Li A, Ritter S (2006) Glucoprivation enhances dopamine-beta-hydroxylase gene expression in hindbrain catecholamine cells. Neuroscience 2006 Abstracts 359.12. Society for Neuroscience, Atlanta, GA.
Summary: Hindbrain catecholaminergic neurons are key participants in systemic glucoregulation. Using in situ hybridization, we investigated the effects of glucoprivation on gene expression of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH), a key enzyme for catecholamines synthesis, to further define the catecholamine subpopulation activated by glucoprivation. Glucoprivation induced by systemic injection of the glycolytic inhibitor, 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG, 250 mg/kg body weight) increased total DBH mRNA expression in caudal ventrolateral medullary cell groups (namely, A1, the A1/C1 overlap, and middle C1) from 6 – 49 times control levels. In retrofacial C1, A5 and A7 no enhancement was observed. In the dorsomedial medulla, DBH mRNA hybridization signal was modestly increased (tripled) in cell group A2, but not in the area postrema. Furthermore, a previous hypothalamic microinjection of the retrogradely transported immunotoxin, anti-DBH-saporin, profoundly reduced DBH-positive cells in hindbrain, and abolished the 2DG-stimulated increases of DBH mRNA expression in the caudal ventrolateral medulla and A2 regions. The strong glucoprivation-induced enhancement of DBH gene expression in particular cell populations is consistent with the demonstrated importance of catecholaminergic neurons for glucoregulation and provides further evidence for functional specialization within the catecholamine cell population.
Related Products: Anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03)