Serotonin modulates the suppressive effects of corticosterone on proliferating progenitor cells in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus in the adult rat.

This series of experiments explores the interaction between corticosterone and serotonin (5-HT) in the regulation of cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus of the adult rat. Intracerebroventricular 5,7-DHT (5,7-dihydroxytryptamine) (either 200 or 300 microg) resulted in highly significant depletion of 5-HT as measured by high performance liquid chromatography in the frontal cortex but had no effect on the number of proliferating cells in the dentate gyrus by measuring 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) and Ki-67 cytochemistry. Treatment with PCPA (p-chlorophenylalanine: a tryptophan hydroxylase inhibitor: 300 mg/kg initially followed by 100 mg/kg/day) resulted in reduced proliferation as measured by Ki-67 after 3 days treatment, but not by BrdU uptake, and not after 14 days treatment by either method. In addition, injection of corticosterone (10-40 mg/kg/day) for 8 days significantly reduced proliferation in the dentate gyrus, as expected, measured by both BrdU uptake and Ki-67 immunostaining. Adrenalectomized (ADX) rats with a replacement subcutaneous pellet of corticosterone showed reduced proliferation when given additional corticosterone (10 mg/kg/day for 8 days), but this was prevented by 5-HT depletion (i.c.v. 5,7-DHT). Finally, a dose-response study showed that progressive doses of corticosterone (0-40 mg/kg/day) in ADX rats resulted in diminished suppression of proliferation in 5-HT-depleted compared with 5-HT-intact rats. These results strongly suggest that 5-HT regulates the sensitivity of proliferating cells in the dentate gyrus to corticosterone.