The neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) plays an important role in mood disorders. It has been demonstrated that 5-HT signaling through 5-HT1A receptors (5-HT1A-R) is crucial for early postnatal hippocampal development and later-life behavior. Although this suggests that 5-HT1A-R signaling regulates early brain development, the mechanistic underpinnings of this process have remained unclear. Here we show that stimulation of the 5-HT1A-R at postnatal day 6 (P6) by intrahippocampal infusion of the agonist 8-OH-DPAT (D) causes signaling through protein kinase Cε (PKCε) and extracellular receptor activated kinase ½ (ERK1/2) to boost neuroblast proliferation in the dentate gyrus (DG), as displayed by an increase in bromodeoxy-uridine (BrdU), doublecortin (DCX) double-positive cells. This boost in neuroproliferation was eliminated in mice treated with D in the presence of a 5-HT1A-R antagonist (WAY100635), a selective PKCε inhibitor, or an ERK1/2-kinase (MEK) inhibitor (U0126). It is believed that hippocampal neuro-progenitors undergoing neonatal proliferation subsequently become postmitotic and enter the synaptogenesis phase. Double-staining with antibodies against bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and neuronal nuclear protein (NeuN) confirmed that 5-HT1A-R → PKCε → ERK1/2-mediated boosted neuroproliferation at P6 also leads to an increase in BrdU-labeled granular neurons at P36. This 5-HT1A-R-mediated increase in mature neurons was unlikely due to suppressed apoptosis, because terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling analysis showed no difference in DNA terminal labeling between vehicle and 8-OH-DPAT-infused mice. Therefore, 5-HT1A-R signaling through PKCε may play an important role in micro-neurogenesis in the DG at P6, following which many of these new-born neuroprogenitors develop into mature neurons.
Keywords: 5-HT1A receptor; PKC isozymes; dentate gyrus; neonatal; neurogenesis.