Distinct regulation of dopamine D2S and D2L autoreceptor signaling by calcium
- Oregon Health and Science University, United States
- Oregon Health & Science University, United States
- United States Department of Veterans Affairs, United States
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States
Abstract
D2 autoreceptors regulate dopamine release throughout the brain. Two isoforms of the D2 receptor, D2S and D2L, are expressed in midbrain dopamine neurons. Differential roles of these isoforms as autoreceptors are poorly understood. By virally expressing the isoforms in dopamine neurons of D2 receptor knockout mice, this study assessed the calcium-dependence and drug-induced plasticity of D2S and D2L receptor-dependent GIRK currents. The results reveal that D2S, but not D2L receptors, exhibited calcium-dependent desensitization similar to that exhibited by endogenous autoreceptors. Two pathways of calcium signaling that regulated D2 autoreceptor-dependent GIRK signaling were identified, which distinctly affected desensitization and the magnitude of D2S and D2L receptor-dependent GIRK currents. Previous in vivo cocaine exposure removed calcium-dependent D2 autoreceptor desensitization in wild type, but not D2S-only mice. Thus, expression of D2S as the exclusive autoreceptor was insufficient for cocaine-induced plasticity, implying a functional role for the co-expression of D2S and D2L autoreceptors.
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Ethics
Animal experimentation: All studies were conducted in accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health and were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees at the VA Portland Health Care System (#2577-12) and Oregon Health & Science University (IS01394).
Reviewing Editor
- Sacha B Nelson, Brandeis University, United States
Publication history
- Received: June 11, 2015
- Accepted: August 25, 2015
- Accepted Manuscript published: August 26, 2015 (version 1)
- Version of Record published: September 21, 2015 (version 2)
Copyright
This is an open-access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.
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Distinct regulation of dopamine D2S and D2L autoreceptor signaling by calcium
eLife 4:e09358.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09358
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