Browsing by Subject "orexin"

Histamine and hypocretin/orexin are neuromodulators important for regulation of alertness and wakefulness. These systems project to major areas of the brain, are highly conserved among vertebrates and they significantly innervate each other. Different studies have indicated an interaction between the histaminergic and orexin systems, however the role of histamine in this interaction is still not well-established. The goal of this study was to examine possible changes in orexin neurons development and larvae behaviour, after genetic loss of histamine decarboxylase (hdc), the histamine-synthesizing enzyme. Using whole-mount in-situ hybridization and immunofluorescence staining we observed a significant reduction in the expression of the hcrt mRNA and the orexin A peptide in 6 dpf hdcKO zebrafish larvae. However, KO of hdc had no effect on startle response, dark flash response and sleeping behaviour of 6 dpf larvae. To further investigate the regulatory role of the histaminergic system, we employed treatment of hdcWT and KO larvae with ciproxifan, a histamine H3 receptor inverse agonist. Ciproxifan treatment increased darkness habituation in 7 dpf hdcWT and KO larvae but reduced the intensity of the dark flash response only on hdcWT larvae. Furthermore, ciproxifan treatment differentially affected the expression of the orexin A peptide in 7 dpf hdcWT and KO larvae but had no effect on the expression levels of the hcrt mRNA. Collectively, these findings suggest the significance of histaminergic signaling for normal development of orexin neurons and the implication of histamine in the execution of the dark flash response. Lastly, this study indicates the complex role of the histamine H3 receptor and the requirement of further studies for better characterization of its function.