The axon initial segment (AIS) is a specialized structure near the start of the axon that is a site of neuronal plasticity. Changes in activity levels in vitro and in vivo can produce structural AIS changes in excitatory cells that have been linked to alterations in excitability, but these effects have never been described in inhibitory interneurons. In the mammalian olfactory bulb (OB), dopaminergic interneurons are particularly plastic, undergoing constitutive turnover throughout life and regulating tyrosine hydroxylase expression in an activitydependent manner. Here we used dissociated cultures of rat and mouse OB to show that a subset of bulbar dopaminergic neurons possess an AIS and that these AIS-positive cells are morphologically and functionally distinct from their AIS-negative counterparts. Under baseline conditions, OB dopaminergic AISs were short and located distally along the axon but, in response to chronic 24 h depolarization, lengthened and relocated proximally toward the soma. These activity-dependent changes were in the opposite direction to both those we saw in non-GABAergic OB neurons and those reported previously for excitatory cell types. Inverted AIS plasticity in OB dopaminergic cells was bidirectional, involved all major components of the structure, was dependent on the activity of L-type Ca V 1 calcium channels but not on the activity of the calcium-activated phosphatase calcineurin, and was opposed by the actions of cyclin-dependent kinase 5. Such distinct forms of AIS plasticity in inhibitory interneurons and excitatory projection neurons may allow considerable flexibility when neuronal networks must adapt to perturbations in their ongoing activity.

Most neurogenesis in the mammalian brain is completed embryonically, but in certain areas the production of neurons continues throughout postnatal life. The functional properties of mature postnatally generated neurons often match those of their embryonically produced counterparts. However, we show here that in the olfactory bulb (OB), embryonic and postnatal neurogenesis produce functionally distinct subpopulations of dopaminergic (DA) neurons. We define two subclasses of OB DA neuron by the presence or absence of a key subcellular specialisation: the axon initial segment (AIS). Large AIS-positive axon-bearing DA neurons are exclusively produced during early embryonic stages, leaving small anaxonic AIS-negative cells as the only DA subtype generated via adult neurogenesis. These populations are functionally distinct: large DA cells are more excitable, yet display weaker and – for certain long-latency or inhibitory events – more broadly tuned responses to odorant stimuli. Embryonic and postnatal neurogenesis can therefore generate distinct neuronal subclasses, placing important constraints on the functional roles of adult-born neurons in sensory processing.

In the pituitary, C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) has been implicated as a gonadotroph-specific factor, yet expression of the CNP gene (Nppc) and CNP activity in gonadotrophs is poorly defined. Here, we examine the molecular expression and putative function of a local gonadotroph natriuretic peptide system. Nppc, along with all three natriuretic peptide receptors (Npr1, Npr2 and Npr3), was expressed in both aT3-1 and LbT2 cells and primary mouse pituitary tissue, yet the genes for atrial-(ANP) and B-type natriuretic peptides (Nppa and Nppb) were much less abundant. Putative processing enzymes of CNP were also expressed in aT3-1 cells and primary mouse pituitaries. Transcriptional analyses revealed that the proximal 50 bp of the murine Nppc promoter were sufficient for GNRH responsiveness, in an apparent protein kinase C and calcium-dependent manner. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed Sp1/Sp3 proteins form major complexes within this region of the Nppc promoter. CNP protein was detectable in rat anterior pituitaries, and electron microscopy detected CNP immunoreactivity in secretory granules of gonadotroph cells. Pharmacological analyses of natriuretic peptide receptor activity clearly showed ANP and CNP are potent activators of cGMP production. However, functional studies failed to reveal a role for CNP in regulating cell proliferation or LH secretion. Surprisingly, CNP potently stimulated the human glycoprotein hormone a-subunit promoter in LbT2 cells but not in aT3-1 cells. Collectively, these findings support a role for CNP as the major natriuretic peptide of the anterior pituitary, and for gonadotroph cells as the major source of CNP expression and site of action.

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