The Periventricular Nucleus as a Brain Center Containing Dopaminergic Neurons and Neurons Expressing Individual Enzymes of Dopamine Synthesis

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Ekaterina N. Pavlova¹  Vsevolod V. Bogdanov¹  Victor Blokhin¹  Michael V. Ugrumov¹  Anna A. Kolacheva¹  Liliya K. Dil’mukhametova¹  Tatiana S. Pronina¹ 

[1] Laboratory of Neural and Neuroendocrine Regulations, Koltzov Institute of Developmental Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119334, Russia;

关键词: hypothalamus;    periventricular nucleus;    dopaminergic neuron;    dopamine;    L-DOPA;    tyrosine hydroxylase;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms23126739

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Since the 1980s, the concept of dopamine-rich brain centers as clusters of only dopaminergic neurons has been fundamentally revised. It has been shown that, in addition to dopaminergic neurons, most of these centers contain neurons expressing one of the enzymes of dopamine synthesis: tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) or aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC). We have obtained convincing evidence that in rats, the hypothalamic periventricular nucleus (PeVN) is one of the largest dopamine-rich centers, containing dopaminergic and monoenzymatic neurons. Indeed, using double immunostaining for TH and AADC, the PeVN was shown to contain almost three thousand dopaminergic and monoenzymatic neurons. According to high-performance liquid chromatography, PeVN contains L-DOPA and dopamine, which, apparently, are synthesized in monoenzymatic TH neurons and bienzymatic neurons, respectively. According to confocal microscopy, neurons (cell bodies, fibers), which were immunopositive only to TH, only to AADC, or both, are in close topographic relationships with each other and with the 3rd ventricle. These data suggest the mutual regulation of the neurons, as well as the delivery of dopamine and L-DOPA to the third ventricle, which is confirmed by their detection in the cerebrospinal fluid. Thus, evidence has been obtained that PeVN is one of the largest dopamine-rich centers of the brain, containing dopaminergic and monoenzymatic neurons.

【 授权许可】

Unknown