Dopaminergic Nuclei in the Chick Midbrain Express Serotonin Receptor Subfamily Genes

Overview

Journal Front Physiol

Date 2022 Nov 25

PMID 36425295

Authors

Toshiyuki Fujita

Naoya Aoki

Chihiro Mori

Shouta Serizawa

Fumiko Kihara-Negishi

Koichi J Homma

Shinji Yamaguchi

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) is a phylogenetically conserved modulator of numerous aspects of neural functions. Serotonergic neurons in the dorsal and median raphe nucleus provide ascending innervation to the entire forebrain and midbrain. Another important neural modulatory system exists in the midbrain, the dopaminergic system, which is associated to reward processing and motivation control. Dopaminergic neurons are distributed and clustered in the brain, classically designated as groups A8-A16. Among them, groups A8-A10 associated with reward processing and motivation control are located in the midbrain and projected to the forebrain. Recently, midbrain dopaminergic neurons were shown to be innervated by serotonergic neurons and modulated by 5-HT, with the crosstalk between serotonergic and dopaminergic systems attracting increased attention. In birds, previous studies revealed that midbrain dopaminergic neurons are located in the A8-A10 homologous clusters. However, the detailed distribution of dopaminergic neurons and the crosstalk between serotonergic and dopaminergic systems in the bird are poorly understood. To improve the understanding of the regulation of the dopaminergic by the serotonergic system, we performed hybridization in the chick brainstem. We prepared RNA probes for chick orthologues of dopaminergic neuron-related genes; tyrosine hydroxylase () and dopa decarboxylase (), noradrenaline related genes; noradrenaline transporter () and dopamine beta-hydroxylase (), and serotonin receptor genes; , , , , , , , , , , , and We confirmed that the expression of (TH) and was well matched in all chick dopaminergic nuclei examined. This supported that the compensation of the function of dopamine transporter (DAT) by NAT is a general property of avian dopaminergic neurons. Furthermore, we showed that and were expressed in midbrain dopaminergic nuclei, suggesting the serotonergic regulation of the dopaminergic system these receptors in chicks. Our findings will help us understand the interactions between the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems in birds at the molecular level.

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