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Neurodevelopmental Reflex Testing in Neonatal Rat Pups
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Neurodevelopmental Reflex Testing in Neonatal Rat Pups

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Developmental Switch of Leptin Action on Network Driven Activity in the Neonatal Rat Hippocampus

Camille Dumon1, Lucie Pisella1, Diabe Diabira1

  • 1INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) Unité 1249, UMR 1249, INMED (Institut de Neurobiologie de la Méditerranée), Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.

Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience
|June 20, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Leptin, a hormone regulating energy balance, bi-directionally controls hippocampal network activity in developing rodents. It enhances early network potentials via CaMK/ERK pathways and later inhibits them via PI3K/BK channel pathways.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Biology
  • Endocrinology

Background:

  • Leptin is a key hormone regulating energy balance and body weight.
  • Leptin also functions as a critical developmental signal in the brain during fetal and postnatal periods.
  • Rodent pups exhibit a surge in leptin levels during the first two postnatal weeks, coinciding with hippocampal network development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of leptin on Giant Depolarizing Potentials (GDPs) in the immature hippocampus.
  • To determine the specific signaling pathways involved in leptin's modulation of GDPs during early development.

Main Methods:

  • Electrophysiological recordings of GDPs in the immature hippocampus of rodents at different postnatal ages.
  • Pharmacological manipulation of specific signaling pathways, including CaMK, ERK, PI3K, and BK channels.

Main Results:

  • Leptin increased GDPs frequency between postnatal days 1 and 3, mediated by calcium/Calmodulin-dependent kinase (CaMK) and extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) pathways.
  • Leptin inhibited GDPs frequency between postnatal days 6 and 7, involving phosphoinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) and large conductance Ca2+ activated K+ (BK) channels.
  • These findings demonstrate a biphasic, age-dependent effect of leptin on hippocampal network activity.

Conclusions:

  • Leptin exerts a dual, age-dependent control over hippocampal network development.
  • Leptin's influence on GDPs highlights its broader role in shaping the developing brain's circuitry.

Keywords:
BK-channelsCaMKERKGDPsPI3Kimmature networksleptin

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