Alimentary tract innervation deficits and dysfunction in mice lacking GDNF family receptor α2

The pancreatic islets are richly innervated by parasympathetic, sympathetic and sensory nerves. Several different neurotransmitters are stored within the terminals of these nerves, both the classical neurotransmitters, acetylcholine and noradrenaline, and several neuropeptides. The neuropeptides, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, pituitary adenlyate cyclase activating polypeptide and gastrin releasing peptide are constituents of the parasympathetic nerves, whereas the neuropeptides galanin and neuropeptide Y are localised to sympathetic nerve terminals. Furthermore, the neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide is localised to sensory nerves and cholecystokinin is also an islet neuropeptide, although the nature of the cholecystokinin nerves is not established. Stimulation of the autonomic nerves and treatment with neurotransmitters affect islet hormone secretion. Thus, insulin secretion is stimulated by parasympathetic nerves or their neurotransmitters and inhibited by sympathetic nerves or their neurotransmitters. The islet autonomic nerves seem to be of physiological importance in mediating the cephalic phase of insulin secretion, in synchronising the islets to function as a unit allowing oscillations of islet hormone secretion, and in optimising islet hormone secretion during metabolic stress, e.g. hypoglycaemia and neuroglycopenia. The autonomic nerves could also be involved in the islet adaptation to insulin resistance with possible implication for the development of glucose intolerance and Type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. It is concluded that islet innervation, through the contribution of all branches of the autonomic nerves and several different neurotransmitters is of importance both for the physiology and pathophysiology of the islets.

Members of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor family (M1-M5) have central roles in the regulation of many fundamental physiological functions. Identifying the specific receptor subtype(s) that mediate the diverse muscarinic actions of acetylcholine is of considerable therapeutic interest, but has proved difficult primarily because of a lack of subtype-selective ligands. Here we show that mice deficient in the M3 muscarinic receptor (M3R-/- mice) display a significant decrease in food intake, reduced body weight and peripheral fat deposits, and very low levels of serum leptin and insulin. Paradoxically, hypothalamic messenger RNA levels of melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH), which are normally upregulated in fasted animals leading to an increase in food intake, are significantly reduced in M3R-/- mice. Intra-cerebroventricular injection studies show that an agouti-related peptide analogue lacked orexigenic (appetite-stimulating) activity in M3R-/- mice. However, M3R-/- mice remained responsive to the orexigenic effects of MCH. Our data indicate that there may be a cholinergic pathway that involves M3-receptor-mediated facilitation of food intake at a site downstream of the hypothalamic leptin/melanocortin system and upstream of the MCH system.

Neurturin (NTN) is a neuronal survival factor that activates the Ret tyrosine kinase in the presence of a GPI-linked coreceptor (either GFR alpha1 or GFR alpha2). Neurturin-deficient (NTN-/-) mice generated by homologous recombination are viable and fertile but have defects in the enteric nervous system, including reduced myenteric plexus innervation density and reduced gastrointestinal motility. Parasympathetic innervation of the lacrimal and submandibular salivary gland is dramatically reduced in NTN-/- mice, indicating that Neurturin is a neurotrophic factor for parasympathetic neurons. GFR alpha2-expressing cells in the trigeminal and dorsal root ganglia are also depleted in NTN-/- mice. The loss of GFR alpha2-expressing neurons, in conjunction with earlier studies, provides strong support for GFR alpha2/Ret receptor complexes as the critical mediators of NTN function in vivo.