Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
Gender difference in BK channel expression in amygdala complex of rat brain
Section snippets
Materials and methods
Animal and tissue preparation. Intact and castrated male and female adult rats (8–10 weeks old, Wistar-ST) were decapitated. Castration, when applicable, was performed 4 weeks prior to use. The brain were removed rapidly from the skull and placed in ice-cold oxygenated saline containing (in mM) KCl 2.4, MgSO4 10, CaCl2 0.5, piperazine-N,N′-bis(ethanesulfonic acid) (PIPES) 20, glucose 10, and sucrose 195, pH 7.35. Coronal slices (500 μm in thickness) were cut from a block of tissue containing the
Regional expression of AR and BK channel in rat brain
The mRNA expression of AR and BKα in amygdala complex, pituitary, and hippocampus in male rat brain was examined by quantitative real-time PCR analyses (Fig. 1A). The expression of AR and BKα mRNAs was detected in these regions and BKα mRNA expression was apparently higher than that of AR. The mRNA expression analyses of BK channel β subunit isoforms (BKβ1, β2, β3, and β4) revealed that BKβ4 was predominant isoform in amygdala complex of male rats (Fig. 1B and C).
The expression of BKα and AR
Discussion
We report here that the expression of BK channel in amygdala complex is gender-dependent, much higher in male rats than in female, and may possibly be consistently up-regulated by the stimulation of ARs in male rats.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas (20056027) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (20390027) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences to Y.I. This work was also supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (18790058) to S.O.
References (23)
- et al.
Large-conductance, calcium-activated potassium channels: structural and functional implications
Pharmacol. Ther.
(2006) Steroid-dependent plasticity in the medial amygdala
Neuroscience
(2006)- et al.
Differential expression of the α and β subunits of the large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channel: implication for channel diversity
Mol. Brain Res.
(1997) - et al.
Large conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channel: activation by Ca2+ and voltage
Biol. Res.
(2006) - et al.
High-conductance potassium channels of the SLO family
Nat. Rev. Neurosci.
(2006) - et al.
BK calcium-activated potassium channels regulate circadian behavioral rhythms and pacemaker output
Nat. Neurosci.
(2006) Emotion circuits in the brain
Annu. Rev. Neurosci.
(2000)- et al.
Properties of a Ca2+-activated K+ conductance in acutely isolated pyramidal-like neurons from the rat basolateral amygdaloid complex
J. Neurophysiol.
(1997) - et al.
Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channel inactivation contributes to spike broadening during repetitive firing in the rat lateral amygdala
J. Physiol.
(2003) - et al.
MaxiK channel partners: physiological impact
J. Physiol.
(2006)
Effect of 17β-estradiol on mRNA expression of large-conductance, voltage-dependent, and calcium-activated potassium channel α and β subunits in guinea pig
Endocrine
Cited by (6)
Reciprocal Relationship between Ca<sup>2</sup><sup>+</sup> Signaling and Ca<sup>2</sup><sup>+</sup>-Gated Ion Channels as a Potential Target for Drug Discovery
2022, Biological and Pharmaceutical BulletinAndrogens block outward potassium currents and decrease spontaneous action potentials in GH<inf>3</inf> cells
2015, Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of PharmacologySpontaneous and nicotine-induced Ca<sup>2+</sup> oscillations mediated by Ca<sup>2+</sup> influx in rat pinealocytes
2014, American Journal of Physiology - Cell PhysiologyDown-regulation of the large-conductance Ca <sup>2+</sup>-activated K <sup>+</sup> channel, K <inf>Ca</inf>1.1 in the prostatic stromal cells of benign prostate hyperplasia
2012, Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin