ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Aging Neurosci.

Sec. Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Brain-aging

Volume 17 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2025.1626021

Neuropeptide Y mRNA Expression in the Aging Inferior Colliculus of Fischer Brown Norway Rats

Provisionally accepted
Laila  S AlmassriLaila S Almassri1,2Kristen  M CraneKristen M Crane1Sean  R HergenrotherSean R Hergenrother1Gurveer  SinghGurveer Singh1Gillian  L BarachGillian L Barach1Melina  C IafrateMelina C Iafrate1Joshua  C HarrisJoshua C Harris1Nick  TokarNick Tokar1Andrew  P OhlAndrew P Ohl1Jesse  Wyatt YoungJesse Wyatt Young1Jeffrey  G MellottJeffrey G Mellott1,2*
  • 1Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown Township, United States
  • 2University Hospital Hearing Research Center, Rootstown, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

NPY -Neuropeptide Y GABA -gamma-Aminobutyric acid GAD -glutamic acid decarboxylase GAD1 -glutamate decarboxylase 1 IC -inferior colliculus ICc -central nucleus of the inferior colliculus ICd -dorsal cortex of the inferior colliculus IClc -lateral cortex of the inferior colliculus mRNA -messenger ribonucleic acid smFISH -single molecule fluorescent in situ hybridization ABSTRACT Introduction: A 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. Method: We 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.The 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. Discussion: While 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.

Keywords: inferior colliculus, NPY, SmFISH, NPY mRNA, GAD1 mRNA, aging 1. INTRODUCTION

Received: 09 May 2025; Accepted: 02 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Almassri, Crane, Hergenrother, Singh, Barach, Iafrate, Harris, Tokar, Ohl, Young and Mellott. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Jeffrey G Mellott, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown Township, United States

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