Novel GABA analogues as hypotensive agents

Protective role of γ-aminobutyric acid against chronic renal failure in rats

The protective effect of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) against chronic renal failure (CRF) was investigated using a remnant kidney model with 5/6 nephrectomized rats. Nephrectomy led to renal dysfunction, which was evaluated via several parameters including serum urea nitrogen, creatinine (Cr) and Cr clearance. However, the administration of GABA ameliorated renal dysfunction, and a longer administration period of GABA increased its protective effect. In addition, nephrectomized control rats showed an elevation in the fractional excretion of sodium (FENa) with an increase in urinary sodium, while GABA led to a significant decline in FENa. Moreover, nephrectomy resulted in a decrease of serum albumin and an increase of urinary protein with a change in the urinary protein pattern, whereas the rats administered GABA showed improvement in these changes associated with CRF caused by nephrectomy. This suggests that GABA would inhibit the disease progression and have a protective role against CRF. As one of the risk factors for CRF progression, hypertension was also regulated by GABA. The results also indicate that GABA may play a protective role against CRF through improvement of the serum lipid profile, with reductions in triglyceride and total cholesterol. Furthermore, nephrectomy led to renal oxidative stress with a decrease in the activity of antioxidative enzymes and elevation of lipid peroxidation. The administration of GABA attenuated oxidative stress induced by nephrectomy through an increase in superoxide dismutase and catalase, and decrease in lipid peroxidation. The histopathological lesions, including glomerular, tubular and interstitial lesions, under nephrectomy were also improved by GABA with the inhibition of fibronectin expression. This study demonstrated that GABA attenuated renal dysfunction via regulation of blood pressure and lipid profile, and it also ameliorated the oxidative stress induced by nephrectomy, suggesting the promising potential of GABA in protecting against renal failure progression.

Monascus rice products

The fermentation products of Monascus, especially those produced by solid-state fermentation of rice, have been used as food and health remedies for over 1000 years in China. Monascus rice products (MRPs) are currently being used as health foods in the United States and many Asian countries such as Japan, Taiwan, China, Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Many studies have shown that Monascus spp. produce commercially viable metabolites, including food colorants, cholesterol-lowering agents, and antibiotics. The most important bioactive compound isolated from Monascus is monacolin K, which is identical to the potent cholesterol-lowering, antiatherosclerotic drug lovastatin, a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor. Several species of the genus Monascus also produce citrinin, a mycotoxin harmful to the hepatic and renal systems. Monacolin K and citrinin are polyketide fungal metabolites. The biosynthetic pathways leading to the formation of polyketides, including monacolin K and citrinin, have been elucidated in Aspergillus and Monascus. The concern for safety is, therefore, high for the development of MRPs as health foods. Other attractive applications for MRPs are likely, as supported by recent studies that indicate that MRPs contain other substances (flavonoids, polyunsaturated fats, phytosterols, pyrrolinic compounds, and others) with a wide variety of biological activities and pharmacological potentials. Their effects in lowering blood sugar and triacylglycerol while raising HDL-C are more pronounced than those of monacolin K alone. Beyond cholesterol lowering, MRP may also be an ideal candidate for the treatment of metabolic syndrome.

Protective effect of γ-aminobutyric acid against glycerol-induced acute renal failure in rats

To investigate the effect of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on acute renal failure, we used a rat model of acute tubular necrosis induced by glycerol. After deprivation of water for 6h, the rats received an injection of 50% glycerol into the muscle of the rear limb at 10 ml/kg body weight. GABA was then administered orally to the rats (100 or 500 mg/kg body weight/day) once every 12h for 3 days. The rats with acute renal failure showed arrested body weight gain and an increase of kidney weight, whereas oral administration of GABA attenuated the physiological changes induced by acute renal failure. However, GABA administration had no significant effect on increased urine volume. Oral administration of GABA at a dose of 100 or 500 mg/kg body weight/day for 3 days significantly improved the markedly elevated levels of blood urea nitrogen and creatinine and the reduced creatinine clearance related to progression of renal failure. Moreover, the rats with acute renal failure exhibited high levels of fractional excretion of sodium (FE(Na)) due to alteration of tubule function following injection of glycerol. However, administration of GABA lowered the FE(Na) levels dose-dependently. Furthermore, urine osmolarity was markedly reduced in control rats with acute renal failure as compared with normal rats, whereas it was significantly increased by administration of GABA at a dose of 500 mg/kg body weight/day. These results indicate that GABA has potential as a therapeutic agent against the renal damage involved in acute renal failure.

Modified mutation method for screening low citrinin-producing strains of Monascus purpureus on rice culture

Monascus purpureus NTU 601 is a strain that produces monacolin K, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and citrinin under solid culture conditions. Because citrinin is a mycotoxin and possesses nephrotoxic and hepatoxic effects, it has a negative impact on the acceptance of red mold rice by people. In this research, a simple and quick selection method for mutant strains with low citrinin production was designed based on the fact that citrinin possesses antibacterial activity for Bacillus subtilis and will form an inhibition zone around the colony of the Monascus strain. The mutant strain M. purpureus N 301 only produced 0.23 +/- 0.01 ppm citrinin, which was 50% less than that of the parent strain, and the monacolin K production was 481.29 +/- 7.98 ppm and maintained 91% productivity. M. purpureus N 310, the other mutant strain, produced 0.27 +/- 0.01 ppm citrinin, which was 41% less than that of the parent strain, and the monacolin K production was 526.29 +/- 5.54 ppm, which showed no significant changes when compared with the parent strain. The GABA content of the two strains was 5000 ppm, which is similar to that of the parent strain. The results showed that the method could be used to select red mold rice with low citrinin production.

Identification of small molecule inhibitors that distinguish between non-transferrin bound iron uptake and transferrin-mediated iron transport

Chemical genetics is an emerging field that takes advantage of combinatorial chemical and small molecule libraries to dissect complex biological processes. Here we establish a fluorescence-based assay to screen for inhibitors of iron uptake by mammalian cells. Using this approach, we screened the National Cancer Institute's Diversity Set library for inhibitors of non-transferrin bound iron uptake. This screen identified 10 novel small molecule inhibitors of iron transport with IC(50) values that ranged from 5 to 30 microM. Of these ten compounds, only two blocked uptake of iron mediated by transferrin. Thus, this study characterizes the first small molecule inhibitors that distinguish between different pathways of iron transport.

Reduced GABA inhibition of sympathetic function in renal-wrapped hypertensive rats

Animals with bilateral cannulas in the paraventricular nucleus were made hypertensive by a one-kidney, figure eight renal wrap procedure or sham operated. Femoral artery and vein catheters were inserted for arterial pressure measurement and plasma catecholamine determination. After recovery and 4 days after hypertension surgery, bicuculline methiodide or muscimol was microinjected into the paraventricular nucleus. In some rats, nitroprusside was infused intravenously to reflexly stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. In control rats, bicuculline increased blood pressure, heart rate, and plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine concentrations. In contrast, in hypertensive rats blood pressure did not change while the heart rate response was maintained. Plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine responses were reduced 75 and 68%, respectively. Muscimol injections decreased arterial pressure in the hypertensive rats. Heart rate responses to nitroprusside were similar in the two groups of rats, while the plasma catecholamine responses were attenuated in the hypertensive animals. These data suggest that GABA function in the paraventricular nucleus is reduced in renal wrap hypertension.

Pharmacology and function of imidazole 4-acetic acid in brain

1. Imidazole 4-acetic acid (IMA) is a naturally occurring metabolite in brain, although it is unclear what biochemical pathways are involved in its biosynthesis and breakdown. Some evidence, however, suggests that IMA is an oxidation product of histamine. 2. The compound has pronounced neuropharmacological properties, many of which are consistent with an activation of GABA(A) receptors. Indeed, IMA is able to displace [3H]GABA from GABA(A) sites in a potent manner. 3. IMA displays definite partial agonist characteristics as an enhancer of benzodiazepine binding to the GABA(A) receptor complex in membrane preparations. In addition, it has an affinity for GABA(C) receptors, where it seems to act as an antagonist, and perhaps as a weak partial agonist. A third recognition site for IMA in brain is the I1-imidazoline receptor. 4. Parenteral administration to experimental animals leads to a sleep-like state which can often be accompanied by seizures. In addition, central application of IMA has been associated with a dose-related reduction in arterial pressure and sympathetic nervous discharge. 5. No specific receptor site or uptake system for IMA has yet been discovered, adding uncertainty to its role in central nervous system function. Yet the possibility cannot be overlooked that IMA plays a role in regulating blood pressure.

Cardiovascular responses to bicuculline in the paraventricular nucleus of the rat

The present study was undertaken to determine whether gamma-aminobutyric acid in the paraventricular nucleus contributes to the regulation of cardiovascular function. Blood pressure and heart rate were recorded and plasma catecholamines were measured in conscious rats receiving microinfusions of either artificial cerebrospinal fluid or a gamma-aminobutyric acid antagonist, bicuculline methiodide, bilaterally into the paraventricular nucleus. Artificial cerebrospinal fluid had no effect on any of the recorded variables. In contrast, infusion of bicuculline into the region of the paraventricular nucleus produced increases in blood pressure (20 +/- 2 mm Hg), heart rate (110 +/- 11 beats/min), and plasma concentrations of norepinephrine (640 +/- 107 pg/ml) and epinephrine (1,266 +/- 267 pg/ml). Pretreatment with a ganglionic blocking agent abolished both the blood pressure (-1 +/- 2 mm Hg) and heart rate (5 +/- 18 beats/min) effects. Bilateral adrenal medullectomy reduced the changes in plasma norepinephrine concentrations (81 +/- 14 pg/ml) significantly and abolished the changes in plasma epinephrine concentrations (5 +/- 4 pg/ml). Conversely, adrenal medullectomy reduced the pressor effects (18 +/- 2 mm Hg) only slightly while the heart rate responses were attenuated (42 +/- 9 beats/min) by approximately 50%. These results suggest that an endogenous gamma-aminobutyric acid system exerts a tonic inhibitory effect on the sympathetic nervous system at the level of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus.

Central receptor binding and cardiovascular effects of GABA analogues in the cat

Several structural analogues of GABA were shown to be inhibitors of GABAA receptor binding in membranes from cat cerebral cortex. These compounds were 3-aminopropanesulfonic acid (APS; IC50 = 0.04 microM), imidazoleacetic acid (IMA; IC50 = 0.4 microM), morpholinopropanesulfonic acid (MOPS; IC50 = 1.6 microM), 5-phenylpyrrolepropionic acid (PPP; IC50 = 15 microM), aminoethanethiosulfonic acid (AETS; IC50 = 22 microM), 3-amino-3-phenylpropionic acid (APP; IC50 = 35 microM), meta-aminobenzoic acid (MABA; IC50 = 58 microM) and urocanic acid (UCA; IC50 = 354 microM). The IC50 value for GABA was 0.03 microM. GABA, PPP, AETS, MABA and UCA were previously shown to reduce arterial pressure in the cat after intracerebroventricular infusion. In the present study MOPS (ED50 = 0.26 nmol/kg), APS (ED50 = 4.7 nmol/kg), APP (ED50 = 49 nmol/kg), and IMA (ED50 = 350 nmol/kg) were also found to be able to decrease blood pressure when infused into the fourth ventricle. All nine compounds reduced blood pressure to the same extent, but in some cases their relative potencies (ED50 values) exhibited significant differences. When the IC50 values for receptor binding were plotted against the ED50 values for the cardiovascular effects, no significant correlation emerged. This lack of a correlation does not necessarily imply that the reductions in blood pressure elicited by the drugs are not related to an activation of central GABAA receptors. Instead, it highlights the difficulties that are sometimes encountered in attempting to obtain quantitative measurements after intracerebroventricular infusion.