Serotonin controls the maturation of the GABA phenotype in the ventral spinal cord via 5-HT(1B) receptors
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 2010-06-01; 1198(1): 208-219
DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05433.x
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1. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2010 Jun;1198:208-19. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05433.x.
Serotonin controls the maturation of the GABA phenotype in the ventral spinal
cord via 5-HT1b receptors.
Allain AE(1), Ségu L, Meyrand P, Branchereau P.
Author information:
(1)Centre de Neurosciences Intégratives et Cognitives, Université de Bordeaux,
CNRS, Talence, France.
Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT) is a pleiotropic neurotransmitter known
to play a crucial modulating role during the construction of brain circuits.
Descending bulbo-spinal 5-HT fibers, coming from the caudal medullary cell groups
of the raphe nuclei, progressively invade the mouse spinal cord and arrive at
lumbar segments at E15.5 when the number of ventral GABA immunoreactive (GABA-ir)
interneurons reaches its maximum. We thus raised the question of a possible
interaction between these two neurotransmitter systems and investigated the
effect of 5-HT descending inputs on the maturation of the GABA phenotype in
ventral spinal interneurons. Using a quantitative anatomical study performed on
acute and cultured embryonic mouse spinal cord, we found that the GABAergic
neuronal population matured according to a similar rostro-caudal gradient both in
utero and in organotypic culture. We showed that 5-HT delayed the maturation of
the GABA phenotype in lumbar but not brachial interneurons. Using pharmacological
treatments and mice lacking 5-HT(1B) or 5-HT(1A), we demonstrated that the 5-HT
repressing effect on the GABAergic phenotype was specifically attributed to
5-HT(1B) receptors.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05433.x
PMID: 20536936 [Indexed for MEDLINE]