Glucocorticoid receptors in the locus coeruleus mediate sleep disorders caused by repeated corticosterone treatment.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Wang ZJ
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4371174 | biostudies-other | 2015
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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Project description:A defining feature of sleep is reduced responsiveness to external stimuli, but the mechanisms mediating sensory-evoked arousal remain unclear. We hypothesized that reduced locus coeruleus (LC) norepinephrine (NE) activity during sleep mediates unresponsiveness, and its action promotes sensory-evoked awakenings. We tested this using electrophysiological, behavioral, pharmacological, and optogenetic techniques alongside auditory stimulation in freely behaving rats. We found that systemic reduction in NE signaling lowered probability of sound-evoked awakenings (SEAs). The level of tonic LC activity during sleep anticipated SEAs. Optogenetic LC activation promoted arousal as evident in sleep-wake transitions, EEG desynchronization, and pupil dilation. Minimal LC excitation before sound presentation increased SEA probability. Optogenetic LC silencing using a soma-targeted anion-conducting channelrhodopsin (stGtACR2) suppressed LC spiking and constricted pupils. Brief periods of LC opto-silencing reduced the probability of SEAs. Thus, LC-NE activity determines the likelihood of sensory-evoked awakenings, and its reduction during sleep constitutes a key factor mediating behavioral unresponsiveness.
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Project description:The locus coeruleus (LC)-norepinephrine system is a target of both cannabinoid and opioid actions. The present study investigated the anatomical distribution of cannabinoid-1 receptor (CB1r) in the LC and its association with mu-opioid receptor (MOR). Immunoreactivity for CB1r was localized to pre- and postsynaptic cellular profiles in the LC, 82% of which were dual-labeled for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). Of the CB1r-immunoreactive structures, 66% were somatodendritic profiles, 22% were axon terminals, and the remaining 12% were associated with glial and small unmyelinated axon-like structures. CB1r immunoreactivity (-ir) in somatodendritic profiles was more often localized to the cytoplasm, whereas CB1r-ir located in axon terminals was more commonly localized on the plasma membrane. Somatodendritic profiles with CB1r-ir typically received input from axon terminals forming asymmetric-type synapses. In contrast, presynaptic profiles with CB1r-ir typically formed symmetric synaptic specializations. Anatomical studies confirmed the co-existence of MOR and CB1r-ir in common somatodendritic compartments of catecholaminergic neurons in the LC, and also revealed CB1r-positive axon terminals forming synaptic contact with MOR-containing dendrites. Our results provide evidence for a heterogeneous distribution of CB1r in the LC and demonstrate that CB1r and MOR co-exist in cellular profiles in this region. These data suggest important potential interactions between cannabinoid and opioid systems in LC neuronal profiles that may impact noradrenergic tone.
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Project description:Stress-related (e.g., depression) and metabolic pathologies (e.g., obesity) are important and often co-morbid public health concerns. Here we identify a connection between peripheral glucocorticoid receptor (GR) signaling originating in fat with the brain control of both stress and metabolism. Mice with reduced adipocyte GR hypersecrete glucocorticoids following acute psychogenic stress and are resistant to diet-induced obesity. This hypersecretion gives rise to deficits in responsiveness to exogenous glucocorticoids, consistent with reduced negative feedback via adipocytes. Increased stress reactivity occurs in the context of elevated hypothalamic expression of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis-excitatory neuropeptides and in the absence of altered adrenal sensitivity, consistent with a central cite of action. Our results identify a novel mechanism whereby activation of the adipocyte GR promotes peripheral energy storage while inhibiting the HPA axis, and provide functional evidence for a fat-to-brain regulatory feedback network that serves to regulate not just homeostatic energy balance but also responses to psychogenic stimuli.
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Project description:BackgroundModulation of dendritic spines under acute stress is attracting much attention. Exposure to acute stress induces corticosterone (CORT) secretion from the adrenal cortex, resulting in rapid increase of CORT levels in plasma and the hippocampus.Methodology/principal findingsHere we demonstrated the mechanisms of rapid effect (?1 h) of CORT on the density and morphology of spines by imaging neurons in adult male rat hippocampal slices. The application of CORT at 100-1000 nM induced a rapid increase in the density of spines of CA1 pyramidal neurons. The density of small-head spines (0.2-0.4 µm) was increased even at low CORT levels (100-200 nM). The density of middle-head spines (0.4-0.5 µm) was increased at high CORT levels between 400-1000 nM. The density of large-head spines (0.5-1.0 µm) was increased only at 1000 nM CORT. Co-administration of RU486, an antagonist of glucocorticoid receptor (GR), abolished the effect of CORT. Blocking a single kinase, such as MAPK, PKA, PKC or PI3K, suppressed CORT-induced enhancement of spinogenesis. Blocking NMDA receptors suppressed the CORT effect.Conclusions/significanceThese results imply that stress levels of CORT (100-1000 nM) drive the spinogenesis via synaptic GR and multiple kinase pathways.
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Project description:The locus coeruleus (LC) is a brainstem nucleus distinguished by its supply of noradrenaline throughout the central nervous system. Apart from modulating a range of brain functions, such as arousal, cognition and the stress response, LC neuronal excitability also corresponds to the activity of various peripheral systems, such as pelvic viscera and the cardiovascular system. Neurochemically diverse inputs set the tone for LC neuronal activity, which in turn modulates these adaptive physiological and behavioral responses essential for survival. One such LC afferent system which is poorly understood contains the neurohormone arginine-vasopressin (AVP). Here we provide the first demonstration of the molecular and functional characteristics of the LC-AVP system, by characterizing its receptor-specific modulation of identified LC neurons and plasticity in response to stress. High resolution confocal microscopy revealed that immunoreactivity for the AVP receptor 1b (V1b) was located on plasma membranes of noradrenergic and non-noradrenergic LC neurons. In contrast, immunoreactivity for the V1a receptor was exclusively located on LC noradrenergic neurons. No specific signal, either at the mRNA or protein level, was detected for the V2 receptor in the LC. Clusters immunoreactive for V1a-b were located in proximity to profiles immunoreactive for GABAergic and glutamatergic synaptic marker proteins. AVP immunopositive varicosities were also located adjacent to labeling for such synaptic markers. Whole-cell patch clamp electrophysiology revealed that the pharmacological activation of V1b receptors significantly increased the spontaneous activity of 45% (9/20) of recorded noradrenergic neurons, with the remaining 55% (11/20) of cells exhibiting a significant decrease in their basal firing patterns. Blockade of V1a and V1b receptors on their own significantly altered LC neuronal excitability in a similar heterogeneous manner, demonstrating that endogenous AVP sets the basal LC neuronal firing rates. Finally, exposing animals to acute stress increased V1b, but not V1a receptor expression, whilst decreasing AVP immunoreactivity. This study reveals the AVP-V1a-b system as a considerable component of the LC molecular architecture and regulator of LC activity. Since AVP primarily functions as a regulator of homeostasis, the data suggest a novel pathway by modulating the functioning of a brain region that is integral to mediating adaptive responses.
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Project description:Stress is implicated in psychopathology characterized by cognitive dysfunction. Cognitive responses to stress are regulated by the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system. As social stress is a prevalent human stressor, this study determined the impact of repeated social stress on the relationship between LC neuronal activity and behavior during the performance of cognitive tasks. Social stress-exposed rats performed better at intradimensional set shifting (IDS) and made fewer perseverative errors during reversal learning (REV). LC neurons of control rats were task responsive, being activated after the choice and before reward. Social stress shifted LC neuronal activity from being task responsive to being reward responsive during IDS and REV. LC neurons of stressed rats were activated by reward and tonically inhibited by reward omission with incorrect choices. In contrast, LC neurons of stress-naive rats were only tonically inhibited by reward omission. Reward-related LC activation in stressed rats was unrelated to predictability because it did not habituate as learning progressed. The findings suggest that social stress history increases reward salience and impairs processes that compute predictability for LC neurons. These effects of social stress on LC neuronal activity could facilitate learning as indicated by improved performance in stressed rats. However, the ability of social stress history to enhance responses to behavioral outcomes may have a role in the association between stress and addictive behaviors. In addition, magnified fluctuations in LC activity in response to opposing behavioral consequences may underlie volatile changes in emotional arousal that characterize post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Project description:BACKGROUNDThe locus coeruleus (LC) is the primary source of norepinephrine in the brain and regulates arousal and sleep. Animal research shows that it plays important roles in the transition between sleep and wakefulness, and between slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement sleep (REMS). It is unclear, however, whether the activity of the LC predicts sleep variability in humans.METHODSWe used 7-Tesla functional MRI, sleep electroencephalography (EEG), and a sleep questionnaire to test whether the LC activity during wakefulness was associated with sleep quality in 33 healthy younger (~22 years old; 28 women, 5 men) and 19 older (~61 years old; 14 women, 5 men) individuals.RESULTSWe found that, in older but not in younger participants, higher LC activity, as probed during an auditory attentional task, was associated with worse subjective sleep quality and with lower power over the EEG theta band during REMS. The results remained robust even when accounting for the age-related changes in the integrity of the LC.CONCLUSIONThese findings suggest that LC activity correlates with the perception of the sleep quality and an essential oscillatory mode of REMS, and we found that the LC may be an important target in the treatment of sleep- and age-related diseases.FUNDINGThis work was supported by Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FRS-FNRS, T.0242.19 & J. 0222.20), Action de Recherche Concertée - Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (ARC SLEEPDEM 17/27-09), Fondation Recherche Alzheimer (SAO-FRA 2019/0025), ULiège, and European Regional Development Fund (Radiomed & Biomed-Hub).
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Project description:Sleep is critical for proper memory consolidation. The locus coeruleus (LC) releases norepinephrine throughout the brain except when the LC falls silent throughout rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and prior to each non-REM (NREM) sleep spindle. We hypothesize that these transient LC silences allow the synaptic plasticity that is necessary to incorporate new information into pre-existing memory circuits. We found that spontaneous LC activity within sleep spindles triggers a decrease in spindle power. By optogenetically stimulating norepinephrine-containing LC neurons at 2 Hz during sleep, we reduced sleep spindle occurrence, as well as NREM delta power and REM theta power, without causing arousals or changing sleep amounts. Stimulating the LC during sleep following a hippocampus-dependent food location learning task interfered with consolidation of newly learned locations and reconsolidation of previous locations, disrupting next-day place cell activity. The LC stimulation-induced reduction in NREM sleep spindles, delta, and REM theta and reduced ripple-spindle coupling all correlated with decreased hippocampus-dependent performance on the task. Thus, periods of LC silence during sleep following learning are essential for normal spindle generation, delta and theta power, and consolidation of spatial memories.
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Project description:Recent data demonstrate that noradrenergic neurons of the locus coeruleus (LC-NE) are required for fear-induced suppression of feeding, but the role of endogenous LC-NE activity in natural, homeostatic feeding remains unclear. Here, we found that LC-NE activity was suppressed during food consumption, and the magnitude of this neural response was attenuated as mice consumed more pellets throughout the session, suggesting that LC responses to food are modulated by satiety state. Visual-evoked LC-NE activity was also attenuated in sated mice, suggesting that satiety state modulates LC-NE encoding of multiple behavioral states. We also found that food intake could be attenuated by brief or longer durations of LC-NE activation. Last, we found that activation of the LC to the lateral hypothalamus pathway suppresses feeding and enhances avoidance and anxiety-like responding. Our findings suggest that LC-NE neurons modulate feeding by integrating both external cues (e.g., anxiogenic environmental cues) and internal drives (e.g., satiety).
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Project description:Severe stress leads to alterations in energy metabolism with sexually dimorphic onset or severity. The locus coeruleus (LC) in the brainstem that mediates fight-or-flight-or-freeze response to stress is sexually dimorphic in morphology, plays a key role in interactions between diet and severe stressors, and has neuronal input to the brown adipose tissue (BAT)-a thermogenic organ important for energy balance. Yet, little is known on how LC coordinates stress-related metabolic adaptations. LC expresses receptors for the neuropeptide PACAP (pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide) and PACAP signaling through PAC1 (PACAP receptor) are critical regulators of various types of stressors and energy metabolism. We hypothesized that LC-PAC1 axis is a sex-specific central "gatekeeper" of severe acute stress-driven behavior and energy metabolism. Selective ablation of PAC1 receptors from the LC did not alter stress response in mice of either sex, but enhanced food intake in females and was associated with increased energy expenditure and BAT thermogenesis in male mice. These results show a sexually dimorphic role of the LC-PAC1 in regulating acute stress-related energy metabolism. Thus, by disrupting LC-PAC1 signaling, our studies show a unique and previously unexplored role of LC in adaptive energy metabolism in a sex-dependent manner.
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