The hypothalamus contains the highest diversity of neurons in the brain. Many of these neurons can co-release neurotransmitters and neuropeptides in a use-dependent manner. Investigators have hitherto relied on candidate protein-based tools to correlate behavioral, endocrine and gender traits with hypothalamic neuron identity. Here we map neuronal identities in the hypothalamus by single-cell RNA sequencing. We distinguished 62 neuronal subtypes producing glutamatergic, dopaminergic or GABAergic markers for synaptic neurotransmission and harboring the ability to engage in task-dependent neurotransmitter switching. We identified dopamine neurons that uniquely coexpress the Onecut3 and Nmur2 genes, and placed these in the periventricular nucleus with many synaptic afferents arising from neuromedin S neurons of the suprachiasmatic nucleus. These neuroendocrine dopamine cells may contribute to the dopaminergic inhibition of prolactin secretion diurnally, as their neuromedin S inputs originate from neurons expressing Per2 and Per3 and their tyrosine hydroxylase phosphorylation is regulated in a circadian fashion. Overall, our catalog of neuronal subclasses provides new understanding of hypothalamic organization and function.

Children exposed in utero to cannabis present permanent neurobehavioral and cognitive impairments. Psychoactive constituents from Cannabis spp., particularly D 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), bind to cannabinoid receptors in the fetal brain. However, it is unknown whether THC can trigger a cannabinoid receptordriven molecular cascade to disrupt neuronal specification. Here, we show that repeated THC exposure disrupts endocannabinoid signaling, particularly the temporal dynamics of CB 1 cannabinoid receptor, to rewire the fetal cortical circuitry. By interrogating the THC-sensitive neuronal proteome we identify Superior Cervical Ganglion 10 (SCG10)/stathmin-2, a microtubule-binding protein in axons, as a substrate of altered neuronal connectivity. We find SCG10 mRNA and protein reduced in the hippocampus of midgestational human cannabis-exposed fetuses, defining SCG10 as the first cannabis-driven molecular effector in the developing cerebrum. CB 1 cannabinoid receptor activation recruits c-Jun N-terminal kinases to phosphorylate SCG10, promoting its rapid degradation in situ in motile axons and microtubule stabilization. Thus, THC enables ectopic formation of filopodia and alters axon morphology. These data highlight the maintenance of cytoskeletal dynamics as a molecular target for cannabis, whose imbalance can limit the computational power of neuronal circuitries in affected offspring.

Retrograde messengers adjust the precise timing of neurotransmitter release from the presynapse, thus modulating synaptic efficacy and neuronal activity. 2-Arachidonoyl glycerol, an endocannabinoid, is one such messenger produced in the postsynapse that inhibits neurotransmitter release upon activating presynaptic CB(1) cannabinoid receptors. Cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease is due to synaptic failure in hippocampal neuronal networks. We hypothesized that errant retrograde 2-arachidonoyl glycerol signalling impairs synaptic neurotransmission in Alzheimer's disease. Comparative protein profiling and quantitative morphometry showed that overall CB(1) cannabinoid receptor protein levels in the hippocampi of patients with Alzheimer's disease remain unchanged relative to age-matched controls, and CB(1) cannabinoid receptor-positive presynapses engulf amyloid-β-containing senile plaques. Hippocampal protein concentrations for the sn-1-diacylglycerol lipase α and β isoforms, synthesizing 2-arachidonoyl glycerol, significantly increased in definite Alzheimer's (Braak stage VI), with ectopic sn-1-diacylglycerol lipase β expression found in microglia accumulating near senile plaques and apposing CB(1) cannabinoid receptor-positive presynapses. We found that microglia, expressing two 2-arachidonoyl glycerol-degrading enzymes, serine hydrolase α/β-hydrolase domain-containing 6 and monoacylglycerol lipase, begin to surround senile plaques in probable Alzheimer's disease (Braak stage III). However, Alzheimer's pathology differentially impacts serine hydrolase α/β-hydrolase domain-containing 6 and monoacylglycerol lipase in hippocampal neurons: serine hydrolase α/β-hydrolase domain-containing 6 expression ceases in neurofibrillary tangle-bearing pyramidal cells. In contrast, pyramidal cells containing hyperphosphorylated tau retain monoacylglycerol lipase expression, although at levels significantly lower than in neurons lacking neurofibrillary pathology. Here, monoacylglycerol lipase accumulates in CB(1) cannabinoid receptor-positive presynapses. Subcellular fractionation revealed impaired monoacylglycerol lipase recruitment to biological membranes in post-mortem Alzheimer's tissues, suggesting that disease progression slows the termination of 2-arachidonoyl glycerol signalling. We have experimentally confirmed that altered 2-arachidonoyl glycerol signalling could contribute to synapse silencing in Alzheimer's disease by demonstrating significantly prolonged depolarization-induced suppression of inhibition when superfusing mouse hippocampi with amyloid-β. We propose that the temporal dynamics and cellular specificity of molecular rearrangements impairing 2-arachidonoyl glycerol availability and actions may differ from those of anandamide. Thus, enhanced endocannabinoid signalling, particularly around senile plaques, can exacerbate synaptic failure in Alzheimer's disease.

A hierarchical hormonal cascade along the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal axis orchestrates bodily responses to stress. Although corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), produced by parvocellular neurons of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and released into the portal circulation at the median eminence, is known to prime downstream hormone release, the molecular mechanism regulating phasic CRH release remains poorly understood. Here, we find a cohort of parvocellular cells interspersed with magnocellular PVN neurons expressing secretagogin. Singlecell transcriptome analysis combined with protein interactome profiling identifies secretagogin neurons as a distinct CRH-releasing neuron population reliant on secretagogin's Ca 2+ sensor properties and protein interactions with the vesicular traffic and exocytosis release machineries to liberate this key hypothalamic releasing hormone. Pharmacological tools combined with RNA interference demonstrate that secretagogin's loss of function occludes adrenocorticotropic hormone release from the pituitary and lowers peripheral corticosterone levels in response to acute stress. Cumulatively, these data define a novel secretagogin neuronal locus and molecular axis underpinning stress responsiveness.