Decreased anxiety-like behavior and Gαq/11-dependent responses in the amygdala of mice lacking TRPC4 channels

Antonio Riccio, Yan Li, Evgeny Tsvetkov, Svetlana Gapon, Gui Lan Yao, Kiersten S. Smith, Elif Engin, Uwe Rudolph, Vadim Y. Bolshakov, David E. Clapham

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are abundant in the brain where they regulate transmission of sensory signals. The expression patterns of different TRPC subunits (TRPC1, 4, and 5) are consistent with their potential role in fear-related behaviors. Accordingly, we found recently that mutant mice lacking a specific TRP channel subunit, TRPC5, exhibited decreased innate fear responses. Both TRPC5 and another member of the same subfamily, TRPC4, form heteromeric complexes with the TRPC1 subunit (TRPC1/5 and TRPC1/4, respectively). As TRP channels with specific subunit compositions may have different functional properties, we hypothesized that fear-related behaviors could be differentially controlled by TRPCs with distinct subunit arrangements. In this study, we focused on the analysis of mutant mice lacking the TRPC4 subunit, which, as we confirmed in experiments on control mice, is expressed in brain areas implicated in the control of fear and anxiety. In behavioral experiments, we found that constitutive ablation of TRPC4 was associated with diminished anxiety levels (innate fear). Furthermore, knockdown of TRPC4 protein in the lateral amygdala via lentiviralmediated gene delivery of RNAi mimicked the behavioral phenotype of constitutive TRPC4-null (TRPC4-/-) mouse. Recordings in brain slices demonstrated that these behavioral modifications could stem from the lack of TRPC4 potentiation in neurons in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala through two Gαq/11 protein-coupled signaling pathways, activated via Group I metabotropic glutamate receptors and cholecystokinin 2 receptors, respectively. Thus,TRPC4and the structurally and functionally related subunit, TRPC5,mayboth contribute to the mechanisms underlying regulation of innate fear responses.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3653-3667
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Neuroscience
Volume34
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Amygdala
  • Anxiety
  • Cholecystokinin 4
  • Fear
  • TRP channel
  • TRPC4

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience

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