RU24722 induces spatially organized phenotypic plasticity in the locus coeruleus

Abstract
THK plasticity of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression in rat locus coeruleus (LC) was evaluated after RU24722 TH induction using, as a new parameter of characterization, the quantitative topology of LC defined by TH-positive cells. This new phenotype was spatially organized into cell subpopulations in the medial LC, dorsal and ventro-lateral to the initial perikaryal space. Reserpine and para-chlorophenylalanine, which elicited a similar increase in the TH content, failed to induce a significant change in the number of TH-expressing cells. Activation of TH expression is not sufficient to reveal the existence of such a plasticity and some original but still unknown mechanism(s) of control of TH expression is affected by RU24722.

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