Ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus neuronal nitric oxide knockdown effects on GABAergic neuron metabolic sensor and transmitter marker gene expression in the male rat.

Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 100966986 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1471-2202 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14712202 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Neurosci Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: London: BioMed Central, [2000-

Ventromedial Hypothalamic Nucleus*/metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I*/genetics ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I*/metabolism ; GABAergic Neurons*/metabolism ; Nitric Oxide*/metabolism; Animals ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Hypoglycemia/metabolism ; Hypoglycemia/chemically induced ; Gene Knockdown Techniques ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid/metabolism ; Insulin

Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical approval: Studies performed here were approved by the University of Louisiana Monroe Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, reference no. 19AUG-KPB-01, in accordance with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Guide for Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, 8th Edition. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
The diffusible gas nitric oxide (NO) and amino acid γ-gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) exert contrary effects on glucose counterregulation in the male rat, but how these neurochemical signals integrate within ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMN) neural circuitries remains unclear. Female rat dorsomedial (VMNdm) and ventrolateral (VMNvl) GABAergic neurons express neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) mRNA; notably these subpopulations exhibit dissimilar nNOS transcriptional responses to insulin-induced hypoglycemia (IIH). Here, nNOS gene knockdown tools were used to examine whether one or both VMN GABA neuron groups may be a target for nitrergic control of basal and hypoglycemic counterregulatory hormone secretion in the male. Data show that VMN nNOS gene knockdown respectively up- or down-regulated counterregulatory hormone profiles in eu- versus hypoglycemic male rats. Single-cell multiplex qPCR analysis of laser-catapult-microdissected GABA neurons showed that IIH elevated nNOS gene expression in GABA neurons from each VMN division, yet nNOS siRNA pretreatment attenuated distinctive IIH-associated transmitter marker gene expression patterns in VMNdm versus VMNvl GABAergic neurons. nNOS gene silencing had similar effects on glucokinase and glucose transporter gene responses to IIH in each GABA neuron subpopulation but elicited division-specific effects on mRNA encoding 5-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) alpha/catalytic subunits and the lactate membrane receptor GPR81/HCAR1. Current findings provide original evidence that VMN NO may impose bi-directional, glucose status-contingent control of counterregulatory hormone outflow in the male rat. Data moreover imply that during IIH, NO may control distinctive sources of metabolic sensory regulatory stimuli in VMNdm versus VMNvl GABA neurons and may shape unique counterregulation-controlling neurochemical transmission by each cell population.
(© 2025. The Author(s).)

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R01 DK109382 United States DK NIDDK NIH HHS; DK 109382 United States DK NIDDK NIH HHS

Keywords: AMPK; GABA neuron; GAD1/2; Glucagon; Glucokinase; nNOS siRNA

EC 1.14.13.39 (Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I)
56-12-2 (gamma-Aminobutyric Acid)
31C4KY9ESH (Nitric Oxide)
0 (Insulin)

Date Created: 20250224 Date Completed: 20250509 Latest Revision: 20250509

20250510

PMC11853586

10.1186/s12868-025-00940-0

39994513