The role of beta-arrestin2 in shaping fMRI BOLD responses to dopaminergic stimulation

作者:Sahlholm Kristoffer*; Ielacqua Giovanna D; Xu Jinbin; Jones Lynne A; Schlegel Felix; Mach Robert H; Rudin Markus; Schroeter Aileen
来源:Psychopharmacology, 2017, 234(13): 2019-2030.
DOI:10.1007/s00213-017-4609-6

摘要

The dopamine D-2 receptor (D2R) couples to inhibitory G(i/o) proteins and is targeted by antipsychotic and antiparkinsonian drugs. Beta-arrestin2 binds to the intracellular regions of the agonist-occupied D2R to terminate G protein activation and promote internalization, but also to initiate downstream signaling cascades which have been implicated in psychosis. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has proven valuable for measuring dopamine receptor-mediated changes in neuronal activity, and might enable beta-arrestin2 function to be studied in vivo. The present study examined fMRI blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal changes elicited by a dopamine agonist in wild-type (WT) and beta-arrestin2 knockout (KO) mice, to investigate whether genetic deletion of beta-arrestin2 prolongs or otherwise modifies D2R-dependent responses. fMRI BOLD data were acquired on a 9.4 T system. During scans, animals received 0.2 mg/kg apomorphine, i.v. In a subset of experiments, animals were pretreated with 2 mg/kg of the D2R antagonist, eticlopride. Following apomorphine administration, BOLD signal decreases were observed in caudate/putamen of WT and KO animals. The time course of response decay in caudate/putamen was significantly slower in KO vs. WT animals. In cingulate cortex, an initial BOLD signal decrease was followed by a positive response component in WT but not in KO animals. Eticlopride pretreatment significantly reduced apomorphine-induced BOLD signal changes. The prolonged striatal response decay rates in KO animals might reflect impaired D2R desensitization, consistent with the known function of beta-arrestin2. Furthermore, the apomorphine-induced positive response component in cingulate cortex may depend on beta-arrestin2 signaling downstream of D2R.

  • 出版日期2017-7