Poster Presentation The International Congress of Neuroendocrinology 2014

Cell-to-cell communication via gap junctions may play a role in controlling synchronized activities of KNDy neurons regulating pulsatile secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (#221)

Kana Ikegami , Shiori Minabe 1 , Nahoko Ieda , Hitomi Abe 2 , Teppei Goto 2 3 , Kei-ichiro Maeda 4 , Hiroko Tsukamura , Yoshihisa Uenoyama 2
  1. Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
  2. Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
  3. National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Japan
  4. Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Pulsatile secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)/luteinizing hormone (LH) is indispensable for follicle development and spermatogenesis in mammalian species.  KNDy neurons, expressing kisspeptin, neurokinin B (NKB) and dynorphin, are considered to be a central pacemaker regulating pulsatile GnRH secretion.  A synchronous discharge of KNDy neurons might be obligatory for pulsatile GnRH secretion.  The present study aimed to determine the cellular mechanism regulating the synchronized activities of KNDy neurons.  KNDy-GFP cells were collected from the mediobasal hypothalamus of the transgenic mice expressing GFP under the control of the Kiss1 promoter at day 17-18 of the embryonic age and cultured on a glass-base dish for 2 to 6 weeks.  Intracellular Ca2+concentrations were measured in individual KNDy-GFP cells using the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator Fura-PE3.  Senktide, a selective agonist for NKB receptor (NK3R), increased the frequency of the Ca2+ oscillations in cultured KNDy-GFP cells.  The senktide-induced Ca2+ oscillations were synchronized in the neighboring KNDy-GFP cells.  Such Ca2+oscillations were abolished by chelating extracellular Ca2+, suggesting that the Ca2+ oscillations are caused by an influx of extracellular Ca2+ through the calcium channels in KNDy-GFP cells.  Further, 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid, an inhibitor of neuron-to-astrocyte gap junction, and mefloquine, an inhibitor of neuron-to-neuron gap junction, attenuated senktide-induced Ca2+ oscillations in KNDy-GFP cells.  These results indicate that NKB-NK3R signaling is required for synchronized activities in neighboring KNDy neurons in an autocrine/paracrine manner and that both neuron-to-neuron and neuron-to-astrocyte communications via gap junctions may play a role in controlling synchronized activities of KNDy neurons.  This work was supported by the Research Program on Innovative Technologies for Animal Breeding, Reproduction, and Vaccine Development