D2 inhibition of stimulated Fos immunoreactivity in cultured tyrosine hydroxylase-ir hypothalamic neurons.

We have previously demonstrated that Fos immunoreactivity can be stimulated by KCl, forskolin or glutamate in cultured tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive (TH-ir) hypothalamic neurons. The present study was performed to determine whether agents that regulate dopaminergic activity, particularly D1 and D2 receptor agonists, modulate the intracellular cascade leading to Fos expression. Dissociated hypothalamic cultures were prepared from neonatal rats. The cultures were treated with D1- or D2-specific agonists, followed by KCl, forskolin or glutamate. Cultures were fixed after 2 h and immunocytochemically stained for tyrosine hydroxylase and Fos. Pretreatment of the cultures with the D2 agonist LY163502 inhibited KCl- and forskolin-stimulated Fos-ir in TH-ir neurons in a saturable dose-dependent manner. The maximal effective dose was 30 microM LY163502, which decreased Fos-ir by 23% in cultures treated with 50 mM KCl and by 33% in those treated with 30 microM forskolin. The D2 agonist had no effect on glutamate-stimulated Fos-ir. LY163502 inhibition of Fos-ir was blocked by D2 antagonist or Bordetella pertussis toxin pretreatment which demonstrates that the effect is mediated by D2 receptor activation of an inhibitory G protein. Treatment of the cultures with the D1 agonist SKF82526 had no effect on basal or stimulated levels of Fos-ir. These results demonstrate that in neonatal TH-ir hypothalamic neurons the D2 receptor system may regulate levels of the immediate-early gene product Fos and, therefore, subsequent genetic expression in these neurons.