Relationships between neurotransmitter receptor densities and expression levels of their corresponding genes in the human hippocampus
Ling Zhao,
Thomas W. Mühleisen,
Dominique I. Pelzer,
Bettina Burger,
Eva C. Beins,
Andreas J. Forstner,
Stefan Herms,
Per Hoffmann,
Katrin Amunts,
Nicola Palomero-Gallagher,
Sven Cichon
Affiliations
Ling Zhao
Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Germany
Thomas W. Mühleisen
Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Germany; Cécile and Oskar Vogt Institute for Brain Research, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany; Department of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Switzerland
Dominique I. Pelzer
Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Germany
Bettina Burger
Department of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Switzerland
Eva C. Beins
Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, School of Medicine & University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Andreas J. Forstner
Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Germany; Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, School of Medicine & University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Stefan Herms
Department of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Switzerland; Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, School of Medicine & University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Per Hoffmann
Department of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Switzerland; Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, School of Medicine & University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Katrin Amunts
Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Germany; Cécile and Oskar Vogt Institute for Brain Research, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany
Nicola Palomero-Gallagher
Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Germany; Cécile and Oskar Vogt Institute for Brain Research, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany; Corresponding author at: Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Germany.
Sven Cichon
Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Germany; Department of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Switzerland; Institute of Medical Genetics and Pathology, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland; Corresponding author at: Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Germany.
Neurotransmitter receptors are key molecules in signal transmission, their alterations are associated with brain dysfunction. Relationships between receptors and their corresponding genes are poorly understood, especially in humans. We combined in vitro receptor autoradiography and RNA sequencing to quantify, in the same tissue samples (7 subjects), the densities of 14 receptors and expression levels of their corresponding 43 genes in the Cornu Ammonis (CA) and dentate gyrus (DG) of human hippocampus. Significant differences in receptor densities between both structures were found only for metabotropic receptors, whereas significant differences in RNA expression levels mostly pertained ionotropic receptors. Receptor fingerprints of CA and DG differ in shapes but have similar sizes; the opposite holds true for their “RNA fingerprints”, which represent the expression levels of multiple genes in a single area. In addition, the correlation coefficients between receptor densities and corresponding gene expression levels vary widely and the mean correlation strength was weak-to-moderate. Our results suggest that receptor densities are not only controlled by corresponding RNA expression levels, but also by multiple regionally specific post-translational factors.
