Modifications in the phosphoinositide signaling pathway by adrenal glucocorticoids in rat brain: focus on phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate.

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been shown to be involved in mood and behavior. The possibility that adrenal glucocorticoids regulate components of the phosphatidylinositol (PI) signal transduction pathway was investigated. Two different doses of corticosterone (CORT) pellets (50 or 100 mg) were implanted in normal and bilaterally adrenalectomized (ADX) rats, and CORT regulation of the expression of G(q) alpha protein, phospholipase C (PLC) isozymes, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP(3)R) isoforms, and of PI-PLC activity, [(3)H]IP(3) binding to IP(3)Rs, and IP(3) levels were measured in various brain areas after 1 or 14 days. Fourteen days of CORT pellet implantation into normal rats dose dependently decreased PI-PLC activity and selectively the mRNA and protein expression of PLC beta(1) isozyme in cortex and hippocampus. Bilateral ADX caused the opposite changes in these measures, and simultaneous CORT pellet implantation into ADX rats reversed these effects. Furthermore, 14 days of CORT treatment of normal rats increased [(3)H]IP(3) binding to IP(3)Rs and decreased IP(3) levels in cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum, without any changes in expression of IP(3)R-I, IP(3)R-II, or IP(3)R-III isoform. On the other hand, ADX decreased [(3)H]IP(3) binding and increased levels of IP(3), and simultaneous CORT treatment of ADX rats prevented these changes. ADX or CORT treatment had no significant effects on the expression of G(q/11) alpha protein. These results suggest that manipulation of the HPA axis alters various components of the PI signaling pathway in rat brain, which may have physiological relevance to the HPA axis-mediated changes in mood and behavior.