Neuropeptide Y mRNA expression in the aging inferior colliculus of fischer brown norway rats

IntroductionA major contributor to age-related hearing loss is the decline of GABAergic inhibition, particularly in the inferior colliculus (IC), which is the midbrain hub of the central auditory system. The initial loss of inhibition is thought to be a compensatory mechanism in response to decrease...

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Main Authors: Laila S. Almassri, Kristen M. Crane, Sean R. Hergenrother, Gurveer Singh, Gillian L. Barach, Melina C. Iafrate, Joshua C. Harris, Nick Tokar, Andrew P. Ohl, Jesse W. Young, Jeffrey G. Mellott
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2025.1626021/full
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author Laila S. Almassri
Laila S. Almassri
Kristen M. Crane
Sean R. Hergenrother
Gurveer Singh
Gillian L. Barach
Gillian L. Barach
Melina C. Iafrate
Joshua C. Harris
Nick Tokar
Andrew P. Ohl
Jesse W. Young
Jeffrey G. Mellott
Jeffrey G. Mellott
author_facet Laila S. Almassri
Laila S. Almassri
Kristen M. Crane
Sean R. Hergenrother
Gurveer Singh
Gillian L. Barach
Gillian L. Barach
Melina C. Iafrate
Joshua C. Harris
Nick Tokar
Andrew P. Ohl
Jesse W. Young
Jeffrey G. Mellott
Jeffrey G. Mellott
author_sort Laila S. Almassri
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionA major contributor to age-related hearing loss is the decline of GABAergic inhibition, particularly in the inferior colliculus (IC), which is the midbrain hub of the central auditory system. The initial loss of inhibition is thought to be a compensatory mechanism in response to decreased peripheral excitation. However, the downregulation of inhibition in the IC persists with age and leads to functional disruptions and central neural gain. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is co-expressed by a sub-population of GABAergic IC cells whose age-related changes remain unexplored. We sought to characterize GABAergic cells in the major subdivisions of the IC that express NPY mRNA to determine whether NPY mRNA is altered in aging IC cells.MethodsWe used multiplexed fluorescent in situ hybridization (smFISH) to label lemniscal and non-lemniscal IC cells that express NPY mRNA and/or GAD1 mRNA in four age groups of Fischer Brown Norway (FBN) rats.ResultsThe data demonstrate that ∼38% of GABAergic IC cells co-express NPY, the largest proportion of NPY cells is in the non-lemniscal dorsal IC (ICd), the majority of NPY cells have medium profile areas, and the expression of individual NPY mRNA is unaffected by age.DiscussionWhile GABAergic inhibition is reduced with age, it appears that NPY driven inhibition may remain intact. GABAergic neurons that co-express NPY may represent a marked population that persists throughout aging, suggesting that they are not the primary contributor to age-related loss of inhibition.
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spelling doaj-art-ab9f41e083a24014bd021553d2e60c5e2025-08-20T03:30:56ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience1663-43652025-07-011710.3389/fnagi.2025.16260211626021Neuropeptide Y mRNA expression in the aging inferior colliculus of fischer brown norway ratsLaila S. Almassri0Laila S. Almassri1Kristen M. Crane2Sean R. Hergenrother3Gurveer Singh4Gillian L. Barach5Gillian L. Barach6Melina C. Iafrate7Joshua C. Harris8Nick Tokar9Andrew P. Ohl10Jesse W. Young11Jeffrey G. Mellott12Jeffrey G. Mellott13Department of Biomedical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH, United StatesDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, University Hospitals Hearing Research Center, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH, United StatesDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH, United StatesDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH, United StatesDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH, United StatesDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH, United StatesDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, University Hospitals Hearing Research Center, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH, United StatesDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH, United StatesDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH, United StatesDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH, United StatesDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH, United StatesDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH, United StatesDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH, United StatesDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, University Hospitals Hearing Research Center, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH, United StatesIntroductionA major contributor to age-related hearing loss is the decline of GABAergic inhibition, particularly in the inferior colliculus (IC), which is the midbrain hub of the central auditory system. The initial loss of inhibition is thought to be a compensatory mechanism in response to decreased peripheral excitation. However, the downregulation of inhibition in the IC persists with age and leads to functional disruptions and central neural gain. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is co-expressed by a sub-population of GABAergic IC cells whose age-related changes remain unexplored. We sought to characterize GABAergic cells in the major subdivisions of the IC that express NPY mRNA to determine whether NPY mRNA is altered in aging IC cells.MethodsWe used multiplexed fluorescent in situ hybridization (smFISH) to label lemniscal and non-lemniscal IC cells that express NPY mRNA and/or GAD1 mRNA in four age groups of Fischer Brown Norway (FBN) rats.ResultsThe data demonstrate that ∼38% of GABAergic IC cells co-express NPY, the largest proportion of NPY cells is in the non-lemniscal dorsal IC (ICd), the majority of NPY cells have medium profile areas, and the expression of individual NPY mRNA is unaffected by age.DiscussionWhile GABAergic inhibition is reduced with age, it appears that NPY driven inhibition may remain intact. GABAergic neurons that co-express NPY may represent a marked population that persists throughout aging, suggesting that they are not the primary contributor to age-related loss of inhibition.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2025.1626021/fullinferior colliculusNPYsmFISHNPY mRNAGAD1 mRNAaging
spellingShingle Laila S. Almassri
Laila S. Almassri
Kristen M. Crane
Sean R. Hergenrother
Gurveer Singh
Gillian L. Barach
Gillian L. Barach
Melina C. Iafrate
Joshua C. Harris
Nick Tokar
Andrew P. Ohl
Jesse W. Young
Jeffrey G. Mellott
Jeffrey G. Mellott
Neuropeptide Y mRNA expression in the aging inferior colliculus of fischer brown norway rats
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
inferior colliculus
NPY
smFISH
NPY mRNA
GAD1 mRNA
aging
title Neuropeptide Y mRNA expression in the aging inferior colliculus of fischer brown norway rats
title_full Neuropeptide Y mRNA expression in the aging inferior colliculus of fischer brown norway rats
title_fullStr Neuropeptide Y mRNA expression in the aging inferior colliculus of fischer brown norway rats
title_full_unstemmed Neuropeptide Y mRNA expression in the aging inferior colliculus of fischer brown norway rats
title_short Neuropeptide Y mRNA expression in the aging inferior colliculus of fischer brown norway rats
title_sort neuropeptide y mrna expression in the aging inferior colliculus of fischer brown norway rats
topic inferior colliculus
NPY
smFISH
NPY mRNA
GAD1 mRNA
aging
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2025.1626021/full
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