Ontogeny of D1A and D2 dopamine receptor subtypes in rat brain using in situ hybridization and receptor binding.

Abstract The prenatal and postnatal ontogeny of D 1A and D 2 dopamine receptors was assessed by in situ hybridization of messenger RNAs encoding the receptors and by radioligand binding autoradiography. On gestational day 14, signals for D 1A and D 2 dopamine receptor messages were observed in selected regions in ventricular and subventricular zones which contain dividing neuroblasts, and in intermediate zones that contain maturing and migrating neurons. Specifically, D 1A and D 2 dopamine receptor message was observed in the developing caudate-putamen, olfactory tubercle, and frontal, cingulate, parietal and insular cortices. Additionally, D 1A dopamine receptor messenger RNA was found in the developing epithalamus, thalamus, hypothalamus, pons, spinal cord and neural retina; D 2 dopamine receptor messenger RNA was also observed in the mesencephalic dopaminergic nuclear complex. Gene expression of D 1A and D 2 dopamine receptor subtypes in specific cells as they differentiate precedes dopamine innervation and implies that receptor expression is an intrinsic property of these neurons. The early expression of dopamine receptor messenger RNA suggests a regulatory role for these receptors in brain development. While the signal for both messages increased in the intermediate zones on gestational day 16, it decreased in the ventricular and subventricular zones, and was no longer apparent in these zones by gestational day 18. By gestational day 18, abundant D 1A or D 2 dopamine receptor messenger RNA was observed in cell groups similar in location to those observed in the adult brain. On gestational day 18, D 1A dopamine receptor message was noted in the neurol retina, anterior olfactory nucleus, the insular, prefrontal, frontal, cingulate, parietal and retrosplenial cortices, the olfactory tubercle, caudate-putamen, lateral habenula, dorsolateral geniculate nucleus, ventrolateral and mediolateral thalamic nuclei, and the suprachiasmatic and ventromedial nuclei of the hypothalamus. D 2 dopamine receptor message was observed on gestational day 18 in the insular, prefrontal, frontal and cingulate cortices, the olfactory tubercle, caudate-putamen, ventral tegmental area, substantia nigra, and the intermediate lobe of the pituitary. At birth, expression of messenger RNA for both dopamine receptor subtypes in the striatum approximated that seen in mature rats. In contrast, D 1A and D 2 receptor binding, measured with [ 3 H]SCH-23390 and [ 3 H]raclopride, respectively, was low at birth and progressively increased to reach adult levels between days 14 and 21. The in situ hybridization data showing early prenatal expression of messenger RNA for the D 1A and D 2 dopamine receptors are consistent with the hypothesis that these receptors have a regulatory role in neuronal development. At birth, the relatively high expression of messenger RNA for these receptors was in contrast to the relatively low density of binding sites for [ 3 H]SCH-23390 and [ 3 H]raclopride. These results suggest differences in the translational regulation of dopamine receptors at different developmental stages.