Orexin/hypocretin neurons: chemical phenotype and possible interactions with melanin-concentrating hormone neurons.

We showed earlier that a specific neuron population of the rat lateral hypothalamus, differing from the codistributed melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) neurons, express both dynorphin (DYN) and secretogranin II (SgII) genes. We demonstrated later that this population corresponds in fact to the newly identified orexin/hypocretin (OX/Hcrt) neurons. In the present study, by revisiting the chemical phenotype of these neurons, we confirm that all of them contain DYN B- and SgII-immunoreactive materials. The roles played by these peptide/protein in OX/Hcrt neurons are still unclear. Double immunocytochemical stainings highlight putative somasomatic, axosomatic and axodendritic contacts between OX/Hcrt and MCH neurons. Adding OX/Hcrt to the culture medium of hypothalamic slices from 8-day-old rats results either in a significant increase of MCH mRNA after 24 h survival or a strong fall after 10 days culture. These results taken together suggest that OX/Hcrt can directly and/or indirectly affect MCH expression, and that both OX/Hcrt and MCH neuron populations interact to respond in a coordinated manner to central and peripheral signals.