GAD2 Expression Defines a Class of Excitatory Lateral Habenula Neurons in Mice that Project to the Raphe and Pontine Tegmentum.

ABSTRACT: The lateral habenula (LHb) sends complex projections to several areas of the mesopontine tegmentum, the raphe, and the hypothalamus. However, few markers have been available to distinguish subsets of LHb neurons that may serve these pathways. In order to address this complexity, we examined the mouse and rat LHb for neurons that express the GABA biosynthesis enzymes glutamate decarboxylase 1 (GAD1) and GAD2, and the vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT). The mouse LHb contains a population of neurons that express GAD2, while the rat LHb contains discrete populations of neurons that express GAD1 and VGAT. However, we could not detect single neurons in either species that co-express a GABA synthetic enzyme and VGAT, suggesting that these LHb neurons do not use GABA for conventional synaptic tran

SUBMITTER: Quina LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7240287 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May/Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature