Calakos Katina C, Blackman Dakota, Schulz Alexandra M, Bauer Elizabeth P
Barnard College Columbia University, 3009 Broadway, New York, New York, 10027.
Synapse. 2017 Apr;71(4). doi: 10.1002/syn.21953. Epub 2017 Feb 20.
The neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) plays a critical role in mediating anxiety-like responses to stressors, and dysfunction of the CRF system has been linked to the etiology of several psychiatric disorders. Extra-hypothalamic CRF can also modulate learning and memory formation, including amygdala-dependent learning. The basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA) contains dense concentrations of CRF receptors, yet the distribution of these receptors on specific neuronal subtypes within the BLA has not been characterized. Here, we quantified the expression of CRF receptors on three nonoverlapping classes of GABAergic interneurons: those containing the calcium-binding protein parvalbumin (PV), and those expressing the neuropeptides somatostatin (SOM) or cholecystokinin (CCK). While the majority of PV+ neurons and roughly half of CCK+ neurons expressed CRF receptors, they were expressed to a much lesser extent on SOM+ interneurons. Knowledge of the distribution of CRF receptors within the BLA can provide insight into how manipulations of the CRF system modulate fear and anxiety-like behaviors.
神经肽促肾上腺皮质激素释放因子（CRF）在介导对应激源的焦虑样反应中起关键作用，并且CRF系统功能障碍与几种精神疾病的病因有关。下丘脑外的CRF还可调节学习和记忆形成，包括杏仁核依赖性学习。杏仁核基底外侧核（BLA）含有密集的CRF受体，但这些受体在BLA内特定神经元亚型上的分布尚未明确。在此，我们量化了CRF受体在三类不重叠的GABA能中间神经元上的表达：含有钙结合蛋白小白蛋白（PV）的神经元，以及表达神经肽生长抑素（SOM）或胆囊收缩素（CCK）的神经元。虽然大多数PV+神经元和大约一半的CCK+神经元表达CRF受体，但它们在SOM+中间神经元上的表达程度要低得多。了解BLA内CRF受体的分布可以深入了解CRF系统的操作如何调节恐惧和焦虑样行为。
