Regional effects of ceruletide, a cholecystokinin-8 analog, on the striatal monoaminergic systems in food-deprived mice

Inhibition by adrenomedullin of amine release from adrenergic nerves in dog mesenteric arteries

Adrenomedullin and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibited the pressor response to transmural electrical stimulation in perfused isolated canine mesenteric arteries. The response was abolished by treatment with either prazosin or tetrodotoxin. Adrenomedullin-(22-52), an adrenomedullin receptor antagonist, reduced the inhibitory effect of adrenomedullin (10(-10) to 10(-8) mol/l), but did not alter the action of CGRP. CGRP-(8-37), a CGRP(1) receptor antagonist, did not affect the inhibition induced by adrenomedullin, but reversed the CGRP-induced inhibition. In helical strips of the arteries, adrenomedullin (up to 10(-8) mol/l) did not influence the contraction induced by noradrenaline, whereas CGRP attenuated the response. Adrenomedullin decreased the release of noradrenaline from adrenergic nerves elicited by transmural electrical stimulation, but CGRP had no effect. Adrenomedullin-(22-52) reversed the decrease in noradrenaline release induced by adrenomedullin. The adrenomedullin-induced relaxation of vascular strips precontracted with prostaglandin F(2alpha) was suppressed by CGRP-(8-37) but was unaffected by adrenomedullin-(22-52). These findings suggest that adrenomedullin impairs noradrenaline release from adrenergic nerves by acting on adrenomedullin receptors located in the nerve terminals, whereas arterial relaxation caused by adrenomedullin and CGRP is due to activation of CGRP(1) receptors in vascular smooth muscle.

Involvement of 5-HT3 and 5-HT4 receptors in the motor activity of isolated vascularly perfused rat duodenum

The involvement of serotonin (5-HT) receptor subtypes in motor activity of the ex vivo vascularly perfused rat duodenum was investigated. Clusters of phasic contractions (CPCs), migrating in an oral to anal direction, were obtained without any stimulation. Drug effects were evaluated by changes in different components of the pressure waves, such as motor index (MI), frequency, amplitude and duration of the CPC. The effect of 5-HT depletion on motor activity was examined in animals treated with p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA). The MI, frequency and duration of CPC were decreased by PCPA, but the amplitude was not affected, suggesting that endogenous 5-HT may play an important role in regulation of the motor activity of the rat intestine. The importance of the 5-HT receptor subtypes in the regulation of motor activity was examined. Neither the nonselective 5-HT1 and 5-HT2 receptor antagonist, methysergide, nor the 5-HT2 receptor antagonist, ketanserin, affected motor activity. However, the 5-HT3 receptor antagonists, granisetron and azasetron, decreased percentage MI, frequency, percentage amplitude and percentage duration of CPC. The 5-HT4 receptor antagonist, SB204070, exerted both excitatory and inhibitory actions, with a higher dose (10 nM) stimulating percentage MI, frequency, percentage amplitude and percentage duration, and a lower dose (0.1 nM or 1 nM) decreasing percentage MI and percentage duration of CPC. These results suggest that endogenous 5-HT regulates the motor activity of the rat duodenum through 5-HT3 and 5-HT4 receptors, with the former mediating the stimulatory influence and the latter mediating both stimulatory and inhibitory influences.

Effect of chronic ceruletide treatment on dopaminergic neurotransmitters, receptors and their mRNAs in the striatum of rats with dyskinesia induced by iminodipropionitrile

To clarify the mechanism of long-lasting ceruletide action, an analogue of cholecystokinin, in relieving the dyskinesia induced by the iminodipropionitrile (IDPN), we investigated the changes in dopaminergic neuronal system in the striatum. In the control rats, ceruletide had no significant effect on the concentrations of dopamine (DA), DOPAC or HVA or on the turnover of DA in the striatum. The concentration of DA was decreased and the turnover of DA [(DOPAC + HVA)/DA] was increased in the striatum of IDPN-treated rats. Chronic administration of ceruletide (160 micrograms.kg-1.day-1 x 10 days) increased DA concentration and decreased DA turnover only transiently. Both D1 and D2 receptors and their mRNAs were decreased in the striatum of rats given IDPN. After chronic ceruletide treatment, D1 receptor rose to the control level for 3 days, while the D2 receptor rose to a level 1.5 times the control level for 3 days. Even at the 7 days after chronic ceruletide treatment, D2-R rose significantly as compared with the IDPN-treated rats. Both D1 and D2 receptor mRNAs were significantly increased for 3 days in the IDPN-treated rats. These observations indicate that the synthesis of DA receptors is increased by ceruletide treatment in the striatum of IDPN-treated rats. These changes in DA receptors and their mRNAs closely paralleled the changes in dyskinetic movement of the IDPN-treated rats after repeated daily administration of ceruletide, as previously reported. The parallel changes between the DA receptors and dyskinetic movement suggest that an up-regulation of DA receptors in the striatum corresponds with an improvement of dyskinesia in the IDPN-treated rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effect of lateral hypothalamic area lesions on serotonin-containing epithelial cells in rat duodenum

The aphagic effect of lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) lesions induced by kainic acid injection on serotonin (5HT)-containing epithelial cells in rat duodenum was studied in comparison with food deprived rats. The densities of 5HT cells were evaluated by quantitative morphometry using fluorescent histochemical longitudinal sections. The levels of 5HT/mg tissue were determined by HPLC on acid extracts of isolated villous epithelium. Body and duodenal weight losses, as well as duodenal mucosal atrophy, were comparable in the two groups of starved animals, i.e., one is food deprived and the other is lesioned animals. The numbers of 5HT cells in these starved groups were similar to those in controls so that the densities were increased. The 5HT/mg tissue in food-deprived animals was similar to that in controls but significantly higher in the LHA-lesioned group. These results are interpreted in terms of a possible central regulatory mechanism that is intact in the food-deprived animals but destroyed in the lesioned animals.

Serotonin-containing epithelial cells in rat duodenum. II. Quantitative study of the effect of 5HTP administration

The effect of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5HTP) administration on serotonin (5HT)-containing epithelial cells in rat duodenum was investigated quantitatively using three-dimensional morphometry to determine cell density and HPLC to measure 5HT and 5HTP concentrations. The results are interpreted in terms of the amine precursor uptake and decarboxylation (APUD) capacity of the cells. After administration of 5HTP, no significant change was observed in the density of 5HT-fluorescent epithelial cells in the duodenal region examined. Moreover, no evidence could be obtained that the concentration of 5HT in duodenal villi was increased after 5HTP administration, despite a highly significant increase in serum 5HTP and 5HT levels. These results indicate that no cells in the duodenal epithelium have the ability to decarboxylate exogenously administered 5HTP and convert it to 5HT under physiological conditions.