Oxytocin receptor specifically marks ventromedial intercalated cells of the mouse amygdala
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Intercalated cells (ITC) of the amygdala gate fear expression and extinction, and are anatomically and functionally divided into dorsomedial (dm; fear expression) and ventromedial (vm; fear extinction) populations. The molecular basis of this functional dichotomy remains incompletely defined. Here, we reanalysed a published single-cell RNA-sequencing dataset of the mouse amygdala (Hochgerner et al., 2023) and examined the neuromodulatory receptor repertoire of four Foxp2+ ITC clusters (GABA-1 to GABA-4). Using an unbiased Gene Ontology-derived receptor list (705 receptors) and FindAllMarkers with default parameters and Benjamini-Hochberg correction, we identified 74 cluster-enriched receptors (FDR < 0.05). The vm cluster (GABA-1) was defined by Oxtr, completely cluster-specific (expressed in 43% of vm cells and 0% of other ITC), together with Htr2c, Cnr1, Htr3a, Oprk1 and Sstr2. The dm-candidate cluster (GABA-4) instead expressed a largely non-overlapping set of receptors (Adora1, Drd3, Hrh3, Oprk1, Chrna7 and Adra1a). This receptor-level asymmetry, and in particular the vm-specific oxytocin receptor, provides a candidate molecular handle on the functional distinction between vm and dm ITC in fear processing.
Author: Kuretani, Aya
Language: English
Topic: Memory and Neural Mechanisms
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7164928272
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