2012 Targeting Trends Review

Brown RE, Basheer R, McKenna JT, Strecker RE, McCarley RW (2012) Control of sleep and wakefulness. Physiol Rev 92(3):1087-1187 . doi: 10.1152/physrev.00032.2011

Summary: This review summarizes mechanisms in the brain that control sleep and wakefulness. Areas discussed include wakefulness promoting systems, non-REM sleep and REM sleep definitions, the function of each kind of sleep, and dysfunction that occurs as a result of sleep disruption. Several targeted conjugates are mentioned, such as 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01), anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03), and orexin-SAP (Cat. #IT-20). The review summarizes the use of these products to better understand sleep networks.

Related Products: 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01), Anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03), Orexin-B-SAP (Cat. #IT-20)

Sikandar S, Bannister K, Dickenson AH (2012) Brainstem facilitations and descending serotonergic controls contribute to visceral nociception but not pregabalin analgesia in rats. Neurosci Lett 519(1):31-36. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2012.05.009

Summary: Neurons in the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) are classified as ON, OFF, or NEUTRAL based on firing patterns in response to noxious somatic stimulation. ON cells express μ-opioid receptors, and are therefore a target for dermorphin-SAP (Cat. #IT-12). The authors injected the RVM of rats with 3 pmol of dermorphin-SAP; Saporin (Cat. #PR-01) was used as a control. Results show the μ-opioid receptor population is not needed for the function of analgesics through the serotonergic system.

Related Products: Dermorphin-SAP / MOR-SAP (Cat. #IT-12), Saporin (Cat. #PR-01)

Mishra SK, Holzman S, Hoon MA (2012) A nociceptive signaling role for neuromedin B. J Neurosci 32(25):8686-8695. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1533-12.2012

Summary: Previous work suggests that neuromedin B (NMB) is involved in nociception. Direct injection of the peptide causes nociceptive sensitization, while NMB antagonists attenuate sensitization in reponse to nerve stimulation with mustard oil. Specific subsets of dorsal horn interneurons were eliminated by administering either 10 μg of the custom conjugate neuromedin B-SAP, 0.13 μg of SSP-SAP (Cat. #IT-11), or 1.3 μg of bombesin-SAP (Cat. #IT-40). Blank-SAP (Cat. #IT-21) was used as a control. The data indicate that NMB may be involved in the perception of thermal sensation, but not mechanical or pruritic sensation.

Related Products: NMB-SAP (Cat. #IT-70), SSP-SAP (Cat. #IT-11), Bombesin-SAP (Cat. #IT-40), Blank-SAP (Cat. #IT-21)

Tai SK, Leung LS (2012) Vestibular stimulation enhances hippocampal long-term potentiation via activation of cholinergic septohippocampal cells. Behav Brain Res 232(1):174-182. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2012.04.013

Summary: It is known that vestibular stimulation induces acetylcholine release in the hippocampus. The authors hypothesized that this stimulation enhances long-term potentiation (LTP) in CA1 and depends on the activation of septohippocampal cholinergic neurons. Rats received 105-ng bilateral infusions of 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01) into the medial septum. The data suggest that LTP enhancement during vestibular stimulation is mediated by cholinergic septohippocampal cells.

Related Products: 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01)

Abbott SB, Kanbar R, Bochorishvili G, Coates MB, Stornetta RL, Guyenet PG (2012) C1 neurons excite locus coeruleus and A5 noradrenergic neurons along with sympathetic outflow in rats. J Physiol 590(12):2897-2915. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.2012.232157

Summary: C1 neurons are known to activate sympathetic tone and stimulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. C1 activation is also reported to inhibit locus coeruleus (LC) neurons. Rats received 0.6 ng of SSP-SAP (Cat. #IT-11) injected under the caudal edge of the facial motor nucleus to destroy the retrotrapezoid nucleus, increasing the proportion of C1 ChR2-expressing neurons. Stimulation of C1 neurons resulted in activation of noradrenergic neurons that are involved in hypoxia and hypotension.

Related Products: SSP-SAP (Cat. #IT-11)

Li AJ, Wiater MF, Oostrom MT, Smith BR, Wang Q, Dinh TT, Roberts BL, Jansen HT, Ritter S (2012) Leptin-sensitive neurons in the arcuate nuclei contribute to endogenous feeding rhythms. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 302(11):R1313-26. doi: 10.1152/ajpregu.00086.2012

Summary: It is clear that the arcuate nucleus (Arc) plays an important role in the generation of feeding rhythms. To clarify how this region modulates signals governing food intake the authors took advantage of the Arc mediation of leptin. Rats received bilateral injections of leptin-SAP (Cat. #IT-47, 56.5 ng per dose) into each Arc. Blank-SAP (Cat. #IT-21) was used as a control. The lesioned animals quickly became obese and displayed arrhythmic eating patterns under normal light conditions. The results indicate that lesioned neurons in the Arc as well as those in the suprachiasmatic nuclei are required for maintenance of feeding rhythms controlled by photic cues.

Related Products: Leptin-SAP (Cat. #IT-47), Blank-SAP (Cat. #IT-21)

Smith CD, Holschbach MA, Olsewicz J, Lonstein JS (2012) Effects of noradrenergic alpha-2 receptor antagonism or noradrenergic lesions in the ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and medial preoptic area on maternal care in female rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 224(2):263-276. doi: 10.1007/s00213-012-2749-2

Summary: The authors investigated the function of norepinephrine in mothering. Lesioned animals received 55-ng infusions of anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03) into the ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Mouse-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-18) was used as a control. The results demonstrate that downregulated noradrenergic activity is necessary for postpartum maternal behavior, but is not enough to elicit maternal behavior in nulliparous females.

Related Products: Anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03), Mouse IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-18)

Pedrino GR, Freiria-Oliveira AH, Almeida Colombari DS, Rosa DA, Cravo SL (2012) A2 noradrenergic lesions prevent renal sympathoinhibition induced by hypernatremia in rats. PLoS One 7(5):e37587. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0037587

Summary: It is thought that renal sympathetic nerve activity is a key component of the response to acute or chronic elevated concentrations of saline in the blood stream. The authors investigated what neurons are involved in the central control of these responses. Rats received bilateral 6.3 ng injections of anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03) into the nucleus of the solitary tract. An equimolar amount (1.3 ng) of saporin (Cat. #PR-01) was used as a control. Loss of the A2 noradrenergic neurons altered the renal sympathetic nerve activity response to elevated saline, suggesting that these neurons help regulate the extracellular fluid compartment.

Related Products: Anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03), Saporin (Cat. #PR-01)

Ma J, Tai SK, Leung LS (2012) Septohippocampal GABAergic neurons mediate the altered behaviors induced by n-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists. Hippocampus 22(12):2208-2218. doi: 10.1002/hipo.22039

Summary: It is thought that the integrity of the medial septum is essential for the maintenance of hippocampal theta rhythm – and that this maintenance depends on three types of septohippocampal neurons; cholinergic, GABAergic, and glutaminergic. In this work the authors administered bilateral injections totaling 140 ng of orexin-SAP (Cat. #IT-20) into the medial septum of rats. The animals were then treated with NMDA receptor antagonists to examine the role of GABAergic neurons from the medial septum in psychotic behavior. The data suggest that septohippocampal GABAergic neurons are important for expression of psychotic symptoms caused by NMDA receptor antagonists.

Related Products: Orexin-B-SAP (Cat. #IT-20)

Lacerda CM, Kisiday J, Johnson B, Orton EC (2012) Local serotonin mediates cyclic strain-induced phenotype transformation, matrix degradation, and glycosaminoglycan synthesis in cultured sheep mitral valves. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 302(10):H1983-90. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00987.2011 PMID: 22345569

Summary: Calcific aortic valve disease and myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) are the most commonly seen degenerative heart valve diseases. Exogenous serotonin has been shown to induce valvulopathy, but current opinion regards serotoninergic and degenerative valvulopathies as unrelated. This work investigated the relationship between serotonin synthesis and strain-induced MMVD in cultured sheep mitral valve leaflets. Anti-SERT (Cat. #AB-N09) was used in immunoblotting experiments. The results demonstrate local serotonin synthesis by mitral valves, modulation of this synthesis by tensile loading, and inhibition of serotonin results in the reduction of strain-mediated protein expression.

Related Products: Antibody to Serotonin Transporter (SERT, Cat. #AB-N09)