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

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, March 8, 2006, 26(10):2798-2807; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4720-05.2006

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 ISI 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 ISI Web of Science (16) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Li, Z. S. Articles by Gershon, M. D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Li, Z. S. Articles by Gershon, M. D.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Physiological Modulation of Intestinal Motility by Enteric Dopaminergic Neurons and the D₂ Receptor: Analysis of Dopamine Receptor Expression, Location, Development, and Function in Wild-Type and Knock-Out Mice

Zhi Shan Li,¹ Claudia Schmauss,² Abigail Cuenca,¹ Elyanne Ratcliffe,³ and Michael D. Gershon¹

¹Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, ²Department of Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, and ³Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Zhi Shan Li, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 630 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032. Email: ZL64{at}columbia.edu

Dopaminergic neurons are present in both plexuses of the murine bowel and are upregulated after extrinsic denervation but play unknown roles in enteric nervous system (ENS) physiology. Transcripts encoding dopamine (DA) receptors D₁–D₅ were analyzed by reverse transcription-PCR in stomach duodenum ileum proximal >> distal colon. Dissected muscle and myenteric plexus contained transcripts encoding D₁–D₃ and D₅, whereas mucosa contained D₁ and D₃–D₅. D₁–D₅ expression began in fetal gut [embryonic day 10 (E10)], before the appearance of neurons (E12), and was sustained without developmental regulation through postnatal day 1. In situ hybridization revealed that subsets of submucosal and myenteric neurons contained mRNA encoding D₂ or D₃. Immunoblots confirmed that D₁, D₂, and D₅ receptor proteins were present from stomach through distal colon. Subsets of submucosal and myenteric neurons were also D₁, D₂, or D₃ immunoreactive. When double labeled by in situ hybridization, these neurons contained mRNA encoding the respective receptors. Total gastrointestinal transit time (TGTT) and colonic transit time (CTT) were measured in mice lacking D₂, D₃, or D₂ plus D₃. Both TGTT and CTT were decreased significantly (motility increased) in D₂ and D₂ plus D₃, but not D₃, knock-out animals. Mice lacking D₂ and D₂ plus D₃ but not D₃ were smaller than wild-type littermates, yet ate significantly more and had greater stool frequency, water content, and mass. Because motility is abnormal when D₂ is absent, the net inhibitory DA effect on motility is physiologically significant. The early expression of DA receptors is also consistent with the possibility that DA affects ENS development.

Key words: dopamine receptor; dopaminergic; colon motility; gastrointestinal transit time; enteric nervous system; development

---

Received Nov. 3, 2005; revised Jan. 9, 2006; accepted Feb. 3, 2006.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Zhi Shan Li, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 630 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032. Email: ZL64{at}columbia.edu

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Chevalier, P. Derkinderen, P. Gomes, R. Thinard, P. Naveilhan, P. Vanden Berghe, and M. Neunlist Activity-dependent regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase expression in the enteric nervous system J. Physiol., April 1, 2008; 586(7): 1963 - 1975. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. E. Benarroch Enteric nervous system: Functional organization and neurologic implications Neurology, November 13, 2007; 69(20): 1953 - 1957. [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. D'Autreaux, Y. Morikawa, P. Cserjesi, and M. D. Gershon Hand2 is necessary for terminal differentiation of enteric neurons from crest-derived precursors but not for their migration into the gut or for formation of glia Development, June 15, 2007; 134(12): 2237 - 2249. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help