Galanin inhibits neural activity in the subfornical organ in rat slice preparation

The activation of the subfornical organ (SFO), a circumventricular organ, induces water intake and vasopressin release. Since central administrations of galanin (GAL) suppress water intake and vasopressin release, GAL may inhibit the neural activity of SFO neurons. In the present study, we investigated effects of GAL on the SFO using molecular biological, electrophysiological and anatomical techniques. Reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction analysis demonstrated the presence in the SFO of rats of the mRNAs for each of the three known GAL receptor subtypes (GalR1, GalR2 and GalR3). In extracellular recordings in SFO slice preparations, GAL dose-dependently inhibited the neural activity of cells from a number of recording sites. Many GAL-sensitive SFO neurons showed excitatory responses to angiotensin II (ANGII). The GalR1 agonist M617 inhibited the activity of SFO neurons, whereas the GalR2 and GalR3 agonist GAL(2–11) had almost no effect. In patch-clamp recordings, GAL induced an outward current in SFO neurons without influencing synaptic currents. An immunoelectron microscopic study revealed the existence of GAL-containing synaptic vesicles in the SFO. These results suggest that the SFO has neural inputs involving GAL. The response to GAL is inhibitory, mediated at least in part by GalR1 and provides a plausible explanation for the opposite effects of ANGII and GAL seen in vivo on water intake and vasopressin release.