Journal Article

Neuropeptide W Influences the Excitability of Neurons in the Rat Hypothalamic Arcuate Nucleus

Ferguson, Alastair V., Price, Christopher J., Samson, Willis K.

2008

Overview

Neuropeptide W (NPW) is a ligand of the recently deorphaned receptor GPR7. Intracerebroventricular injection of this peptide results in reduced serum growth hormone concentration. Using whole-cell patch clamp recordings from somatostatin (SS) neurons in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus, identified post-hoc using single-cell RT-PCR, we investigated the effects of NPW on membrane excitability. NPW application in acute slices of the arcuate nucleus resulted in the depolarization of the majority (62.5%) of the SS neurons tested, while smaller proportions of cells showed hyperpolarization or no response. Both the depolarization and hyperpolarization of arcuate SS neurons were preserved during recordings where voltage-gated sodium channels were blocked with tetrodotoxin, suggesting direct effects of NPW on the excitability of SS neurons. The observed depolarization of the majority of the SS neurons tested suggests that the central effects of NPW to inhibit growth hormone release results from activation of arcuate SS neurons, which could result in an inhibition of GHRH-releasing neurons.

• Publisher: Karger,S. Karger AG
• Subject: Animals / Arcuate Nucleus of Hypothalamus - drug effects / Arcuate Nucleus of Hypothalamus - metabolism / Arcuate Nucleus of Hypothalamus - physiology / Biological and medical sciences / Cellular Communication, Receptors and Signalling / Electrophysiology / Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials - drug effects / Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology / Male / Neurons - drug effects / Neurons - metabolism / Neurons - physiology / Neuropeptides - pharmacology / Patch-Clamp Techniques / Peptide Fragments - pharmacology / Rats / Rats, Sprague-Dawley / Sodium Channel Blockers - pharmacology / Somatostatin - metabolism / Tetrodotoxin - pharmacology / Vertebrates: endocrinology