Abstract:
The potential role of the ghrelin receptor, also known as the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR), within the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) in regulating drug addiction and feeding has been documented; however, the pattern of its expression in this site remains elusive. In this study, we characterized the expression patterns of GHSR1a and 1b, two subtypes of GHSRs, within the NAcc of the rat brain by immunohistochemistry. We visually detected GHSR signals, for the first time, at the protein level in the NAcc in which they were mostly expressed in neurons including both medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and non-MSNs. Furthermore, GHSR1a was found expressed as localized near the cellular membrane or some in the cytoplasm, whereas GHSR1b expressed solely throughout the large cytoplasmic area. The existence and subcellular expression pattern of GHSRs in the NAcc identified in this study will contribute to improving our understanding about the role of GHSR-mediated neurosignaling in feeding and drug addiction.
摘要:
生长素释放肽受体的潜在作用,也被称为生长激素促分泌素受体(GHSR),在伏隔核(NAcc)中调节药物成瘾和喂养已有文献记载;然而,它在这个网站上的表达模式仍然难以捉摸。在这项研究中,我们表征了GHSR1a和1b的表达模式,GHSR的两种亚型,通过免疫组织化学在大鼠脑的NAcc内。我们在视觉上检测到GHSR信号,第一次,在NAcc中的蛋白质水平上,它们主要在神经元中表达,包括中型多刺神经元(MSN)和非MSN。此外,发现GHSR1a表达为位于细胞膜附近或部分位于细胞质中,而GHSR1b仅在整个大的细胞质区域表达。在这项研究中确定的NAcc中GHSR的存在和亚细胞表达模式将有助于提高我们对GHSR介导的神经信号在摄食和药物成瘾中的作用的理解。