γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) generates persistent tonic inhibitory currents (Itonic) and conventional inhibitory postsynaptic currents in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) via activation of GABAA receptors (GABAARs). We investigated the pathophysiological significance of astroglial GABA uptake in the regulation of Itonic in the PVN neurons projecting to the rostral ventrolateral medu...

BACKGROUND Chemical stimulation of white adipose tissue (WAT) induces adipose afferent reflex (AAR), and thereby causes a general sympathetic activation. Paraventricular nucleus (PVN) is important in control of sympathetic outflow. This study was designed to investigate the role of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in PVN in regulating the AAR. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Experiments were carried...

The study was conducted to investigate the role for dopamine in the centrally mediated sympathoexcitatory response in rats with Type 2 diabetes (T2D). T2D was induced by a combination of high-fat diet (HFD) and low-dose streptozotocin (STZ). HFD/STZ treatment for 12-14 wk resulted in significant increase in the number of FosB-positive cells in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and rostral ventr...

The paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus controls the autonomic neural output to the liver, thereby participating in the regulation of hepatic glucose production (HGP); nevertheless, mechanisms controlling the activity of liver-related PVN neurons are not known. Transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) is involved in glucose homeostasis and colocalizes with liver-relat...

The supraoptic (SON) and the paraventricular (PVN) hypothalamic nuclei constitute major neuronal substrates underlying nitric oxide (NO) effects on autonomic and neuroendocrine control. Within these nuclei, constitutively produced NO restrains the firing activity of magnocellular neurosecretory and preautonomic neurons, actions thought to be mediated by a cGMP-dependent enhancement of GABAergic...

We aimed to characterize neuronal and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) pathways at the acute phase of a model of colitis in rats. Male rats received an intracolonic injection of either vehicle (controls) or trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) and were killed 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12, or 24 h later. Coronal frozen sections of the brain were cut and mRNAs encoding the rat c-fos, CRF1 receptor, and C...

Stress induces secretion of corticosterone through activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. This corticosterone secretion is thought to be controlled by a circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) receives convergent information from both stress and the circadian clock. Recent reports demonstrate that mammalian orthologs (...

Increasing body core temperature reflexly decreases renal blood flow (RBF), and the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) plays an essential role in this response. ANG II in the brain is involved in the cardiovascular responses to hyperthermia, and ANG II receptors are highly concentrated in the PVN. The present study investigated whether ANG II in the PVN contributes to the cardiovascular...

AIMS A functional interaction between the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system and noradrenergic neurons in the brain has been suggested. In the present study, we investigated the interrelationship between the central CRF-induced elevation of plasma catecholamines and adrenoceptor activation in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) using urethane-anesthetized rats. MAIN...

Pharmacological and genetic studies have suggested that melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) signaling in the paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus (PVN) regulates appetite and energy balance. However, the specific role of MC4R signaling in PVN neurons in these processes remains to be further elucidated in normally developed animals. In the present study, we employed RNA interference to determine w...