Endocannabinoids and prostaglandins both contribute to GnRH neuron-GABAergic afferent local feedback circuits

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons form the final common pathway for central control of fertility. Regulation of GnRH neurons by long-loop gonadal steroid feedback through steroid receptor-expressing afferents such as GABAergic neurons is well studied. Recently, local central feedback circuits regulating GnRH neurons were identified. GnRH neuronal depolarization induces short-term inhibition of their GABAergic afferents via a mechanism dependent on metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) activation. GnRH neurons are enveloped in astrocytes, which express mGluRs. GnRH neurons also produce endocannabinoids, which can be induced by mGluR activation. We hypothesized the local GnRH-GABA circuit utilizes glia-derived and/or cannabinoid mechanisms and is altered by steroid milieu. Whole cell voltage-clamp was used to record GABAergic postsynaptic currents (PSCs) from GnRH neurons before and after action potential-like depolarizations were mimicked. In GnRH neurons from ovariectomized (OVX) mice, this depolarization reduced PSC frequency. This suppression was blocked by inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis with indomethacin, by a prostaglandin receptor antagonist, or by a specific glial metabolic poison, together suggesting the postulate that prostaglandins, potentially glia-derived, play a role in this circuit. This circuit was also inhibited by a CB1 receptor antagonist or by blockade of endocannabinoid synthesis in GnRH neurons, suggesting an endocannabinoid element, as well. In females, local circuit inhibition persisted in androgen-treated mice but not in estradiol-treated mice or young ovary-intact mice. In contrast, local circuit inhibition was present in gonad-intact males. These data suggest GnRH neurons interact with their afferent neurons using multiple mechanisms and that these local circuits can be modified by both sex and steroid feedback.