retina / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018015:Receptors, Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide
keywords: BIBN4096; Calcitonin-gene related peptide receptor; Chick retina; Migraine; Retinal spreading depression