@article{GutknechtAraragiMerkeretal.2012, author = {Gutknecht, Lise and Araragi, Naozumi and Merker, S{\"o}ren and Waider, Jonas and Sommerlandt, Frank M. J. and Mlinar, Boris and Baccini, Gilda and Mayer, Ute and Proft, Florian and Hamon, Michel and Schmitt, Angelika G. and Corradetti, Renato and Lanfumey, Laurence and Lesch, Klaus-Peter}, title = {Impacts of Brain Serotonin Deficiency following Tph2 Inactivation on Development and Raphe Neuron Serotonergic Specification}, series = {PLoS One}, volume = {7}, journal = {PLoS One}, number = {8}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0043157}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-133728}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Brain serotonin (5-HT) is implicated in a wide range of functions from basic physiological mechanisms to complex behaviors, including neuropsychiatric conditions, as well as in developmental processes. Increasing evidence links 5-HT signaling alterations during development to emotional dysregulation and psychopathology in adult age. To further analyze the importance of brain 5-HT in somatic and brain development and function, and more specifically differentiation and specification of the serotonergic system itself, we generated a mouse model with brain-specific 5-HT deficiency resulting from a genetically driven constitutive inactivation of neuronal tryptophan hydroxylase-2 (Tph2). Tph2 inactivation (Tph2-/-) resulted in brain 5-HT deficiency leading to growth retardation and persistent leanness, whereas a sex- and age-dependent increase in body weight was observed in Tph2+/- mice. The conserved expression pattern of the 5-HT neuron-specific markers (except Tph2 and 5-HT) demonstrates that brain 5-HT synthesis is not a prerequisite for the proliferation, differentiation and survival of raphe neurons subjected to the developmental program of serotonergic specification. Furthermore, although these neurons are unable to synthesize 5-HT from the precursor tryptophan, they still display electrophysiological properties characteristic of 5-HT neurons. Moreover, 5-HT deficiency induces an up-regulation of 5-HT\(_{1A}\) and 5-HT\(_{1B}\) receptors across brain regions as well as a reduction of norepinephrine concentrations accompanied by a reduced number of noradrenergic neurons. Together, our results characterize developmental, neurochemical, neurobiological and electrophysiological consequences of brain-specific 5-HT deficiency, reveal a dual dose-dependent role of 5-HT in body weight regulation and show that differentiation of serotonergic neuron phenotype is independent from endogenous 5-HT synthesis.}, language = {en} } @article{BonnSchmittAsan2012, author = {Bonn, Maria and Schmitt, Angelika and Asan, Esther}, title = {Double and triple in situ hybridization for coexpression studies: combined fluorescent and chromogenic detection of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and serotonin receptor subtype mRNAs expressed at different abundance levels}, series = {Histochemistry and Cell Biology}, volume = {137}, journal = {Histochemistry and Cell Biology}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1007/s00418-011-0882-3}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-126720}, pages = {11-24}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Multiple fluorescence in situ hybridization is the method of choice for studies aimed at determining simultaneous production of signal transduction molecules and neuromodulators in neurons. In our analyses of the monoamine receptor mRNA expression of peptidergic neurons in the rat telencephalon, double tyramide-signal-amplified fluorescence in situ hybridization delivered satisfactory results for coexpression analysis of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and serotonin receptor 2C (5-HT2C) mRNA, a receptor subtype expressed at high-to-moderate abundance in the regions analyzed. However, expression of 5-HT1A mRNA, which is expressed at comparatively low abundance in many telencephalic areas, could not be unequivocally identified in NPY mRNA-reactive neurons due to high background and poor signal-to-noise ratio in fluorescent receptor mRNA detections. Parallel chromogenic in situ hybridization provided clear labeling for 5-HT1A mRNA and additionally offered the possibility to monitor the chromogen deposition at regular time intervals to determine the optimal signal-to-noise ratio. We first developed a double labeling protocol combining fluorescence and chromogenic in situ hybridization and subsequently expanded this variation to combine double fluorescence and chromogenic in situ hybridization for triple labelings. With this method, we documented expression of 5-HT2C and/or 5-HT1A in subpopulations of telencephalic NPY-producing neurons. The method developed in the present study appears suitable for conventional light and fluorescence microscopy, combines advantages of fluorescence and chromogenic in situ hybridization protocols and thus provides a reliable non-radioactive alternative to previously published multiple labeling methods for coexpression analyses in which one mRNA species requires highly sensitive detection.}, language = {en} } @article{BonnSchmittAsan2012, author = {Bonn, Maria and Schmitt, Angelika and Asan, Esther}, title = {Double and triple in situ hybridization for coexpression studies: combined fluorescent and chromogenic detection of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and serotonin receptor subtype mRNAs expressed at different abundance levels}, series = {Histochemistry and Cell Biology}, volume = {137}, journal = {Histochemistry and Cell Biology}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1007/s00418-011-0882-3}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-127080}, pages = {11-24}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Multiple fluorescence in situ hybridization is the method of choice for studies aimed at determining simultaneous production of signal transduction molecules and neuromodulators in neurons. In our analyses of the monoamine receptor mRNA expression of peptidergic neurons in the rat telencephalon, double tyramide-signal-amplified fluorescence in situ hybridization delivered satisfactory results for coexpression analysis of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and serotonin receptor 2C (5-HT2C) mRNA, a receptor subtype expressed at high-to-moderate abundance in the regions analyzed. However, expression of 5-HT1A mRNA, which is expressed at comparatively low abundance in many telencephalic areas, could not be unequivocally identified in NPY mRNA-reactive neurons due to high background and poor signal-to-noise ratio in fluorescent receptor mRNA detections. Parallel chromogenic in situ hybridization provided clear labeling for 5-HT1A mRNA and additionally offered the possibility to monitor the chromogen deposition at regular time intervals to determine the optimal signal-to-noise ratio. We first developed a double labeling protocol combining fluorescence and chromogenic in situ hybridization and subsequently expanded this variation to combine double fluorescence and chromogenic in situ hybridization for triple labelings. With this method, we documented expression of 5-HT2C and/or 5-HT1A in subpopulations of telencephalic NPY-producing neurons. The method developed in the present study appears suitable for conventional light and fluorescence microscopy, combines advantages of fluorescence and chromogenic in situ hybridization protocols and thus provides a reliable non-radioactive alternative to previously published multiple labeling methods for coexpression analyses in which one mRNA species requires highly sensitive detection.}, language = {en} }