Expression of mGluR2/3 Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors in the Ventrolateral Part of the Solitary Tract Nucleus in Rats During the Early Postnatal Period in Health and in Prenatal Serotonin Deficiency

Abstract

Objective. to study the dynamics of the expression of mGluR2/3 metabotropic receptors in the ventral and lateral respiratory subnuclei of the solitary tract nucleus (STN) in the early postnatal period in health and after prenatal serotonin deficiency in rats. Materials and methods. Studies were performed on Wistar laboratory rats (n = 19). Tryptophan hydroxylase was inhibited using parachlorophenylalanine. The ventral and lateral respiratory subnuclei of the STN were studied on days 5, 10, and 20. An immunohistochemical method was used to study the distribution of mGluR2 and mGluR3 metabotropic receptors (mGluR2/3). Results. During the first postnatal week, both subnuclei showed high levels of mGluR2/3 expression. During the second week, there was a sharp reduction in mGluR2/3 expression, followed by an increase by the end of the third week. Decreases in serotonin content during the prenatal period affected the intensity of mGluR2/3 expression in both subnuclei of the STN. During the early postnatal period, there was a significant reduction (more than two-fold) in the expression of mGluR2/3 expression at all time pints, this being more marked in the ventral subnucleus. Conclusions. Changes in the level of expression of mGluR2/3 metabotropic glutamate receptors during the early postnatal period occurred in the ventrolateral part of the STN. Serotonin deficiency led to a sharp reduction in the expression of mGluR2/3 receptors in the respiratory subnuclei during the early postnatal period.