Anorexia nervosa is a growing concern in mental health, often inducing death. The potential neuronal deficits that may underlie abnormal inhibitions of food intake, however, remain largely unexplored. We hypothesized that anorexia may involve altered signaling events within the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a brain structure involved in reward. We show here that direct stimulation of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) 4 receptors (5-HT4R) in the NAc reduces the physiological drive to eat and increases CART (cocaine-and amphetamine-regulated transcript) mRNA levels in fed and food-deprived mice. It further shows that injecting 5-HT4R antagonist or siRNA-mediated 5-HT4R knockdown into the NAc induced hyperphagia only in fed mice. This hyperphagia was not associated with changes in CART mRNA expression in the NAc in fed and food-deprived mice. Results include that 5-HT4R control CART mRNA expression into the NAc via a cAMP/PKA signaling pathway. Considering that CART may interfere with food-and drug-related rewards, we tested whether the appetite suppressant properties of 3,4-N-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) involve the 5-HT4R. Using 5-HT4R knockout mice, we demonstrate that 5-HT4R are required for the anorectic effect of MDMA as well as for the MDMA-induced enhancement of CART mRNA expression in the NAc. Directly injecting CART peptide or CART siRNA into the NAc reduces or increases food consumption, respectively. Finally, stimulating 5-HT4R-and MDMA-induced anorexia were both reduced by injecting CART siRNA into the NAc. Collectively, these results demonstrate that 5-HT4R-mediated upregulation of CART in the NAc triggers the appetite-suppressant effects of ecstasy.A norexia nervosa is one of the mental diseases exhibiting the highest mortality rates in industrialized countries (1, 2). No effective strategies for treating this disorder are available. If one defines anorexia as self-imposed deprivation despite an energy demand, similar behavior can be provoked by treatments that increase serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) neuromodulation (3). For instance, fenf luramine, which increases synaptic 5-HT levels, lowers the consumption of food in humans and rodents (4, 5). Similarly, amphetamine and 3,4-N-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) diminish food consumption in humans (6) and rats (7) and reduce deprivation-induced eating in mice (8). 5-HTinduced hypophagia is mediated by both 5-HT 1B and 5-HT 2C receptors (5-HT 1B R and 5-HT 2C R) (9 -11). In particular, 5-HT 2C R in the hypothalamus contributes to fenf luramineand MDMA-induced anorexia-like behavior (5, 8, 12). Moreover, 5-HT 1B R and 5-HT 2C R knockout (KO) mice are less sensitive to fenf luramine (4, 5).Stress and anxiety can also induce anorexia (13), and increases in 5-HT neuromodulation are known to participate in the decreased food intake caused by stress (14-16). We have demonstrated that 5-HT 4 R KO displays attenuated responses to stress-induced hypophagia (17). Because MDMA is a rewarding drug that reduces the intake of food...

High-frequency stimulation (HFS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is now recognized as an effective treatment for advanced Parkinson's disease, but the molecular basis of its effects remains unknown. This study examined the effects of unilateral STN HFS (2 hr of continuous stimulation) in intact and hemiparkinsonian awake rats on STN neuron metabolic activity and on neurotransmitter-related gene expression in the basal ganglia, by means of in situ hybridization histochemistry and immunocytochemistry. In both intact and hemiparkinsonian rats, this stimulation was found to induce c-fos protein expression but to decrease cytochrome oxidase subunit I mRNA levels in STN neurons. STN HFS did not affect the dopamine lesion-mediated overexpression of enkephalin mRNA or the decrease in substance P in the ipsilateral striatum. The lesion-induced increases in intraneuronal glutamate decarboxylase 67 kDa isoform (GAD67) mRNA levels on the lesion side were reversed by STN HFS in the substantia nigra, partially antagonized in the entopeduncular nucleus but unaffected in the globus pallidus. The stimulation did not affect neuropeptide or GAD67 mRNA levels in the side contralateral to the dopamine lesion or in intact animals. These data furnish the first evidence that STN HFS decreases the metabolic activity of STN neurons and antagonizes dopamine lesion-mediated cellular defects in the basal ganglia output structures. They provide molecular substrate to the therapeutic effects of this stimulation consistent with the current hypothesis that HFS blocks STN neuron activity. However, the differential impact of STN HFS on the effects of dopamine lesion among structures receiving direct STN inputs suggests that this stimulation may not cause simply interruption of STN outflow.

This study examined the effects of prolonged (4 days) high frequency stimulation (HFS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN), in comparison with those of STN lesion, on the dopamine denervation-mediated cellular changes in the basal ganglia in a Wistar rat model of Parkinson's disease. STN HFS counteracted the dopamine lesion-induced increase in GAD67 mRNA expression in the output structures of the basal ganglia, as shown previously after STN lesion, providing cellular support for the similar antiparkinsonian benefits produced by the two surgical procedures. The dopamine denervation-induced increase in GAD67 mRNA levels in the globus pallidus was partially antagonized after HFS and totally reversed after ibotenate-induced STN lesion. The overexpression of striatal enkephalin mRNA tended to be further increased by HFS but was antagonized by STN lesion. The decrease in striatal substance P mRNA levels was affected neither by STN HFS nor lesion. As STN HFS for two hours was previously found not to interfere with the effects of dopamine lesion in the globus pallidus and striatum, the present data provide strong evidence that the effects of STN surgery in these structures involve long-term adaptive processes and that the rearrangements mediated by HFS and lesion are, at least in part, different.

BackgroundUnilateral vestibular deafferentation results in strong microglial and astroglial activation in the vestibular nuclei (VN) that could be due to an inflammatory response. This study was aimed at determining if markers of inflammation are upregulated in the VN after chemical unilateral labyrinthectomy (UL) in the rat, and if the inflammatory response, if any, induces the expression of neuroprotective factors that could promote the plasticity mechanisms involved in the vestibular compensation process. The expressions of inflammatory and neuroprotective factors after chemical or mechanical UL were also compared to verify that the inflammatory response was not due to the toxicity of sodium arsanilate.MethodsImmunohistological investigations combined the labeling of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), as a marker of the VN inflammatory response, and of nuclear transcription factor κB (NFκB) and manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), as markers of neuroprotection that could be expressed in the VN because of inflammation. Immunoreactivity (Ir) of the VN cells was quantified in the VN complex of rats. Behavioral investigations were performed to assess the functional recovery process, including both static (support surface) and dynamic (air-righting and landing reflexes) postural tests.ResultsChemical UL (arsanilate transtympanic injection) induced a significant increase in the number of TNFα-Ir cells in the medial and inferior VN on both sides. These changes were detectable as early as 4 h after vestibular lesion, persisted at 1 day, and regained nearly normal values at 3 days. The early increase in TNFα expression was followed by a slightly delayed upregulation of NFκB 8 h after chemical UL, peaking at 1 day, and regaining control values 3 days later. By contrast, upregulation of MnSOD was more strongly delayed (1 day), with a peak at 3 days, and a return to control values at 15 days. Similar changes of TNFα, NFκB, and MnSOD expression were found in rats submitted to mechanical UL. Behavioral observations showed strong posturo-locomotor deficits early after chemical UL (1 day) and a complete functional recovery 6 weeks later.ConclusionsOur results suggest that the upregulation of inflammatory and neuroprotective factors after vestibular deafferentation in the VN may constitute a favorable neuronal environment for the vestibular compensation process.

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Molecular determinants of excitability were studied in pure cultures of rat embryonic motoneurons. Using RT‐PCR, we have shown here that the spike‐generating Na+ current is supported by Nav1.2 and/or Nav1.3 α‐subunits. Nav1.1 and Nav1.6 transcripts were also identified. We have demonstrated that alternatively spliced isoforms of Nav1.1 and Nav1.6, resulting in truncated proteins, were predominant during the first week in culture. However, Nav1.6 protein could be detected after 12 days in vitro. The Navβ2.1 transcript was not detected, whereas the Nav β1.1 transcript was present. Even in the absence of Navβ2.1, α‐subunits were correctly inserted into the initial segment. RT‐PCR (at semi‐quantitative and single‐cell levels) and immunocytochemistry showed that transient K+ currents result from the expression of Kv4.2 and Kv4.3 subunits. This is the first identification of subunits responsible for a transient K+ current in spinal motoneurons. The blockage of Kv4.2/Kv4.3 using a specific toxin modified the shape of the action potential demonstrating the involvement of these conductance channels in regulating spike repolarization and the discharge frequency. Among the other Kv α‐subunits (Kv1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.1, 3.1 and 3.3), we showed that the Kv1.6 subunit was partly responsible for the sustained K+ current. In conclusion, this study has established the first correlation between the molecular nature of voltage‐dependent Na+ and K+ channels expressed in embryonic rat motoneurons in culture and their electrophysiological characteristics in the period when excitability appears.

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