Expression of Kv4.3 Voltage-Gated Potassium Channels in Rat Gonadotrophin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) Neurons During the Estrous Cycle

Regular and timely electrical activity of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons accompanies the pulsatile release of GnRH that plays a central role in regulating fertility. Although transient outward A-type currents (I_A) have been electrophysiologically identified in GnRH neurons, the molecular identity of the channels that underlie these currents are unknown. Several families of voltage-gated potassium channels can underlie I_A. However, the biophysical properties of I_A described in previous electrophysiological studies are strongly characteristic of members of the Kv4 family of voltage-gated channels. We, therefore, sought to determine the presence of Kv4 channels in GnRH neurons. We used reverse transcriptase−polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analysis to determine whether Kv4 messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein are present in the rat medial preoptic area (MPOA) and median eminence (ME). We used double-label immunohistochemistry to determine whether Kv4 colocalized with GnRH cell bodies in the MPOA and GnRH axons in the ME. Kv4.3 channels co-localized with GnRH in the MPOA but not in the ME. Neither Kv4.2 nor Kv4.1 co-localized with GnRH in either the MPOA or the ME. The electrical activity of GnRH neurons changes dramatically during the estrous cycle. We, therefore, studied the change in Kv4.3 expression in GnRH neurons during the estrous cycle. In the estrus phase, 58.05% of GnRH neurons expressed Kv4.3 compared to 74.48% in diestrus−proestrus rats (P < .05). Our data suggest that Kv4.3 is the major molecular component of I_A in GnRH neurons, and furthermore that the expression of Kv4.3 changes significantly during the rat estrous cycle.