QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, April 28, 2004, 24(17):4242-4249; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5436-03.2004

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (21) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Witkovsky, P. Articles by Meller, E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Witkovsky, P. Articles by Meller, E.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Cellular/Molecular
Activity-Dependent Phosphorylation of Tyrosine Hydroxylase in Dopaminergic Neurons of the Rat Retina

Paul Witkovsky,^1,2 Eleonora Veisenberger,¹ John W. Haycock,⁴ Abram Akopian,¹ Antonio Garcia-Espana,³ and Emanuel Meller³

Departments of ¹Ophthalmology, ²Physiology and Neuroscience, and ³Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, and ⁴Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803

We studied in vivo activity-dependent phosphorylation of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in dopaminergic (DA) neurons of the rat retina. TH phosphorylation (TH-P) was evaluated by immunocytochemistry, using antibodies specific for each of three regulated phosphorylation sites. TH synthesis rate was measured by dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) accumulation in the presence of NSD-1015, an inhibitor of aromatic amino acid decarboxylase. TH-P was increased markedly by light or after intraocular injection of GABA_A and glycine inhibitors. All three phosphospecific antibodies responded similarly to test drugs or light. A 30 min exposure to light increased DOPA accumulation by threefold over that seen after 30 min in darkness. Immunostaining to an anti-panNa channel antibody was found in all parts of the DA neuron. TTX blocked TH-P induced by light or GABA/glycine inhibitors but only in varicosities of the DA axon plexus, not in perikarya or dendrites. Veratridine increased TH-P in all parts of the DA neuron. The distribution of the monoamine vesicular transporter 2 was shown by immunocytochemistry to reside in varicosities of the DA plexus but not in dendrites, indicating that the varicosities are sites of dopamine release. Collectively, these data indicate that, in the retina, dopamine synthesis in varicosities is affected by the spiking activity of retinal neurons, possibly including that of the DA neurons themselves.

Key words: retina; dopaminergic neuron; tyrosine hydroxylase; phosphorylation; TTX; monoamine vesicular transporter 2

---

Received Dec 10, 2003; revised March 17, 2004; accepted March 24, 2004.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. L. Ko, Y. Liu, L. Shi, D. Trump, and G. Y.-P. Ko Circadian Regulation of Retinoschisin in the Chick Retina Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., April 1, 2008; 49(4): 1615 - 1621. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Ostergaard, J. Hannibal, and J. Fahrenkrug Synaptic Contact between Melanopsin-Containing Retinal Ganglion Cells and Rod Bipolar Cells Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., August 1, 2007; 48(8): 3812 - 3820. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Murase and R. D. McKay A specific survival response in dopamine neurons at most risk in Parkinson's disease. J. Neurosci., September 20, 2006; 26(38): 9750 - 9760. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. A. McClung, K. Sidiropoulou, M. Vitaterna, J. S. Takahashi, F. J. White, D. C. Cooper, and E. J. Nestler Regulation of dopaminergic transmission and cocaine reward by the Clock gene PNAS, June 28, 2005; 102(26): 9377 - 9381. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help