Evidence for the preferential localization of glutamate receptor-1 subunits of AMPA receptors to the dendritic spines of medium spiny neurons in rat striatum

Glutamate-dependent inhibition of dopamine release in striatum is mediated by a new diffusible messenger, H2O2

How glutamate regulates dopamine (DA) release in striatum has been a controversial issue. Here, we resolve this by showing that glutamate, acting at AMPA receptors, inhibits DA release by a nonclassic mechanism mediated by hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)). Moreover, we show that GABA(A)-receptor activation opposes this process, thereby enhancing DA release. The influence of glutamate and GABA on DA release was assessed in striatal slices using carbon-fiber microelectrodes and fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. Modulation by both transmitters was prevented by H(2)O(2)-metabolizing enzymes. In addition, the influence of GABA(A)-receptor activation was lost when AMPA receptors were blocked with GYKI-52466. Together, these data show that modulation of DA release by glutamate and GABA depends on H(2)O(2) generated downstream from AMPA receptors. This is the first evidence that endogenous glutamate can lead to the generation of reactive oxygen species under physiological conditions. We also show that inhibition of DA release by H(2)O(2) is mediated by sulfonylurea-sensitive K(+) channels: tolbutamide blocked DA modulation by glutamate and by GABA. The absence of ionotropic glutamate or GABA receptors on DA terminals indicates that modulatory H(2)O(2) is generated in non-DA cells. Thus, in addition to its known excitatory actions in striatum, glutamate mediates inhibition by generating H(2)O(2) that must diffuse from postsynaptic sites to inhibit presynaptic DA release via K(+)-channel opening. These findings have significant implications not only for normal striatal function but also for understanding disease states that involve DA and oxidative stress, including disorders as diverse as Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia.

Cellular localization and development of neuronal intranuclear inclusions in striatal and cortical neurons in R6/2 transgenic mice

The cellular localization and development of neuronal intranuclear inclusions (NIIs) in cortex and striatum of R6/2 HD transgenic mice were studied to ascertain the relationship of NIIs to symptom formation in these mice and gain clues regarding the possible relationship of NII formation to neuropathology in Huntington's disease (HD). All NIIs observed in R6/2 mice were ubiquitinated, and no evidence was observed for a contribution to them from wild-type huntingtin; they were first observed in cortex and striatum at 3.5 weeks of age. In cortex, NIIs increased rapidly in size and prevalence after their appearance. Generally, cortical projection neurons developed NIIs more rapidly than cortical interneurons containing calbindin or parvalbumin. Few cortical somatostatinergic interneurons, however, formed NIIs. In striatum, calbindinergic projection neurons and parvalbuminergic interneurons rapidly formed NIIs, but they formed more gradually in cholinergic interneurons, and few somatostatinergic interneurons developed NIIs. Striatal NIIs tended to be smaller than those in cortex. The early accumulation of NIIs in cortex and striatum in R6/2 mice is consistent with the early appearance of motor and learning abnormalities in these mice, and the eventual pervasiveness of NIIs at ages at which severe abnormalities are evident is consistent with their contribution to a neuronal dysfunction underlying the abnormalities. That cortex develops larger NIIs than striatum, however, is inconsistent with the preferential loss of striatal neurons in HD but is consistent with recent evidence of early morphological abnormalities in cortical neurons in HD. That calbindinergic and parvalbuminergic striatal neurons develop large NIIs is consistent with a contribution of nuclear aggregate formation to their high degree of vulnerability in HD.

D(1) dopamine receptor stimulation increases GluR1 phosphorylation in postnatal nucleus accumbens cultures

Postsynaptic interactions between dopamine and glutamate receptors in the nucleus accumbens are critical for acute responses to drugs of abuse and for neuroadaptations resulting from their chronic administration. We tested the hypothesis that D(1) dopamine receptor stimulation increases phosphorylation of the AMPA receptor subunit GluR1 at the protein kinase A phosphorylation site (Ser845). Nucleus accumbens cell cultures were prepared from postnatal day 1 rats. After 14 days in culture, GluR1 phosphorylation was measured by western blotting using phosphorylation site-specific antibodies. The D(1) receptor agonist SKF 81297 increased Ser845 phosphorylation in a concentration- dependent manner, with marked increases occurring within 5 min. This was prevented by the D(1) receptor antagonist SCH 23390 and the protein kinase A inhibitor H89, and reproduced by forskolin. The D(2) receptor agonist quinpirole attenuated the response to D(1) receptor stimulation. Neither D(1) nor D(2) receptor agonists altered GluR1 phosphorylation at Ser831, the site phosphorylated by protein kinase C and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II. In other systems, phosphorylation of GluR1 at Ser845 is associated with enhancement of AMPA receptor currents. Thus, the present results suggest that AMPA receptor transmission in the nucleus accumbens may be augmented by concurrent D(1) receptor stimulation.

Functional circuitry of the avian basal ganglia: implications for basal ganglia organization in stem amniotes

Histochemical, pathway tracing, and neuropeptide/neurotransmitter localization studies in birds, reptiles and mammals during the 1970s and 80s clearly showed that the telencephalon in all amniotes consists of a prominent ventrally situated subpallial region termed the basal ganglia, and a large overlying region involved in higher order information processing termed the pallium or cortex. These studies also showed that the basal ganglia in all extant amniote groups possessed neurochemically and hodologically distinct striatal and pallidal territories. More recently, studies of the localization of genes controlling regional brain development have confirmed the homology of the basal ganglia among amniotes. In our ongoing studies, we have identified several aspects of the functional organization of the basal ganglia that birds also share with mammals. These include: (1) an extensive glutamatergic "cortico"-striatal input and distinctive, cell-type specific localization of glutamate receptor subtypes; (2) an extensive, presumptively glutamatergic intralaminar thalamic input to striatal neurons; (3) an extensive dopaminergic input from the midbrain targeting both substance P (SP) type and enkephalin (ENK) type striatal projection neurons, with SP-type striatal neurons seemingly richer in the D-1 type dopamine receptor; and (4) SP+ and ENK+ striatal outputs giving rise to functionally distinct so-called direct and indirect motor output pathways, with the direct pathway having a pallido-thalamo-motor cortex loop and the indirect pathway relaying back to the direct circuit via the subthalamic nucleus. These findings suggest that the major aspects of the cellular organization and functional circuitry of the basal ganglia in stem amniotes were already as observed in living amniotes, as therefore presumably was its key role in movement control. Because the organization of the basal ganglia of anamniotes is clearly less elaborate than in amniotes, and because the basal ganglia and cortex in amniotes are clearly extensively interconnected structures, it seems likely that stem amniotes were characterized by a major step forward in the grade of telencephalic organization of both the basal ganglia and the pallium.

Somatostatin release by glutamate in vivo is primarily regulated by AMPA receptors

1. We have used in vivo microdialysis in anaesthetized rats to investigate whether levels of striatal somatostatin (SRIF) can be increased in response to application of the ionotropic glutamate receptor agonists AMPA and NMDA. 2. Application of both AMPA and NMDA (10, 50, 100 and 500 microM) for 20 min periods produced concentration-dependent increases in the extracellular levels of SRIF. A 500 microM dose of each compound was shown to be the most potent concentration tested, increasing levels of SRIF by 32 fold (NMDA) and 35 fold (AMPA). At lower concentrations (10 microM) NMDA failed to evoke significant amounts of SRIF while AMPA increased levels of the peptide 2.3 fold. 3. Application of the respective receptor antagonists APV (NMDA receptor) and DNQX (AMPA receptor) abolished the abilities of the agonists to evoke release of SRIF. Interestingly DNQX abolished the ability of NMDA to evoke release of the peptide as well. 4. The ability of both AMPA and NMDA to evoke increases in the levels of extracellular SRIF further illustrates the reciprocal relationship that exists between SRIF and glutamate in the striatum which impacts particularly on dopaminergic functioning in this region.

Neurons lacking huntingtin differentially colonize brain and survive in chimeric mice

To determine whether neurons lacking huntingtin can participate in development and survive in postnatal brain, we used two approaches in an effort to create mice consisting of wild-type cells and cells without huntingtin. In one approach, chimeras were created by aggregating the 4-8 cell embryos from matings of Hdh (+/-) mice with wild-type 4-8 cell embryos. No chimeric offspring that possessed homozygous Hdh (-/-) cells were obtained thereby, although statistical considerations suggest that such chimeras should have been created. By contrast, Hdh (-/-) ES cells injected into blastocysts yielded offspring that were born and in adulthood were found to have Hdh (-/-) neurons throughout brain. The Hdh (-/-) cells were, however, 5-10 times more common in hypothalamus, midbrain, and hindbrain than in telencephalon and thalamus. Chimeric animals tended to be smaller than wild-type littermates, and chimeric mice rich in Hdh (-/-) cells tended to show motor abnormalities. Nonetheless, no brain malformations or pathologies were evident. The apparent failure of aggregation chimeras possessing Hdh (-/-) cells to survive to birth is likely attributable to the previously demonstrated critical role of huntingtin in extraembryonic membranes. That Hdh (-/-) cells in chimeric mice created by blastocyst injection are under-represented in adult telencephalon and thalamus implies a role for huntingtin in the development of these regions, whereas the neurological dysfunction in brains enriched in Hdh (-/-) cells suggests a role for huntingtin in adult brain. Nonetheless, the lengthy survival of Hdh (-/-) cells in adult chimeric mice indicates that individual neurons in many brain regions do not require huntingtin to participate in normal brain development and to survive.

Identification of the anterior nucleus of the ansa lenticularis in birds as the homolog of the mammalian subthalamic nucleus

In mammals, the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is a glutamatergic diencephalic cell group that develops in the caudal hypothalamus and migrates to a position above the cerebral peduncle. By its input from the external pallidal segment and projection to the internal pallidal segment, STN plays a critical role in basal ganglia functions. Although the basal ganglia in birds is well developed, possesses the same major neuron types as in mammals, and plays a role in movement control similar to that in mammals, it has been uncertain whether birds possess an STN. We report here evidence indicating that the so-called anterior nucleus of the ansa lenticularis (ALa) is the avian homolog of mammalian STN. First, the avian ALa too develops within the mammillary hypothalamic area and migrates to a position adjacent to the cerebral peduncle. Second, ALa specifically receives input from dorsal pallidal neurons that receive input from enkephalinergic striatal neurons, as is true of STN. Third, ALa projects back to avian dorsal pallidum, as also the case for STN in mammals. Fourth, the neurons of ALa contain glutamate, and the target neurons of ALa in dorsal pallidum possess AMPA-type glutamate receptor profiles resembling those of mammalian pallidal neurons. Fifth, unilateral lesions of ALa yield behavioral disturbances and movement asymmetries resembling those observed in mammals after STN lesions. These various findings indicate that ALa is the avian STN, and they suggest that the output circuitry of the basal ganglia for motor control is similar in birds and mammals.

Differential modulation of AMPA receptors by cyclothiazide in two types of striatal neurons

The modulation of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazol-propionate (AMPA) receptor-mediated currents by cyclothiazide was investigated in acutely isolated cells from rat striatum with whole-cell patch-clamp recording. Single-cell reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to identify medium spiny and giant aspiny neurons and to determine their AMPA receptor subunit composition mostly in separate experiments. After pretreatment with cyclothiazide, kainate-induced AMPA responses were more strongly potentiated in medium spiny than in giant aspiny neurons; cyclothiazide induced a ninefold leftward shift in the kainate concentration-response curve for medium spiny neurons (not giant aspiny neurons). The EC50s for the cyclothiazide potentiation did not differ substantially between medium spiny neurons and giant aspiny neurons. The recovery of kainate-activated currents from modulation by cyclothiazide was slower for medium spiny neurons than for giant aspiny neurons. Medium spiny neurons expressed GluR-A, GluR-B and GluR-C, but not GluR-D subunits in both flip and flop splice variants. All giant aspiny neurons expressed GluR-A and GluR-D, exclusively in the flop form, half of them also expressed GluR-B and GluR-C. This is in keeping with slow and fast desensitization kinetics in medium spiny neurons and giant aspiny neurons, respectively, and differences in cyclothiazide modulation. The rate of cyclothiazide dissociation from the AMPA receptor, activated by glutamate, was approximately 90 times slower in medium spiny neurons than in giant aspiny neurons. In giant aspiny neurons (not medium spiny neurons) this rate was strongly dependent on the presence of an agonist; 1 mM glutamate increased it 30-fold. Thus, two major cell groups in the striatum display distinct AMPA receptor compositions carrying specific properties of glutamate responses. Excitatory transmission will thus be differentially affected by cyclothiazide-type compounds.

Pharmacology of AMPA/kainate receptor ligands and their therapeutic potential in neurological and psychiatric disorders

It has been postulated, consistent with the ubiquitous presence of glutamatergic neurons in the brain, that defects in glutamatergic neurotransmission are associated with many human neurological and psychiatric disorders. This review evaluates the possible application of ligands acting on glutamate alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate (AMPA) and kainate (KA) receptors to minimise the pathology and/or symptoms of various diseases. Glutamate activation of AMPA receptors is thought to mediate most fast synaptic neurotransmission in the brain, while transmission via KA receptors contributes only a minor component. Variants of the protein subunits forming these receptors greatly extend the pharmacological and electrophysiological properties of AMPA/KA receptors. Disease and drug use can differentially affect the expression of the subunits and their variants. Ligands bind to AMPA receptors by competing with glutamate at the glutamate binding site, or non-competitively at other sites on the proteins (allosteric modulators). Ligands showing selective competitive antagonist actions at the AMPA/ KA class of glutamate receptors were first reported in 1988, and the systemically active antagonist 2,3-dihydroxy-6-nitro-7-sulphamoyl-benzo(F)quinoxaline (NBQX) was first shown to have useful therapeutic effects on animal models of neurological diseases in 1990. Since then, newer antagonists with increased potency, higher specificity, increased water solubility, and a longer duration of action in vivo have been developed. Negative allosteric modulators such as the prototype GYKI-52466 also block AMPA receptors but have little action at KA receptors. Positive allosteric modulators enhance glutamatergic neurotransmission at AMPA receptors. Polyamines and adamantane derivatives bind within the ion channel of calcium-permeable AMPA receptors. The latest developments include ligands selective for KA receptors containing Glu-R5 subunits. Evidence for advantages of AMPA receptor antagonists over N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists for symptomatic treatment of neurological and psychiatric conditions, and for minimising neuronal loss occurring after acute neurological diseases, such as physical trauma, ischaemia or status epilepticus, have been shown in animal models. However, as yet AMPA receptor antagonists have not been shown to be effective in clinical trials. On the other hand, a limited number of clinical trials have been reported for AMPA receptor ligands that enhance glutamatergic neurotransmission by extending the ion channel opening time (positive allosteric modulators). These acute studies demonstrate enhanced memory capability in both young and aged humans, without any apparent serious adverse effects. The use of these allosteric modulators as antipsychotic drugs is also possible. However, the long term use of both direct agonists and positive allosteric modulators must be approached with considerable caution because of potential adverse effects.

NMDA and non-NMDA receptor-mediated excitotoxicity are potentiated in cultured striatal neurons by prior chronic depolarization

The excitatory input from cortex and/or thalamus to striatum appears to promote the maturation of glutamate receptors on striatal neurons, but the mechanisms by which it does so have been uncertain. To explore the possibility that the excitatory input to striatum might influence glutamate receptor maturation on striatal neurons, at least in part, by its depolarizing effect on striatal neurons, we examined the influence of chronic KCl depolarization on the development of glutamate receptor-mediated excitotoxic vulnerability and glutamate receptors in cultured striatal neurons. Dissociated striatal neurons from E17 rat embryos were cultured for 2 weeks in Barrett's medium containing either low (3 mM) or high (25 mM) KCl. The vulnerability of these neurons to NMDA receptor agonists (NMDA and quinolinic acid), non-NMDA receptor agonists (AMPA and KA), and a metabotropic glutamate receptor agonist (trans-ACPD) was examined by monitoring cell loss 24 h after a 1-h agonist exposure. We found that high-KCl rearing potentiated the cell loss observed with 500 microM NMDA or 250 microM KA and yielded cell loss with 250 microM AMPA that was not evident under low KCl rearing. In contrast, neither QA up to 5 mM nor trans-ACPD had a significant toxic effect in either KCl group. ELISA revealed that chronic high KCl doubled the abundance of NMDA NR2A/B, AMPA GluR2/3, and KA GluR5-7 receptor subunits on cultured striatal neurons and more than doubled AMPA GluR1 and GluR4 subunits, but had no effect on NMDA NR1 subunit levels. These receptor changes may contribute to the potentiation of NMDA and non-NMDA receptor-mediated excitotoxicity shown by these neurons following chronic high-KCl rearing. Our studies suggest that membrane depolarization produced by corticostriatal and/or thalamostriatal innervation may be required for maturation of glutamate receptors on striatal neurons, and such maturation may be important for expression of NMDA and non-NMDA receptor-mediated excitotoxicity by striatal neurons. Striatal cultures raised under chronically depolarized conditions may, thus, provide a more appropriate culture model to study the role of NMDA or non-NMDA receptor subtypes in excitotoxicity in striatum.

Differential expression of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate receptor subunits by calretinin-immunoreactive neurons in the human striatum

We recently reported the existence of medium and large intemeurons immunoreactive for the calcium-binding protein calretinin in the human striatum. We also showed a selective sparing of all medium, but not all large, calretinin-immunoreactive striatal neurons in Huntington's disease striatum. Because glutamate receptor-mediated excitotoxicity has been implicated in the massive loss of striatal projection neurons that characterizes Huntington's disease, we have applied a double-antigen localization procedure to post mortem tissue from eight normal human subjects to determine the expression of the alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate glutamate receptor subunits 1/2/4 by the calretinin-immunoreactive interneurons. The two types of calretinin-immunoreactive neurons were found to display various patterns of glutamate receptor subunit expression and a specific regionalization was also noted in the expression of these glutamate receptor subunits. Approximately half of the large calretinin-immunoreactive neurons displayed immunoreactivity for glutamate receptor subunits 1 and 2, and about the same proportion of medium calretinin-immunoreactive neurons expressed glutamate receptor subunits 1 and 4. These double-labeled neurons were rather uniformly distributed in the caudate nucleus and putamen. In contrast, as much as 70.1% of the large calretinin-immunoreactive neurons displayed glutamate receptor subunit 4 immunoreactivity in the postcommissural portion of the putamen, an area that corresponds to the sensorimotor striatal territory. For their part, the medium calretinin-immunoreactive neurons were markedly enriched with glutamate receptor subunit 2, 76% of them being double labeled in the caudate nucleus, which corresponds to the striatal associative territory, compared with 85.5% in the postcommissural putamen. Receptor subunit composition plays a key role in determining the functional properties of glutamate receptors, including their permeability to calcium and susceptibility to excitotoxic insults. Thus, the differential expression of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate glutamate receptor subunits reported here may help to explain the selective sparing of certain types of calretinin-immunoreactive striatal interneurons in Huntington's disease, although other factors, such as post-transcriptional editing, are also likely to be involved.

The distribution of dynorphinergic terminals in striatal target regions in comparison to the distribution of substance P-containing and enkephalinergic terminals in monkeys and humans

Single- and double-label immunohistochemical techniques using several different highly specific antisera against dynorphin peptides were used to examine the distribution of dynorphinergic terminals in globus pallidus and substantia nigra in rhesus monkeys and humans in comparison to substance P-containing and enkephalinergic terminals in these same regions. Similar results were observed in monkey and human tissue. Dynorphinergic fibers were very abundant in the medial half of the internal pallidal segment, but scarce in the external pallidal segment and the lateral half of the internal pallidal segment. In substantia nigra, dynorphinergic fibers were present in both the pars compacta and reticulata. Labeling of adjacent sections for enkephalin or substance P showed that the dynorphinergic terminals overlapped those for substance P in the medial half of the internal pallidal segment, but showed only slight overlap with enkephalinergic terminals in the external pallidal segment. The substance P-containing fibers were moderately abundant along the borders of the external pallidal segment, and enkephalinergic fibers were moderately abundant in parts of the internal pallidal segment. Dynorphinergic and substance P-containing terminals overlapped extensively in the nigra, and both extensively overlapped enkephalinergic fibers in medial nigra. Immunofluorescence double-labeling studies revealed that dynorphin co-localized extensively with substance P in individual fibers and terminals in the medial half of the internal pallidal segment and in substantia nigra. Thus, as has been found in non-primates, dynorphin within the striatum and its projection systems appears to be extensively localized to substance P-containing striatopallidal and striatonigral projection neurons. Nonetheless, our results also raise the possibility that a population of substance P-containing neurons that projects to the internal pallidal segment and does not contain dynorphin is present in primate striatum. Our results also suggest the possible existence of populations of striatopallidal and striatonigral projection neurons in which substance P and enkephalin or dynorphin and enkephalin, or all three, are co-localized. Thus, striatal projection neurons in primates may not consist of merely two types, one containing substance P and dynorphin and the other enkephalin.

Repeated amphetamine administration alters AMPA receptor subunit expression in rat nucleus accumbens and medial prefrontal cortex

Glutamate is critical for the induction and maintenance of behavioral sensitization and associated neuroadaptations in the mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) system. We have shown previously [Lu et al. (1997) Synapse 26:269-280] that repeated amphetamine administration alters AMPA receptor subunit mRNA levels in rat nucleus accumbens (NAc) and medial prefrontal cortex (PFC). The present study determined if amphetamine elicits corresponding changes in AMPA receptor subunit immunolabeling. Rats were injected with amphetamine sulphate (5 mg/kg/day) or saline for 5 days and perfused 3 or 14 days after the last injection. AMPA receptor subunit immunolabeling was quantified using autoradiographic immunocytochemistry. In the NAc, GluR1 and GluR2 immunolabeling were unchanged after 3 days of withdrawal, but both were decreased significantly after 14 days of withdrawal (GluR1, 85.5+/-2.6% of control group, P<0.01; GluR2, 79.2+/-3.2%, P<0.01). Analysis of core and shell subregions at the 14-day withdrawal time indicated that GluR1 immunolabeling decreased significantly in shell, while GluR2 immunolabeling decreased significantly in both core and shell. No changes in GluR2/3, GluR2/4, or GluR4 immunolabeling in NAc were found at either withdrawal time. In the PFC, GluR1 immunolabeling increased after 3 days of withdrawal (115.3+/-7.0%, P<0.01) but returned to control levels after 14 days. The present results correspond well with our previous findings at the mRNA level. These alterations in AMPA receptor expression may account for previously described changes in the electrophysiological responsiveness of NAc and PFC neurons to glutamate and AMPA. Along with alterations in DA function, they may contribute to drug-induced dysregulation of reward-related neurotransmission.

Dopamine D1 receptor modulation of glutamate receptor messenger RNA levels in the neocortex and neostriatum of unilaterally 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats

The effect of treatment with the D1 dopamine receptor agonist SKF 38393 on the expression of metabotropic glutamate receptor 1, 3, 4 and 5 receptor subtypes and of the glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate ionotropic receptor subunits NRI, NR2A and NR2B was analysed using in situ hybridization. We studied the neocortex and neostriatum of normal rats and of rats unilaterally treated with 6-hydroxydopamine, a neurotoxin that, after intracerebral injection into the ventral tegmental area, causes selective degeneration of the ascending dopamine pathway. In the 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats, metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 3 messenger RNA levels were ipsilaterally increased in the neocortex and neostriatum, while the levels of metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 4 messenger RNA were bilaterally increased in both regions. When administered to the 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats, the D1 receptor agonist SKF 38393 (3 x 20 mg/kg, s.c.) produced a bilateral decrease in the expression of the metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 1 and 5 receptor messenger RNA levels in the neocortex and neostriatum. In the neostriatum, SKF 38393 attenuated the ipsilateral increase in the expression of striatal metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 3 messenger RNA produced by the 6-hydroxydopamine lesion. Furthermore, SKF 38393 produced a bilateral decrease in the levels of NRI receptor subunit messenger RNA and, in contrast, an increase in the striatal NR2B messenger RNA levels. All of these effects were abolished by the D1 receptor antagonist SCH 23360. These results indicate a differential D1 receptor-mediated modulation of the expression of some glutamate receptor subtypes in the neostriatum and neocortex, in agreement with the idea of a functional coupling between dopamine and excitatory amino acid systems in both regions. Thus, pharmacological targeting of excitatory amino acid systems could provide alternative or complementary treatment strategies for diseases involving dopaminergic systems in the striatum (e.g., Parkinson's disease) and cortex (e.g., schizophrenia).

Cellular localization of huntingtin in striatal and cortical neurons in rats: lack of correlation with neuronal vulnerability in Huntington's disease

Immunohistochemistry and single-cell RT-PCR were used to characterize the localization of huntingtin and/or its mRNA in the major types of striatal neurons and in corticostriatal projection neurons in rats. Single-label immunohistochemical studies revealed that striatum contains scattered large neurons rich in huntingtin and more numerous medium-sized neurons moderate in huntingtin. Double-label immunohistochemical studies showed that the large huntingtin-rich striatal neurons include nearly all cholinergic interneurons and some parvalbuminergic interneurons. Somatostatinergic striatal interneurons, which are medium in size, rarely contained huntingtin. Calbindin immunolabeling showed that the vast majority of the medium-sized striatal neurons that contain huntingtin are projection neurons, but only approximately 65% of calbindin-labeled projection neurons (localized to the matrix compartment of striatum) were labeled for huntingtin. Calbindin-containing projection neurons of the matrix compartment and calbindin-negative projection neurons of the striatal patch compartment contained huntingtin with comparable frequency. Single-cell RT-PCR confirmed that striatal cholinergic interneurons contain huntingtin, but only approximately 65% of projection neurons contained detectable huntingtin message. The finding that huntingtin is not consistently found in striatal projection neurons [which die in Huntington's disease (HD)] but is abundant in striatal cholinergic interneurons (which survive in Huntington's disease) suggests that the mutation in huntingtin that causes HD may not directly kill neurons. In contrast to the heterogeneous expression of huntingtin in the different striatal neuron types, we found all corticostriatal neurons to be rich in huntingtin protein and mRNA. One possibility raised by our findings is that the HD mutation may render corticostriatal neurons destructive rather than render striatal neurons vulnerable.

[3H]CNQX and NMDA-sensitive [3H]glutamate binding sites and AMPA receptor subunit RNA transcripts in the striatum of normal and weaver mutant mice and effects of ventral mesencephalic grafts

Levels of excitatory amino acid receptors were studied in the weaver mouse model of DA deficiency after unilateral intrastriatal transplantation of E12+/+ mesencephalic cell suspensions. Graft integration was verified by turning behavior tests and from the topographical levels of the DA transporter, tagged autoradiographically with 3 nM [3H]GBR 12935 (average increase in grafted dorsal striatum compared to nongrafted side, 60%). Autoradiography of 80 nM [3H]CNQX and 100 nM NMDA-sensitive [3H]glutamate binding was carried out to visualize the topography of non-NMDA and NMDA receptors, respectively, in +/+ mice and in recipient weaver mutants 3 months after grafting. Increases of 30% or more were found for [3H]CNQX binding in the dorsal nongrafted weaver striatum compared to +/+, and a further 6-9% increase in grafted weaver compared to nongrafted side. The added increase of non-NMDA receptors in the transplanted striatum might be explained by a presence of such receptors on DA presynaptic endings of graft origin. A 20% increase in NMDA-sensitive [3H]glutamate binding was measured in the dorsal nongrafted weaver striatum compared to +/+. NMDA-sensitive [3H]glutamate binding in the transplanted side of weaver mutants tended to be slightly higher in all areas of the striatal complex compared to the nongrafted side, without reaching conventional levels of statistical significance. Using in situ hybridization histochemistry with synthetic 32p labeled oligonucleotide probes, we investigated RNA transcripts encoding the four AMPA receptor subunits. RNA transcripts in the striatum are seen with a decreasing signal intensity in the following order: GluRB > GluRA > GluRC > GluRD. The weaver caudate-putamen shows a 12% increase in GluRA subunit mRNA compared to +/+, whereas mesencephalic neuron transplantation leads to slight increases (3%) in the levels of GluRB mRNA in the nucleus accumbens. The results are placed in the context of the important interaction between the converging glutamatergic corticostriatal and the DAergic nigrostriatal pathways in controlling the functional output of the basal ganglia in Parkinson's disease and in experimental models of DA deficiency.

Structural and functional evolution of the basal ganglia in vertebrates

While a basal ganglia with striatal and pallidal subdivisions is 1 clearly present in many extant anamniote species, this basal ganglia is cell sparse and receives only a relatively modest tegmental dopaminergic input and little if any cortical input. The major basal ganglia influence on motor functions in anamniotes appears to be exerted via output circuits to the tectum. In contrast, in modern mammals, birds, and reptiles (i.e., modern amniotes), the striatal and pallidal parts of the basal ganglia are very neuron-rich, both consist of the same basic populations of neurons in all amniotes, and the striatum receives abundant tegmental dopaminergic and cortical input. The functional circuitry of the basal ganglia also seems very similar in all amniotes, since the major basal ganglia influences on motor functions appear to be exerted via output circuits to both cerebral cortex and tectum in sauropsids (i.e., birds and reptiles) and mammals. The basal ganglia, output circuits to the cortex, however, appear to be considerably more developed in mammals than in birds and reptiles. The basal ganglia, thus, appears to have undergone a major elaboration during the evolutionary transition from amphibians to reptiles. This elaboration may have enabled amniotes to learn and/or execute a more sophisticated repertoire of behaviors and movements, and this ability may have been an important element of the successful adaptation of amniotes to a fully terrestrial habitat. The mammalian lineage appears, however, to have diverged somewhat from the sauropsid lineage with respect to the emergence of the cerebral cortex as the major target of the basal ganglia circuitry devoted to executing the basal ganglia-mediated control of movement.