Increased glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor expression in glia after mechanical lesion of the rat brain

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)(7-36) amide, a member of the glucagon and related peptides family, and its receptor have an anatomically specific expression in the brain. Furthermore, the GLP-1 receptor is expressed in both neurons and glia. Because after a penetrating injury a large population of astrocytes become activated and augment their expression of numerous substances, we have used in situ hybridization to determine whether the expression of the GLP-1 receptor increases in response to a penetrating injury. We have found that GLP-1 receptor expression increases dramatically along the border of the injury. Furthermore, this expression can be colocalized to glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and non-GFAP mRNA containing cells, suggesting that at least part of this increase is due to an increase in GLP-1 receptor expression in glial cells.