Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre/DCBS-Physiology, Porto Alegre-RS, Brazil.
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul/ICBS-Anatomy, Porto Alegre-RS, Brazil.
Histol Histopathol. 2020 Apr;35(4):395-403. doi: 10.14670/HH-18-160. Epub 2019 Sep 9.
The posterodorsal medial amygdala (MePD) has an adapted synaptic organization that dynamically modulates reproduction and other social behaviors in rats. Discrete gap junctions between glial cells were previously reported in the MePD neuropil. Connexins (Cx) are components of gap junctions and indicative of cellular electrical coupling. Here, we report the ultrastructural occurrence of gap junctions between neurons in the MePD and demonstrate the expression and immunofluorescent labeling of Cx36, Cx43 and Cx45 in this subcortical area of adult male rats. Few neuronal gap junctions were found in the MePD and, when identified, occurred between dendrites. On the other hand, there is a diffuse presence and distribution of punctate labelling for the tested Cxs. Puncta were visualized isolated or forming clusters in the same focal plane of cell bodies or along the MePD neuropil. The Cx36 puncta were found in neurons, Cx43 in astrocytes and Cx45 in both neurons and astrocytes. Our data indicate the presence of few gap junctions and different Cxs composition in the MePD. Because Cxs can assemble, form hemichannel units and/or serve as transcriptional regulator, it is likely that additional modulation of intercellular communication can occur besides the chemical transmission in the MePD of adult rats.
背侧后内侧杏仁核 (MePD) 具有适应性的突触组织，可动态调节大鼠的生殖和其他社会行为。先前在 MePD 神经丛中报道了胶质细胞之间存在离散的缝隙连接。连接蛋白 (Cx) 是缝隙连接的组成部分，也是细胞电耦合的标志。在这里，我们报告了 MePD 神经元之间缝隙连接的超微结构发生，并证明了成年雄性大鼠这一皮质下区域中 Cx36、Cx43 和 Cx45 的表达和免疫荧光标记。在 MePD 中发现的神经元缝隙连接很少，当识别出时，它们发生在树突之间。另一方面，存在测试的 Cx 的弥散存在和点状标记分布。点状标记在细胞体的同一焦平面或沿着 MePD 神经丛中孤立或形成簇出现。Cx36 点状标记存在于神经元中，Cx43 存在于星形胶质细胞中，Cx45 存在于神经元和星形胶质细胞中。我们的数据表明 MePD 中存在少量缝隙连接和不同的 Cx 组成。因为 Cx 可以组装、形成半通道单元和/或作为转录调节剂，所以除了成年大鼠 MePD 中的化学传递之外，细胞间通讯可能还会发生额外的调节。
