title: Nicotine-induced acute hyperactivity is mediated by dopaminergic system in a sexually dimorphic manner.
abstract: Short-term exposure to nicotine induces positive effects in mice, monkeys and humans, including mild euphoria, hyperactivity, and enhanced cognition. However, the underlying neural basis and molecular mechanisms for these effects remain poorly understood. Here, using a video recording system, we find that acute nicotine administration induces locomotor hyperactivity in Drosophila, similar to observations made in higher model organisms. Suppressing dopaminergic neurons or down-regulating dopamine 1-like receptor (DopR) abolishes this acute nicotine response, but surprisingly, does so only in male flies. Using a GFP reconstitution across synaptic partners (GRASP) approach, we show that dopaminergic neurons possess potential synaptic connections with acetylcholinergic neurons in wide regions of the brain. Furthermore, dopaminergic neurons are widely activated upon nicotine perfusion in both sexes, while the response curve differs significantly between the sexes. Moreover, knockdown of the β1 nicotine acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) in dopaminergic neurons abolishes the acute nicotine response only in male flies, while panneural knock-down occurs in both sexes. Taken together, our results reveal that in fruit flies, dopaminergic neurons mediate nicotine-induced acute locomotor hyperactivity in a sexually dimorphic manner, and Drosophila β1 nAChR subunit plays a crucial role in this nicotine response. These findings provide important insights into the molecular and neural basis of acute nicotine effects, and the underlying mechanisms may play conserved roles across species.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Yunpeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China. Electronic address: akguo@ion.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Aike
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: liyan@ibp.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D059329:Cholinergic Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D059290:Dopaminergic Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004330:Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004409:Dyskinesia, Drug-Induced / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011954:Receptors, Dopamine / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012727:Sex Characteristics
chemical_list: C093147:Dop1R1 protein, Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; D011954:Receptors, Dopamine; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D009538:Nicotine
keywords: Drosophila; dopaminergic neurons; locomotor hyperactivity; nicotine; sexual dimorphism; β1 nAChR