Glutamatergic pallidothalamic projections and their implications in the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease

GABAergic projections emitted from the entopeduncular nucleus (ENT) and the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) innervate different thalamic nuclei and they are known to be hyperactive after dopaminergic depletion. Here we show that isoform 2 of the vesicular glutamate transporter (VGLUT2) is expressed by neurons in the ENT nucleus but not in the SNr. Indeed, dual in situ hybridization demonstrated that the ENT nucleus contains two different subpopulations of projection neurons, one single-expressing GAD65/67 mRNAs and another one that co-expresses either of the GAD isoforms together with VGLUT2 mRNA. Unilateral dopaminergic depletion induced marked changes in pallidothalamic-projecting neuron gene expression, resulting in increased expression of GAD65/67 mRNAs together with a clear down-regulation of VGLUT2 mRNA expression. Our results indicate that the increased thalamic inhibition typical of dopamine depletion might be explained by a synergistic effect of increased GABA outflow coupled to decreased glutamate levels, both neurotransmitters coming from ENT neurons.