Sonic hedgehog signalling in neurons of adult ventrolateral nucleus tractus solitarius.
Résumé
The transmembrane receptor Patched (Ptc) mediates the action of the diffusing factor Sonic hedgehog (Shh), which is implicated in establishing morphogenetic gradients during embryonic development. Whereas alteration of Ptc function is associated with developmental abnormalities and brain tumors, its functional activity and roles in the adult brain have yet to be elucidated. Here we describe the complementary pattern of Shh and Ptc expression in the rat dorsal vagal motor nucleus and the ventrolateral nucleus tractus solitarius (vNTS), respectively. Those two interconnected structures regulate the cardiorespiratory function during hypoxia. Bath application of a subnanomolar concentration of aminoterminal Shh protein (ShhN) to a slice preparation of the vNTS induces a rapid decrease in neuronal firing followed by a bursting activity that propagates in the neuronal network. Intracellular current injections show that bursts result from an action on the neuronal membrane electro-responsiveness. Both inhibiting and bursting effects are blocked by the monoclonal Shh antibody 5E1 and may require the Ptc binding site of ShhN. Thus, ShhN acting on specific neuronal sites controls electrophysiological properties of differentiated neurons of the vNTS. We speculate on a retrocontrol of cardiorespiratory signals in the vNTS, by Shh generated in dorsal vagal motoneurons.
Mots clés
Alkaline Phosphatase metabolism
Antibodies pharmacology
Cell Proliferation drug effects
Cells Cultured
Cerebellum cytology
Comparative Study
Dose-Response Relationship Drug
Electric Stimulation methods
Embryo
Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials drug effects
In Situ Hybridization methods
In Vitro
Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
Lysine analogs & derivatives metabolism
Membrane Proteins
Mice
Neural Inhibition drug effects physiology
Neurons drug effects
physiology radiation effects
Peptide Fragments pharmacology
Rats Sprague-Dawley
Receptors Cell Surface metabolism
Signal Transduction drug effects
Solitary Nucleus cytology
Stem Cells physiology
Trans-Activators