The Journal of Neuroscience, 0000, 20:RC91:1-5
RAPID COMMUNICATION
GOLF
Mediates Dopamine
D1 Receptor Signaling
Xiaoxi
Zhuang,
Leonardo
Belluscio, and
Rene
Hen
Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University, New
York, New York 10032
It is generally assumed that the coupling of dopamine
D1 receptors to adenylyl cyclase is mediated by the
stimulatory GTP-binding protein Gs. However, the striatum
contains little Gs
subunit, whereas it
expresses high levels of Golf
, a close
relative of Gs
that is also expressed in
olfactory receptor neurons. We used Golf
knockout mice to examine the functional coupling of D1
receptors. We found that these mice showed no hyperlocomotor response
to either the D1 agonist SKF-81297 or the psychostimulant cocaine. Moreover, Golf
knockout mice did
not display cocaine-induced c-fos expression in the striatum. Finally,
in the absence of Golf
, striatal
D1 receptors have a decreased affinity for dopamine. Thus
coupling to Golf
appears to mediate
D1 signaling in the striatum.
Key words:
dopamine; D1 receptor; Golf; Gs; striatum; knockout
Copyright © 0000 Society for Neuroscience 0270-6474/00/$05.00/0