期刊名称:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN:0027-8424
电子版ISSN:1091-6490
出版年度:1986
卷号:83
期号:24
页码:9827-9831
DOI:10.1073/pnas.83.24.9827
语种:English
出版社:The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要:We used in situ hybridization histochemistry with synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotide probes to identify cells that synthesize mRNAs encoding tyrosine hydroxylase in the mesencephalon and substance P, enkephalin, and dynorphin in the rat forebrain. Dopaminergic cells in the mesencephalon project to the forebrain and influence neuropeptide levels. We examined the effect of unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesions (which eliminated tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA-containing cells in the mesencephalon) on substance P, enkephalin, and dynorphin mRNA levels. Substance P mRNA levels were depressed, whereas enkephalin mRNA levels were elevated in consecutive sections from striatal areas in all animals. The effects of the lesions on dynorphin mRNA levels were less robust, and considerable variation between animals was observed. Changes were evident in the levels of message in individual cells but not in the numbers of labeled cells. These effects were not uniform throughout the dopamine-innervated areas, suggesting degrees of control not apparent with RNA blot-hybridization or dot-blot analyses.