Research paperNeuroanatomical relationship between type 1 cannabinoid receptors and dopaminergic systems in the rat basal ganglia
Section snippets
Animals
This study was carried out on inbred adult (2–3 months old, 250–300 g body weight [b.w.]) male Wistar rats. Rats received food and water ad libitum and were kept in a 12-h light/dark cycle. The maintenance of the animals as well as the experimental procedures followed the guidelines from the European Union (Council Directive 86/609/EEC). All efforts were made to minimize the number of animals used and their suffering.
Tissue preparation for in situ hybridization
Rats were killed by rapid decapitation and their brains were removed and
Results
In the autoradiographic films, we observed high CB1 receptor mRNA expression in the dorsolateral part of the caudate putamen (CPu) at its rostral and middle levels, and in the ventral areas of its pole (Fig. 1A, B). The expression was gradually more intense toward the lateral part of the striatum and less intense in the ventral striatum. In the emulsion-dipped slides, it was evident that the hybridization signal was mainly in the medium-sized striatal neurons. The intensity of the
Discussion
The simultaneous study of the localization of the mRNA and protein for both the CB1 receptor and TH has allowed us to establish the neuroanatomical independence but intimate proximity in the arrangement of the circuitries of the cannabinoid and dopaminergic systems. In agreement with previous studies Mailleux and Vanderhaeghen 1992, Marsicano and Lutz 1999, Hohmann and Herkenham 2000, we have observed high CB1 receptor mRNA expression in the dorsolateral part of the rostral and middle thirds of
Acknowledgments
Plasmids for the CB1 receptor cDNA and TH cDNA were kindly provided by Dr. A. Santos, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain, and Dr. J. Mallet, Hopital de la Pitie Salpetriere, Paris, France, respectively. The CB1-receptor antibody was a present from Dr. A. C. Howlett (North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC, USA). It is greatly appreciated the technical assistance of Concepcion Bailon and Carmen Hernandez for the confocal microscopy images. This work was supported by Plan Nacional sobre
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R. Moratalla and L. M. Garcia-Segura contributed equally to this study.