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Leptin receptor expression in the basolateral nucleus of amygdala of conditioned taste aversion rats
Zhen Han1, Jian-Qun Yan, Guo-Gang Luo
1Department of Physiology, Xi'an Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shaanxi Province, China.
Aim:
To determine whether serum leptin level and the leptin receptor (OB-R) expression in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) change following conditioned taste aversion (CTA) formation.
Methods:
The serum leptin concentration was measured by rat leptin RIA kit, long and short forms of leptin receptor (OB-Rb and OB-Ra) mRNA in the brain sections were examined by in situ hybridization (ISH) and the expression of OB-R was assessed by immunohistochemistry ABC method with a highly specific goat anti-OB-R antibody.
Results:
The level of serum leptin didn't show significant difference between CTA and control group. Comparing with the control group, the CTA group had an increase on count of OB-R immunohistochemistry positive-stained cells in the BLA (127+/-12 vs 48+/-9 per 1 mm(2)). The OB-Rb mRNA expression level enhanced by 11.9 % in the BLA, while OB-Ra mRNA level increased by 7.4 % on the choroid plexus in CTA group. So BLA was supposed to be a region where interactions between gustatory and vagal signals take place.
Conclusion:
BLA is one of the sites, which are responsible for CTA formation in the brain. Leptin and OB-R maybe involved in neuronal communication for CTA. So leptin and its receptors probably take part in CTA and integration of autonomic and extroceptive information.