Modification of GABA-mediated depolarization of the cat ganglion by pentobarbital and two benzodiazepines

Anesthesia during hormone administration abolishes the estrogen induction of preproenkephalin mRNA in ventromedial hypothalamus of female rats

Estrogen treatment increases preproenkephalin (PPE) mRNA levels in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH). Roy et al. (Brain Res., 337 (1985) 163-166) discovered that anesthesia during estrogen priming could reduce female rat sexual receptivity. In the present study we tested whether the action of estrogen to induce PPE gene expression in the VMH could be similarly affected by anesthesia. By quantitative in situ hybridization and slot-blot analysis techniques we found a 1.8-fold increase in PPE mRNA levels in the VMH after 1 hour of estrogen treatment in ovariectomized (OVX) Sprague-Dawley female rats. Anesthetizing the rats with pentobarbital for 1 h during the exposure to estrogen blocked the estrogen induction of PPE mRNA in the VMH. By way of contrast no changes in the PPE mRNA levels were observed in the caudate putamen. A similar trend was seen using chloral hydrate. It appears that neuronal activity is required for the early phase of estrogen induction of PPE mRNA levels in the VMH. This in turn could be correlated with changes in female sociosexual behaviors.

Effects of acute barbiturate administration, tolerance and dependence on brain GABA system: comparison to alcohol and benzodiazepines

Central nervous system depressants, e.g., barbiturates, alcohol and benzodiazepines, have a wide spectrum of activity in humans and animals. Evidence accumulated suggests that some of the pharmacological actions exerted by these agents may be mediated through GABA system by mimicking GABAergic transmission. This review attempts to summarize the evidence available as to how the GABA system plays a part in the barbiturate actions and the development of tolerance to and physical dependence on barbiturates. The comparisons of the effects of alcohol, barbiturates and benzodiazepines at different steps of GABA synapse are also presented. Furthermore, the results which have been reported in the literature are inconsistent. This may be due to differences in: (a) animal models used; (b) brain regions used; (c) protocols (dose, duration, form and route of administration, etc.) used in treating animals and/or (d) techniques (pharmacological, biochemical, physiological, etc.) used.

Differing actions of convulsant and nonconvulsant barbiturates: an electrophysiological study in the isolated spinal cord of the rat

The effects of various pairs of convulsant and nonconvulsant barbiturates on mono- and polysynaptic activity were studied in the isolated spinal cord of the immature rat, using extracellular recording. The convulsant barbiturates, 5-ethyl-5-(3-methylbut-2'-enyl) barbituric acid (3M2B), 5-ethyl-5-(1,3-dimethylbut-1'-enyl) barbituric acid (1,3M1B) and (+)-5-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-5-ethyl barbituric acid [(+) DMBB] all increased the monosynaptic reflex at concentrations between 5 and 50 microM with no change in polysynaptic activity. When the concentration was raised to between 100 and 300 microM, however, the convulsants all reduced the monosynaptic reflex, thus producing a biphasic dose-response relationship. The nonconvulsant barbiturates phenobarbital, 5-ethyl-5-(3-methylbut-1'-enyl) barbituric acid (3M1B), amylobarbital (3MB) and (-)-5-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-5-ethyl barbituric acid [(-)DMBB] produced only a decrease in mono- and polysynaptic reflexes. At concentrations which enhanced the monosynaptic reflex, the responses of motoneurones to glycine and eledoisin-related peptide (an analogue of substance P) were reduced by (+)DMBB, while 1,3M1B and 3M2B had no significant effects upon any of the neurotransmitters tested. At concentrations which depressed the monosynaptic reflex, the convulsants all reduced the response to glycine whereas the nonconvulsant barbiturates all increased the response to GABA. With the exception of phenobarbital, both convulsant and nonconvulsant barbiturates produced a direct depolarisation of the presynaptic terminal membrane, with only the convulsants producing a depolarisation of the membrane of the motoneurone. Using another convulsant barbiturate, 5-(2-cyclohexylideneethyl)-5-ethyl barbituric acid (CHEB), this direct depolarising action was found to be calcium-dependent.

Electrophysiology of benzodiazepine receptor ligands: multiple mechanisms and sites of action

Electrophysiology of BZR ligands has been reviewed from different points of view. A great effort was made to critically discuss the arguments for and against the temporarily leading hypothesis of the mechanism of action of BZR ligands, the GABA hypothesis. As has been discussed at length in the present article, an impressive body of electrophysiological and biochemical evidence suggests an enhancement of GABAergic inhibition in CNS as a mechanism of action of BZR agonists. Biochemical data even indicate a physical coupling between GABA recognition sites and BZR which, together with the effector site build-up by Cl- channels, form a supramolecular GABAA/BZR complex. By binding to a specific site on this complex, BZR agonists allosterically increase and BZR inverse agonists decrease the gating of GABA-linked Cl- channels, whereas BZR antagonists bind to the same site without an appreciable intrinsic activity and block the binding and action of both agonists as well as inverse agonists. While this model is supported by many electrophysiological experiments performed with BZR ligands in higher nanomolar and lower micromolar concentrations, it does not explain much controversial data from animal behavior and, more importantly, is not in line with electrophysiological effects obtained with low nanomolar BZ concentrations. The latter actions of BZR ligands in brain slices occur within a concentration range compatible with concentrations of BZ observed in CSF fluid, which would be expected to be found in the biophase (receptor level) during anxiolytic therapy in man. Enhanced K+ conductance seems to be a suitable candidate for this effect of BZR ligands. This direct action on neuronal membrane properties may underlie the many electrophysiological observations with extremely low systemic doses of BZR ligands in vivo which demonstrated a depressant effect on spontaneous neuronal firing in various CNS regions. Skeletomuscular spasticity and epilepsy are two neurological disorders, where both the enhanced GABAergic inhibition and increased K+ conductance may contribute to the therapeutic effect of BZR agonists, since electrophysiological and behavioral studies strongly support GABA-dependent as well as GABA-independent action of BZR ligands elicited by low to intermediate doses of BZ necessary to evoke anticonvulsant and muscle relaxant effects. Somewhat higher doses of BZR ligands, inducing sedation and sleep, lead perhaps to the only pharmacologically relevant CNS concentrations (ca. 1 microM) which might be due entirely to increased GABAergic inhibition.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Baclofen disrupts passive avoidance retention in rats

Baclofen (Lioresal, Ciba-Geigy) is an analog of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA and is used clinically to control spasticity. Recent studies have demonstrated that this compound produces a marked inhibition of synaptically evoked responses in area CA3 of the hippocampal slice, suggesting that this drug could influence behavior mediated by the limbic system. In the present study, male rats of the Fischer-344 strain were trained on a one-trial passive avoidance task and tested for retention 1 week later. After the training trial, separate groups of rats received either 5 or 10 mg/kg/4 ml IP of baclofen or the distilled H2O vehicle immediately, 10 min, or 60 min after training. One week later, the rats that received baclofen immediately after training reentered the test chamber with a significantly higher frequency than controls, although no differences in vacillatory responses were observed between groups. Similar effects were observed following posttrial administration of chlordiazepoxide. In a separate experiment rats were tested for locomotor activity after receiving the same doses of baclofen. Although baclofen decreased activity during a 30-min period after dosing, rats exposed to baclofen showed no significant change in activity relative to controls 1 week later. These data are consistent with the interpretation that baclofen may interfere with memory consolidation or retention.

Benzodiazepine- and barbiturate-interactions with GABAA receptor responses on lactotrophs

Modulation of the biphasic effect of muscimol on prolactin secretion by benzodiazepines and secobarbital was investigated, using an in vitro superfusion system. The stimulatory effect of low concentrations of muscimol was potentiated by both classes of drugs, and the effect of benzodiazepines appeared to be mediated by central-type benzodiazepine receptors. Neither benzodiazepines nor secobarbital affected the inhibitory response to muscimol. Clonazepam reduced the potency of bicuculline methiodide as an antagonist of the stimulatory effect, but did not alter the potency of picrotoxinin. These results demonstrate a selective potentiation of one component of the GABAA receptor effect on lactotrophs by benzodiazepines and barbiturates and provide evidence for a functional effect of these drugs at a site without the CNS.

gamma-Aminobutyric-acid- and pentobarbitone-gated chloride currents in internally perfused frog sensory neurones

gamma-Aminobutyric-acid- (GABA) and pentobarbitone-induced Cl- currents (ICl) were studied in isolated frog sensory neurones after suppression of Na+, K+ and Ca2+ currents using a suction-pipette technique combining internal perfusion with voltage clamp. All GABA-sensitive neurones responded to pentobarbitone. Both GABA- and pentobarbitone-induced ICl reversed at the Cl- equilibrium potential (ECl). The dose-response curve for maxima of GABA-induced ICl was sigmoidal with a mean concentration producing a half-maximum response, Ka of 2 X 10(-5) M at a Hill coefficient of 1.8. In the presence of pentobarbitone, the GABA dose-response curve shifted to the left without affecting the saturating maximum current. At high concentrations, both GABA and pentobarbitone could also potentiate the pentobarbitone- and GABA-induced ICl respectively, while pre-treatment with one of the two markedly attenuated currents induced by the other, indicating a 'cross-desensitization'. In the presence of pentobarbitone, the augmented response was voltage dependent and this augmentation was much greater in the inward-current direction than outward. In producing ICl, pentobarbitone and its stereoisomers were potent in the order of (-) isomer greater than (+/-) racemic mixture greater than (+) isomer. A stereospecific facilitatory action of pentobarbitone on GABA responses was also found in the same order. Responses to GABA, homotaurine, taurine, beta-alanine, 5-aminovaleric acid, (+)- and (-)-gamma-amino-beta-hydroxybutyric acid and muscimol were equally enhanced by pentobarbitone, though its action on glycine-induced ICl was less effective. Picrotoxin inhibited the GABA- and pentobarbitone-induced ICl from either side of membrane, while internal application of GABA and pentobarbitone did not exert any effect. It was concluded that pentobarbitone binds to the 'barbiturate receptors' located close to the GABA receptor-Cl- channel complex, and directly affects the GABA-GABA receptor interactions rather than the ionic channels.

Benzodiazepines both enhance gamma-aminobutyrate responses and decrease calcium action potentials in guinea-pig myenteric neurones

The effect of two benzodiazepines, midazolam and diazepam, was studied in guinea-pig myenteric neurones, using intracellular recording techniques. Both these benzodiazepines (100-300 pM) potentiated the rapidly desensitizing, bicuculline-sensitive depolarization, induced by alpha-aminobutyrate ionophoresis. Concentrations of midazolam and diazepam higher than 100 nM depressed the gamma-aminobutyrate-induced depolarization. The potentiating effect of the benzodiazepines was reversibly abolished by Ro 15-1788 (1-100 nM) and by pentylenetetrazol (100 microM). A second effect of midazolam and diazepam (100-300 pM) was a reversible depression of the amplitude and duration of the directly evoked action potential in 29% of neurones, without affecting membrane potential or conductance. The effect was very marked when electrodes were filled with CsCl, and was also seen in the presence of tetrodotoxin. In some but not all of these neurones, the amplitude and duration of the action potentials was reduced also by gamma-aminobutyrate (1-10 microM). Ro 15-1788 and pentylenetetrazol reversibly abolished the effect of benzodiazepines on the action potential, but not that of gamma-aminobutyrate. Thus, benzodiazepines have two effects on myenteric neurones. The first is an enhancement of the gamma-aminobutyrate response (activation of Cl conductance); the second is a depression of the calcium action potential, which appears to be independent of gamma-aminobutyrate.

The effects of benzodiazepine agonists, inverse agonists and Ro 15-1788 on the responses of the superior cervical ganglion to GABA in vitro

The effects of benzodiazepines and their antagonists on the responses to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) of the superior cervical ganglion of the rat were examined using extracellular recording. Chlordiazepoxide (1 microM to 28.9 microM) and flurazepam (145-725 nM) increased the responses of the ganglion to GABA and the increases were antagonized by Ro 15-1788, at 3.34 microM. The concentration of GABA used was 9.7 microM which gave half-maximal responses. Chlordiazepoxide similarly increased the responses of the ganglion to GABA 38.8 microM in the presence of bicuculline 27.2 microM. This concentration of GABA gave, with bicuculline, responses of a similar magnitude as those to 9.7 microM in the absence of bicuculline. Bicuculline did not affect the actions of chlordiazepoxide or the antagonism by Ro 15-1788. Ro 15-1788 did not affect the increases in GABA response caused by pentobarbitone or by phenobarbitone in the presence of bicuculline. Ethyl beta-carboline-3-carboxylate (beta CCE) (207 nM to 1 microM) significantly decreased the responses to GABA in the presence and in the absence of bicuculline. The decreases were antagonized by Ro 15-1788 (3.34 microM). beta CCE at 2.1 microM and above did not significantly change the responses to GABA. Methyl beta-carboline-3-carboxylate (beta CCM) at 88 to 440 nM significantly decreased the responses to GABA. The decreases were antagonized by Ro 15-1788 (3.34 microM) and were also seen in the presence of bicuculline. High concentrations of Ro 15-1788 decreased the responses to GABA, 9.7 microM, but increased the responses to GABA 38.8 microM in the presence of 27.2 microM bicuculline. The pattern of effects of the benzodiazepines, beta-carbolines and low doses of Ro 15-1788 on the responses to GABA was similar to the effects of these compounds on seizure threshold and anxiety-related behaviour in vivo.

Multiple embryonic benzodiazepine binding sites: evidence for functionality

We have found high-affinity binding (site-A) and low-affinity binding (site-B) of benzodiazepines to membrane homogenates of embryonic chick brain and spinal cord. A new technique was developed to permit the determination of complete electrophysiological dose-response curves on single neurons in cell culture, eliminating cell-to-cell variability as a problem that complicates the interpretation of pooled data. The electrophysiological potencies and binding affinities of a series of benzodiazepines correlate well for site-A but not for site-B or the micromolar site reported in adult rat brain. Site-A and the electrophysiological response are sensitive to photo-affinity blockade with flunitrazepam (FNZM) by about 75% while site-B is resistant to blockade. The FNZM-photolinked benzodiazepine receptor/GABA receptor complex is not chronically potentiated and thus exists in an 'unpotentiated' state. These experiments suggest that site-A in embryonic CNS membranes corresponds to a functional benzodiazepine receptor/GABA receptor complex in spinal cord cell cultures.

Two distinct interactions of barbiturates and chlormethiazole with the GABAA receptor complex in rat cuneate nucleus in vitro

Some pharmacological properties of the GABAA receptor complex in the rat cuneate nucleus slice have been assessed from depolarization responses to the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) analogue muscimol and antagonism of the responses by bicuculline and picrotoxin. Responses to muscimol were potentiated by the following drugs, in descending order of potency with regard to the concentrations required in the Krebs medium: (+/-)-5-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-5-ethylbarbituric acid [+/-)-DMBB) = (+/-)-quinalbarbitone = (+/-)-pentobarbitone greater than (+/-)-methyl-phenobarbitone = (-)-methylphenobarbitone greater than butobarbitone = chlormethiazole greater than phenobarbitone greater than barbitone = (+)-methylphenobarbitone. Primidone and phenylethylmalonamide were inactive. Calculation of the concentrations likely to be present in membrane lipids for equal potentiations of muscimol revealed little difference between quinalbarbitone, pentobarbitone, phenobarbitone and barbitone. The effect of picrotoxin as a muscimol antagonist was selectively reduced only by DMBB, chlormethiazole, phenobarbitone and (-)-methylphenobarbitone in concentrations that caused only a modest potentiation of muscimol. It is suggested that a specific site of action in the GABAA receptor complex is involved in the reduction of picrotoxin effect and that this may be relevant to the anticonvulsant properties of chlormethiazole, phenobarbitone and (-)-methylphenobarbitone. The potentiation of muscimol by chlormethiazole and the barbiturates in general involves a distinctly different site that is less selective and this may underlie the hypnotic properties of these drugs.

Caffeine-induced hypodipsia in water-deprived rats: relationships with benzodiazepine mechanisms

The effects of caffeine (3-100 mg/kg) on water intake and the time course of drinking were investigated in male rats which had been adapted to a daily 22 hr water deprivation schedule. Doses of caffeine were found which significantly depressed water intake, reduced the time to the first interruption in drinking, and depressed the time course of drinking, without manifestly affecting the efficiency of drinking. At the highest dose, however, caffeine had a major suppressant effect on drinking, which was accompanied by signs of motor interference. The hypodipsic effect of caffeine was reversed by benzodiazepine treatment (midazolam or diazepam). However, the convulsant benzodiazepine Ro5-3663 which on electrophysiological evidence can act as a GABA antagonist also reduced drinking, adding to the hypodipsic effect of caffeine. A water load prior to the drinking test produced satiation effects, closely reminiscent of the effects of caffeine at lower doses. The possible mimicry of thirst satiety by caffeine is discussed, together with possible underlying mechanisms of caffeine-benzodiazepine interactions.

Multiple actions of picomolar concentrations of flurazepam on the excitability of cultured mouse spinal neurons

Intracellular recordings from mouse spinal neurons grown dissociated in tissue culture were used to study the effects of the water soluble benzodiazepine, flurazepam, upon neuronal excitability. Low concentrations of this drug (1 pM to 10 nM) depressed excitability in three distinctly different ways: (1) by directly increasing Cl- conductance, (2) by potentiating responses to GABA, and (3) by elevating spike threshold and/or depressing repetitive spike firing. Bathing neurons with picrotoxin induced 'convulsive-like' activity which was attenuated by flurazepam. The direct effects of flurazepam on the passive and active properties of membrane excitability were insensitive to picrotoxin. However, when the dose of flurazepam was increased to 10 nM or greater this drug lost its effectiveness. These results show that flurazepam is a potent drug with multiple sites of action all of which are likely to contribute to its pharmacological actions in vivo.

Differential effect of pentobarbital on chick neurons and astrocytes grown in culture

Primary cultures of neurons and astrocytes prepared from brains of 8-day-old and 15-day-old chick embryos. respectively, were grown for periods between 3 and 23 days. Cellular oxygen consumption was measured at various times in the presence of either pyruvate or succinate as substrate. Neuronal oxygen consumption was significantly higher than glial respiration, irrespective of the substrate employed. Dose-response curves for the effect of pentobarbital on respiratory activity of each cell type were constructed with the two substrates. In the presence of succinate neuronal respiration was more sensitive to pentobarbital than that of glial cells with a shift in the dose-effect curve by at least one order of magnitude. In the presence of pyruvate, glial cell respiration was inhibited at pentobarbital concentrations more than ten times lower than those effective in neurons. It is concluded that the differential sensitivity to pentobarbital between neurons and glia is due to differences in their respective energy metabolism.

The GABA postsynaptic membrane receptor-ionophore complex. Site of action of convulsant and anticonvulsant drugs

The function of the inhibitory neurotransmitter, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), has been implicated in the mode of action of many drugs which excite or depress the central nervous system. Many convulsant agents appear to block GABA action whereas anticonvulsants enhance GABA action. Some of these drug effects involve altered GABA-mediated synaptic transmission at the level of GABA biosynthesis, release from nerve endings, uptake into cells, and metabolic degradation. A greater number of agents of diverse classes appear to affect GABA action at the postsynaptic membrane, as determined from both electrophysiological and biochemical studies. The recently developed in vitro radioactive receptor binding assays have led to a wealth of new information about GABA action and its alteration by drugs. GABA inhibitory transmission involves the regulation, by GABA binding to its receptor site, of chloride ion channels. In this GABA receptor-ionophore system, other drug receptor sites, one for benzodiazepines and one for barbiturates/picrotoxinin (and related agents) appear to form a multicomponent complex. In this complex, the drugs binding to any of the three receptor categories are visualized to have an effect on GABA-associated chloride channel regulation. Available evidence suggests that the complex mediates many of the actions of numerous excitatory and depressant drugs showing a variety of pharmacological effects.

Distinction between the effects of barbiturates, benzodiazepines and phenytoin on responses to gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor activation and antagonism by bicuculline and picrotoxin

1 Interactions of depressant and anticonvulsant drugs with the neuronal gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor + effector system have been examined on afferent fibres to the rat cuneate nucleus in vitro. Three types of interaction have been measured: (a) potentiation of depolarizing responses to the GABA analogue, muscimol: (b) reduction in the potency of bicuculline as an antagonist of muscimol at the GABA receptor: (c) reduction in the potency of picrotoxin as an antagonist of muscimol acting on the effector mechanism. 2 Phenobarbitone reduced the potency of picrotoxin in doses which did not affect the potency of bicuculline and which caused only a small potentiation of muscimol. Pentobarbitone did not show such selectivity, a reduction in potency of picrotoxin always being accompanied by a reduction in potency of bicuculline and a substantial potentiation of muscimol. 3 Flurazepam and lorazepam both reduced the potency of picrotoxin without affecting that of bicuculline and with very little potentiation of muscimol. Phenytoin had no effect on the potency of picrotoxin whilst potentiating muscimol to the same extent as phenobarbitone. 4 The spectrum of drug activity in reducing the potency of picrotoxin correlates well with the reported anticonvulsant effects of these drugs against kindled amygdaloid seizures. Potentiation of muscimol and reduction of bicuculline potency appear more closely related to hypnotic properties.

Effects of phenytoin on pyramidal neurons of the rat hippocampus

The effects of phenytoin (35 micrograms/ml) on membrane properties and inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSPs) in CA1 and CA3 pyramidal neurons of the in vitro rat hippocampus were examined. No significant change was observed on input resistance or resting membrane potential. Action potential amplitude, overshoot, rate of rise and rate of decay were decreased. IPSP conductance increase and reversal potential, evoked in CA3 cells through mossy fiber stimulation and in CA1 cells through recurrent and Schaffer's collateral stimulation, were unaffected.