Arginine Vasopressin Differentially Modulates GABAergic Synaptic Transmission onto Temperature-Sensitive and -Insensitive Neurons in the Rat Preoptic Area

Abstract

The preoptic area (POA) of the hypothalamus, containing temperature-sensitive and -insensitive neurons, plays a key role in specific thermoregulatory responses. Although arginine vasopressin (AVP) has been shown to induce hypothermia by increasing the firing activities of warm-sensitive neurons and decreasing those of cold-sensitive and temperature-insensitive neurons, the effects of AVP on POA GABAergic transmission remain unknown. Herein, inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) of temperature-sensitive and temperature-insensitive neurons in POA slices were recorded using whole-cell patch clamp. By monitoring changes in GABAergic transmission during AVP treatment, we showed that AVP decreased the amplitudes and frequencies of spontaneous IPSCs in mostly warm-sensitive neurons and in some temperature-insensitive neurons but increased these parameters in other temperature-insensitive neurons. The IPSCs amplitude was reduced for only cold-sensitive neurons. RT-PCR and Western blot analyses further confirmed the POA expression of V1a receptors and GABA_A receptors, including the subunits α1, α2, α3, β2, β3 and γ2. The effects of AVP on IPSCs in temperature-sensitive and temperature-insensitive neurons were dependent on G-proteins and intracellular Ca²⁺. AVP-mediated modulation was associated with changes in the kinetic parameters (decay time, 10%-90% rise time, half width). Together, these results suggest that AVP, acting via V1a receptors but not V1b receptors, differentially modulates GABAergic synaptic transmission and fine-tunes the firing activities of temperature-sensitive and temperature-insensitive neurons in the rat POA.

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