Immunohistochemical localisation of the NK1 receptor in the human amygdala: Preliminary investigation in schizophrenia
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Date
2006-09-30
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Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
The amygdala has a role in the modulation of moods and emotion, processes that are known to be affected in people wi th psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and depression. The tachykinin NK1 receptor is known to be expressed in the amygdala. However to date, there is limited knowledge of the distribution of the NK1 receptor in this region. This study used immunohistochemistry to analyse the distribution of the NK1 receptor in fixed human amygdala tissue in control subjects with no history of psychiatric illness and matched subjects with a diagnosis of schizophrenia (n = 4 pairs). The NK1 receptor was observed sparsely distributed in cell bodies in all amygdaloid nuclei with the basolateral and lateral having a greater relative density of NK1 receptor-immunoreactive cell bodies than the other nuclei. Double labelling with antibodies to microtubule associated protein and the NK1 receptor revealed that the NK1 receptor is expressed by large pyramidal, small stellate and large bipolar neurons. Interestingly, the basal nucleus of Meynert, which is just dorsal to the amygdala, was observed to have a significantly higher relative density of NK1 receptor-immunoreactive cell bodies compared to any of the amygdaloid nuclei. Preliminary analysis of the density of NK1 receptor-immunoreactive cell bodies in the major amygdaloid nuclei and the basal nucleus of Meynert revealed no significant differences between schizophrenia and control subjects. Real-time PCR showed that the mRNA for both the short and long isoforms of the NK1 receptor was expressed at low levels in fresh frozen human amygdala tissue from control subjects and that this was not different in matched subjects with schizophrenia (n = 11 pairs). In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that the NK1 receptor is widely distributed in the amygdala, and has shown for the first time a high relative density of NK1 receptor-immunoreactive cell bodies in the basal nucleus of Meynert. © 2006, Elsevier Ltd.
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Keywords
Guinea pigs, Rodents, Cerebral cortex, Brain, Behavior, Receptors
Citation
Weidenhofer, J., Yip, J., Zavitsanou, K., Huang, X. F., Chahl, L. A., & Tooney, P. A. (2006). Immunohistochemical localisation of the NK1 receptor in the human amygdala: Preliminary investigation in schizophrenia. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 30(7), 1313-1321. doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2006.05.008