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Rafi H, Rafiq H, Farhan M. Pharmacological profile of agmatine: An in-depth overview. Neuropeptides 2024; 105:102429. [PMID: 38608401 DOI: 10.1016/j.npep.2024.102429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
Agmatine, a naturally occurring polyamine derived from arginine via arginine decarboxylase, has been shown to play multifaceted roles in the mammalian body, impacting a wide range of physiological and pathological processes. This comprehensive review delineates the significant insights into agmatine's pharmacological profile, emphasizing its structure and metabolism, neurotransmission and regulation, and pharmacokinetics and function. Agmatine's biosynthesis is highly conserved across species, highlighting its fundamental role in cellular functions. In the brain, comparable to established neurotransmitters, agmatine acts as a neuromodulator, influencing the regulation, metabolism, and reabsorption of neurotransmitters that are key to mood disorders, learning, cognition, and the management of anxiety and depression. Beyond its neuromodulatory functions, agmatine exhibits protective effects across various cellular and systemic contexts, including neuroprotection, nephroprotection, cardioprotection, and cytoprotection, suggesting a broad therapeutic potential. The review explores agmatine's interaction with multiple receptor systems, including NMDA, α2-adrenoceptors, and imidazoline receptors, elucidating its role in enhancing cell viability, neuronal protection, and synaptic plasticity. Such interactions underpin agmatine's potential in treating neurological diseases and mood disorders, among other conditions. Furthermore, agmatine's pharmacokinetics, including its absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion, are discussed, underlining the complexity of its action and the potential for therapeutic application. The safety and efficacy of agmatine supplementation, demonstrated through various animal and human studies, affirm its potential as a beneficial therapeutic agent. Conclusively, the diverse physiological and therapeutic effects of agmatine, spanning neurotransmission, protection against cellular damage, and modulation of various receptor pathways, position it as a promising candidate for further research and clinical application. This review underscores the imperative for continued exploration into agmatine's mechanisms of action and its potential in pharmacology and medicine, promising advances in the treatment of numerous conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hira Rafi
- Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Biochemistry, University of Karachi, Pakistan.
| | - Hamna Rafiq
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Karachi, Pakistan
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Paliwal NP, Taksande BG, Jain SP, Borikar SP. Possible involvement of GABAergic system on central amygdala Mediated anxiolytic effect of agmatine in rats. Int J Neurosci 2023:1-11. [PMID: 37801395 DOI: 10.1080/00207454.2023.2268262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To study the pharmacological interactions between agmatine and gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) modulatory agents in the regulation of anxiety-like behavior in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Male Wistar rats were treated drugs per se or in combination and 15 min after last injection were subjected to elevated plus-maze (EPM) test. Anxiety-like behavior was evaluated by measuring behavioral conventional readout, open arm activity (duration and/or entries) for 5-minute duration. RESULTS Acute intra-central amygdala (CeA) injection of agmatine (0.1-0.6 μmol/site/rat), muscimol (0.25-1 nmol/site/rat), diazepam (5-20 μg/site/rat) and allopregnanolone (2-8 μg/site/rat) increased open arm entries of the rats in EPM suggesting anxiolytic effect in dose dependent manner. Moreover, the anxiolytic effect at subeffective dose of agmatine (0.1 μmol/site/rat) was potentiated by subeffective dose of muscimol (0.25 nmol/site/rat), diazepam (5 μg/site/rat) and allopregnanolone (4 μg/site/rat). Whereas, pretreatment with GABAA receptor antagonist, bicuculline (10 ng/site/rat) blocked the anxiolytic effect of agmatine and its synergistic effect of agmatine plus muscimol. Similarly, benzodiazepine (BZD) receptor antagonist, flumazenil (15 μg/site/rat) and GABA allosteric modulator antagonist, RO 15-45 13 (10 μg/site/rat) reduced the anxiolytic effect of agmatine, given alone and with diazepam and allopregnanolone, respectively. CONCLUSION These results indicated that anxiolytic effect of agmatine is medicated via GABAergic mechanisms, probably conciliated by the GABAA receptor subtypes. Modulation of interplay between agmatine and GABAA receptor activity might be a pertinent solution for the regulation of anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikhilesh P Paliwal
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, Kamptee, India
| | - Brijesh G Taksande
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, Kamptee, India
| | - Shirish P Jain
- Department of Pharmacology, Rajarshi Shahu College of Pharmacy, Buldana, India
| | - Sachin P Borikar
- Department of Pharmacology, Rajarshi Shahu College of Pharmacy, Buldana, India
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Lopez MF, Davis EC, Cucinello-Ragland JA, Regunathan S, Edwards S, Becker HC. Agmatine reduces alcohol drinking and produces antinociceptive effects in rodent models of alcohol use disorder. Alcohol 2023; 109:23-33. [PMID: 36709008 PMCID: PMC10175169 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2023.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by an escalation of drinking and the emergence of negative affective states over time. Within this framework, alcohol may be used in excessive amounts to alleviate withdrawal-related symptoms, such as hyperalgesia. Future effective therapeutics for AUD may need to exhibit the ability to reduce drinking as well as to alleviate co-morbid conditions such as pain, and to take mechanistic sex differences into consideration. Agmatine is an endogenous neuromodulator that has been previously implicated in the regulation of reward and pain processing. In the current set of studies, we examined the ability of agmatine to reduce escalated ethanol drinking in complementary models of AUD where adult male and female mice and rats were made dependent via chronic, intermittent ethanol vapor exposure (CIE). We also examined the ability of agmatine to modify thermal and mechanical sensitivity in alcohol-dependent male and female rats. Agmatine reduced alcohol drinking in a dose-dependent fashion, with somewhat greater selectivity in alcohol-dependent female mice (versus non-dependent female mice), but equivalent efficacy across male mice and both groups of male and female rats. In mice and female rats, this efficacy did not extend to sucrose drinking, indicating some selectivity for ethanol reinforcement. Female rats made dependent on alcohol demonstrated significant hyperalgesia symptoms, and agmatine produced dose-dependent antinociceptive effects across both sexes. While additional mechanistic studies into agmatine are necessary, these findings support the broad-based efficacy of agmatine to treat co-morbid excessive drinking and pain symptoms in the context of AUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcelo F Lopez
- Charleston Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States
| | - Erin C Davis
- Department of Physiology, Comprehensive Alcohol-HIV/AIDS Research Center, LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Jessica A Cucinello-Ragland
- Department of Physiology, Comprehensive Alcohol-HIV/AIDS Research Center, LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Soundar Regunathan
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Scott Edwards
- Department of Physiology, Comprehensive Alcohol-HIV/AIDS Research Center, LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Howard C Becker
- Charleston Alcohol Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States; Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States; Ralph H. Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Charleston, SC, United States.
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Yan S, Xu C, Yang M, Zhang H, Cheng Y, Xue Z, He Z, Wang T, Bai S, Wang G, Wu J, Tong Z, Cai X. The expression of agmatinase manipulates the affective state of rats subjected to chronic restraint stress. Neuropharmacology 2023; 229:109476. [PMID: 36849038 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2023.109476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2023]
Abstract
Agmatine is an endogenous polyamine produced from l-arginine and degraded by agmatinase (AGMAT). Studies in humans and animals have shown that agmatine has neuroprotective, anxiolytic, and antidepressant-like actions. However, little is known about the role of AGMAT in the action of agmatine or in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the role of AGMAT in the pathophysiology of MDD. In this study, we observed that AGMAT expression increased in the ventral hippocampus rather than in the medial prefrontal cortex in the chronic restraint stress (CRS) animal model of depression. Furthermore, we found that AGMAT overexpression in the ventral hippocampus elicited depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors, whereas knockdown of AGMAT exhibited antidepressant and anxiolytic effects in CRS animals. Field and whole-cell recordings of hippocampal CA1 revealed that AGMAT blockage increased Schaffer collateral-CA1 excitatory synaptic transmission, which was expressed both pre- and post-synaptically and was probably due to the inhibition of AGMAT-expressing local interneurons. Therefore, our results suggest that dysregulation of AGMAT is involved in the pathophysiology of depression and is a potential target for designing more effective antidepressants with fewer adverse effects to offer a better therapy for depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shi Yan
- Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Laboratory of Brain Disorder, Ministry of Science and Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Chang Xu
- College of Life Science, Shaanxi Normal University, 620 West Chang'an Street, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710119, China
| | - Mengli Yang
- Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Laboratory of Brain Disorder, Ministry of Science and Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Huiqiang Zhang
- Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Laboratory of Brain Disorder, Ministry of Science and Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Ye Cheng
- Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Laboratory of Brain Disorder, Ministry of Science and Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Zeping Xue
- Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Laboratory of Brain Disorder, Ministry of Science and Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Zecong He
- Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Laboratory of Brain Disorder, Ministry of Science and Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Tiantian Wang
- Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Laboratory of Brain Disorder, Ministry of Science and Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Shangying Bai
- Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Laboratory of Brain Disorder, Ministry of Science and Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Gang Wang
- Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Laboratory of Brain Disorder, Ministry of Science and Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China; The National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders Beijing Anding Hospital Capital Medical University, Beijing 100088, China
| | - Jianping Wu
- School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Life Sciences, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China; Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Zhiqian Tong
- Oujiang Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Alzheimer's Disease of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Aging, School of Mental Health, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
| | - Xiang Cai
- Oujiang Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Alzheimer's Disease of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Aging, School of Mental Health, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China; Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China.
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Xu J, Gao W, He T, Yao L, Wu H, Chen Z, Lai Y, Chen Y, Zhang J. The hyperthermic response to intra-preoptic area administration of agmatine in male rats. J Therm Biol 2023; 113:103529. [PMID: 37055134 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2023.103529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2023]
Abstract
Agmatine is an endogenous biogenic amine that exerts various effects on the central nervous system. The hypothalamic preoptic area (POA, thermoregulatory command center) has high agmatine immunoreactivity. In this study, in conscious and anesthetized male rats, agmatine microinjection into the POA induced hyperthermic responses associated with increased heat production and locomotor activity. Intra-POA administration of agmatine increased the locomotor activity, the brown adipose tissue temperature and rectum temperature, and induced shivering as demonstrated by increased neck muscle electromyographic activity. However, intra-POA administration of agmatine almost had no impact on the tail temperature of anesthetized rats. Furthermore, there were regional differences in the response to agmatine in the POA. The most effective sites for the microinjection of agmatine to elicit hyperthermic responses were localized in the medial preoptic area (MPA). Agmatine microinjection into the median preoptic nucleus (MnPO) and lateral preoptic nucleus (LPO) had a minimal effect on the mean core temperature. Analysis of the in vitro discharge activity of POA neurons in brain slices when perfused with agmatine showed that agmatine inhibited most warm-sensitive but not temperature-insensitive neurons in the MPA. However, regardless of thermosensitivity, the majority of MnPO and LPO neurons were not responsive to agmatine. The results demonstrated that agmatine injection into the POA of male rats, especially the MPA, induced hyperthermic responses, which may be associated with increased BAT thermogenesis, shivering and locomotor activity by inhibiting warm-sensitive neurons.
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Park YM, Kim JH, Lee JE. Neural Stem Cells Overexpressing Arginine Decarboxylase Improve Functional Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury in a Mouse Model. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232415784. [PMID: 36555425 PMCID: PMC9779865 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232415784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Revised: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Current therapeutic strategies for spinal cord injury (SCI) cannot fully facilitate neural regeneration or improve function. Arginine decarboxylase (ADC) synthesizes agmatine, an endogenous primary amine with neuroprotective effects. Transfection of human ADC (hADC) gene exerts protective effects after injury in murine brain-derived neural precursor cells (mNPCs). Following from these findings, we investigated the effects of hADC-mNPC transplantation in SCI model mice. Mice with experimentally damaged spinal cords were divided into three groups, separately transplanted with fluorescently labeled (1) control mNPCs, (2) retroviral vector (pLXSN)-infected mNPCs (pLXSN-mNPCs), and (3) hADC-mNPCs. Behavioral comparisons between groups were conducted weekly up to 6 weeks after SCI, and urine volume was measured up to 2 weeks after SCI. A subset of animals was euthanized each week after cell transplantation for molecular and histological analyses. The transplantation groups experienced significantly improved behavioral function, with the best recovery occurring in hADC-mNPC mice. Transplanting hADC-mNPCs improved neurological outcomes, induced oligodendrocyte differentiation and remyelination, increased neural lineage differentiation, and decreased glial scar formation. Moreover, locomotor and bladder function were both rehabilitated. These beneficial effects are likely related to differential BMP-2/4/7 expression in neuronal cells, providing an empirical basis for gene therapy as a curative SCI treatment option.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Mi Park
- Department of Anatomy, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
- BK 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
- CHA Advanced Research Institute, CHA University, CHA Bio-Complex, 335, Pangyo-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si 13488, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Science, CHA University, CHA Bio-Complex, 335, Pangyo-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si 13488, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae Hwan Kim
- Department of Anatomy, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
- BK 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Jong Eun Lee
- Department of Anatomy, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
- BK 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
- Brain Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +82-2-2228-1646
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Chronic agmatine treatment prevents olanzapine-induced obesity and metabolic dysregulation in female rats. Brain Res Bull 2022; 191:69-77. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2022.10.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Revised: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Kotagale N, Bhondekar S, Bhad M, Pise S, Charpe A, Umekar M, Taksande B. Agmatine prevents development of tolerance to anti-nociceptive effect of ethanol in mice. Alcohol 2022; 101:1-8. [PMID: 35227825 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2022.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Drug tolerance is directly correlated with drug abuse and physical dependence. The development of tolerance is manifested as the decline in pharmacological responses of drugs following repeated administration of the constant dose. The present study evaluated the effect of agmatine in ethanol-induced anti-nociception and tolerance in the tail-flick assay in mice. In an acute protocol, ethanol (1 and 2 g/kg, i.p. [intraperitoneally]) and agmatine (20 and 40 μg/mouse, i.c.v. [intracerebroventricularly]) produced significant analgesic effects in mice, as was evident from the increased baseline tail-flick latency when tested 20 minutes after their administration. Agmatine in a per se non-effective dose (5 μg/mouse, i.c.v.), L-arginine (40 μg/mouse, i.c.v.), and arcaine (25 μg/mouse, i.c.v.) significantly potentiated the anti-nociceptive effect of ethanol. Blood ethanol analysis showed no significant differences in blood ethanol concentration between ethanol/saline- and ethanol/agmatine-treated mice, suggesting that the effects of agmatine were not due to any possible effects on the pharmacokinetics of ethanol. In a separate study, mice were injected with ethanol (2 g/kg, i.p., 12%) or saline (1 mL/kg, i.p.) once daily for 9 days. On days 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 of the experiment, they were subjected to the tail-flick test. Agmatine (5-20 μg/mouse, i.c.v.), L-arginine (40 μg/mouse, i.c.v.), arcaine (25 μg/mouse, i.c.v.), aCSF (2 μL/mouse, i.c.v.), or saline (1 mL/kg, i.p.) was administered daily prior to the first daily ethanol or saline injections, and reaction latencies were determined in the tail-flick assay. Injections of agmatine, L-arginine, and arcaine prevented the development of tolerance to ethanol-induced analgesia. Given that agmatine and its endogenous modulation can prevent tolerance to the anti-nociceptive effects of ethanol, these data suggest it as a possible new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of alcohol use disorder and associated complications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nandkishor Kotagale
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, Maharashtra, 441 002, India; Government College of Pharmacy, Kathora Naka, VMV Road, Amravati, 444604, Maharashtra, India
| | - Shraddha Bhondekar
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, Maharashtra, 441 002, India
| | - Mrunalini Bhad
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, Maharashtra, 441 002, India
| | - Shailesh Pise
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, Maharashtra, 441 002, India
| | - Ashwini Charpe
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, Maharashtra, 441 002, India
| | - Milind Umekar
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, Maharashtra, 441 002, India
| | - Brijesh Taksande
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, Maharashtra, 441 002, India.
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Kotagale N, Rahangdale S, Borkar A, Singh K, Ikhar A, Takale N, Umekar M, Taksande B. Possible involvement of agmatine in neuropharmacological actions of metformin in diabetic mice. Eur J Pharmacol 2021; 907:174255. [PMID: 34129880 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2021.174255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2020] [Revised: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The risk of psychiatric and neurological disorders is significantly higher in patients with diabetes mellitus. Diabetic patients are more susceptible to depression, anxiety and memory impairment as compared with non-diabetic individuals. Metformin, a biguanide used for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), promotes neurogenesis, enhances spatial memory function and protects the brain against oxidative imbalance beyond its effect on glucose metabolism. However, the exact mechanism of its neuropharmacological actions in T2DM is not known. We investigated the role of the agmatinergic system in neuropharmacological actions of metformin in diabetic mice. Diabetes was induced by the streptozotocin (STZ) injection and confirmed by high blood glucose levels. After 28 days, STZ treated mice exhibited memory impairment in radial arm maze, depression-like behavior in forced swim test and anxiety-like behavior in elevated plus maze along with increased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines like TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10 also, reduced agmatine and BDNF levels in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex compared to the control animals. Metformin and agmatine alone or in combination, by once-daily administration during 14-27 day of the protocol significantly reversed the STZ induced high blood glucose levels, memory impairment, depression and anxiety-like behaviors. It also reduced neuro-inflammatory markers and increased agmatine and BDNF levels in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. The present study suggests the importance of endogenous agmatine in the neuropharmacological action of metformin in diabetic mice. The data projects agmatine and metformin combination as a potential therapeutic strategy for diabetes associated memory impairment, depression, anxiety, and other comorbidities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nandkishor Kotagale
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, M.S, 441 002, India; Government College of Pharmacy, Kathora Naka, Amravati, 444604, India
| | - Sandip Rahangdale
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, M.S, 441 002, India
| | - Anjali Borkar
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, M.S, 441 002, India
| | - Kundan Singh
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, M.S, 441 002, India
| | - Abhilasha Ikhar
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, M.S, 441 002, India
| | - Nikita Takale
- Government College of Pharmacy, Kathora Naka, Amravati, 444604, India
| | - Milind Umekar
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, M.S, 441 002, India
| | - Brijesh Taksande
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, M.S, 441 002, India.
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Rahangdale S, Fating R, Gajbhiye M, Kapse M, Inamdar N, Kotagale N, Umekar M, Taksande B. Involvement of agmatine in antidepressant-like effect of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors in mice. Eur J Pharmacol 2020; 892:173739. [PMID: 33220274 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2020.173739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2020] [Revised: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 11/04/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
3-Hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-co-enzyme-A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors (statins) are popularly used for the treatment of obesity and hypercholesterolemia with established safety profile. Statins exhibits a wide range of neurobehavioral effects in addition to their peripheral actions, and may be beneficial in treatment of psychiatric conditions. Present study investigated the role of agmatine and imidazoline receptors in antidepressant-like effect of statins in mouse forced swimming test (FST). The antidepressant-like effect of atorvastatin (5 mg/kg, p.o.) and simvastatin (10 mg/kg, p.o.) was potentiated by pretreatment with agmatine (5 mg/kg, i.p.) as well as the drugs known to increase endogenous agmatine levels in brain viz., L-arginine (40 μg/mouse, i.c.v.), an agmatine biosynthetic precursor; arcaine (50 μg/mouse, i.c.v), agmatinase inhibitor; and aminoguanidine (6.5 μg/mouse, i.c.v.), a diamine oxidase inhibitor. Further, both the statins increased agmatine levels within hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Conversely, prior administration of I1 receptor antagonist, efaroxan (1 mg/kg, i.p.) and I2 receptor antagonist, idazoxan (0.25 mg/kg, i.p.) blocked the antidepressant-like effect of statins and their synergistic combination with agmatine. These results demonstrate the involvement of agmatine and imidazoline receptors in antidepressant-like effect of statins and suggest as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of depressive disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandip Rahangdale
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, M.S, 441 002, India
| | - Rajshree Fating
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, M.S, 441 002, India
| | - Mona Gajbhiye
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, M.S, 441 002, India
| | - Mona Kapse
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, M.S, 441 002, India
| | - Nazma Inamdar
- Government College of Pharmacy, Kathora Naka, VMV Road, Amravati, M.S, 444604, India
| | - Nandkishor Kotagale
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, M.S, 441 002, India; Government College of Pharmacy, Kathora Naka, VMV Road, Amravati, M.S, 444604, India
| | - Milind Umekar
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, M.S, 441 002, India
| | - Brijesh Taksande
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, M.S, 441 002, India.
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11
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Freitas AE, Heinrich IA, Moura TM, Fraga DB, Costa AP, Azevedo D, Brocardo PS, Kaster MP, Leal RB, Rodrigues ALS. Agmatine potentiates antidepressant and synaptic actions of ketamine: Effects on dendritic arbors and spines architecture and Akt/S6 kinase signaling. Exp Neurol 2020; 333:113398. [DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2020.113398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2020] [Revised: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 07/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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12
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Dixit MP, Rahmatkar SN, Raut P, Umekar MJ, Taksande BG, Kotagale NR. Evidences for agmatine alterations in Aβ 1-42induced memory impairment in mice. Neurosci Lett 2020; 740:135447. [PMID: 33127446 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2020.135447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Revised: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease is an age related progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by decline in cognitive functions, such as memory loss and behavioural abnormalities. The present study sought to assess alterations in agmatine metabolism in the beta-amyloid (Aβ1-42) Alzheimer's disease mouse model. Aβ1-42 injected mice showed impairment of cognitive functioning as evidenced by increased working and reference memory errors in radial arm maze (RAM). This cognitive impairment was associated with a reduction in the agmatine levels and elevation in its degrading enzyme, agmatinase, whereas reduced immunocontent was observed in its synthesizing enzyme arginine decarboxylase expression within hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Chronic agmatine treatment and its endogenous modulation by l-arginine, or arcaine or aminoguanidine prevented the learning and memory impairment induced by single intracranial Aβ1-42 peptide injection. In conclusion, the present study suggests the importance of the endogenous agmatinergic system in β-amyloid induced memory impairment in mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhura P Dixit
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur (M.S.), 441 002, India
| | - Shubham N Rahmatkar
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur (M.S.), 441 002, India
| | - Prachi Raut
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur (M.S.), 441 002, India
| | - Milind J Umekar
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur (M.S.), 441 002, India
| | - Brijesh G Taksande
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur (M.S.), 441 002, India
| | - Nandkishor R Kotagale
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur (M.S.), 441 002, India; Government College of Pharmacy, Amravati, Maharashtra, 444 604, India.
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13
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Chimthanawala N, Patil S, Agrawal R, Kotagale NR, Umekar MJ, Taksande BG. Inhibitory influence of agmatine in ethanol withdrawal-induced depression in rats: Behavioral and neurochemical evidence. Alcohol 2020; 83:67-74. [PMID: 31520686 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2019.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2019] [Revised: 08/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Although ethanol withdrawal depression is one of the prominent reasons for ethanol consumption reinstatement and ethanol dependence, its neurochemical basis is not clearly understood. The present study investigated the role of the agmatinergic system in ethanol withdrawal-induced depression using the forced swim test (FST) in rats. Chronic exposure of animals to ethanol for 21 days and its abrupt withdrawal produced depression-like behavior, as evidenced by increased immobility time in the FST, compared to the pair-fed control animals. The ethanol withdrawal-induced depression was significantly attenuated by agmatine (20-40 μg/rat, i.c.v. [intracerebroventricularly]), moxonidine (50 μg/rat, i.c.v.), 2-BFI (20 μg/rat, i.c.v.), L-arginine (80 μg/rat, i.c.v.), amino-guanidine (25 μg/rat, i.c.v.), and arcaine (50 μg/rat, i.c.v.) by their once-daily administration during the withdrawal phase (Days 21, 22, and 23). The antidepressant effect of agmatine in ethanol-withdrawn rats was potentiated by the imidazoline receptor I1 agonist moxonidine (25 μg/rat, i.c.v.) and the imidazoline receptor I2 agonist, 2-BFI (10 μg/rat, i.c.v.) at their sub-effective doses. On the other hand, it was completely blocked by the imidazoline receptor I1 antagonist, efaroxan (10 μg/rat, i.c.v.) and the imidazoline receptor I2 antagonist, idazoxan (4 μg/rat, i.c.v.). In addition, agmatine levels were significantly reduced in brain samples of ethanol-withdrawn rats as compared to the pair-fed control animals. In conclusion, the present study suggests the importance of the endogenous agmatinergic system and the imidazoline receptors system in ethanol withdrawal-induced depression. The data project agmatine as a potential therapeutic target for the alcohol withdrawal-induced depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niyamat Chimthanawala
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar, College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur (M.S.), 441 002, India
| | - Shruti Patil
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar, College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur (M.S.), 441 002, India
| | - Rishabh Agrawal
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar, College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur (M.S.), 441 002, India
| | - Nandkishor R Kotagale
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar, College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur (M.S.), 441 002, India; Government College of Pharmacy, Amravati (M.S.), 444 604, India
| | - Milind J Umekar
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar, College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur (M.S.), 441 002, India
| | - Brijesh G Taksande
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Smt. Kishoritai Bhoyar, College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur (M.S.), 441 002, India.
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14
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Agmatine reverses ethanol consumption in rats: Evidences for an interaction with imidazoline receptors. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2019; 186:172779. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2019.172779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2019] [Revised: 08/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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15
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Patočka J, Kuehn GD. Natural Polyamines and Their Biological Consequence in Mammals. ACTA MEDICA (HRADEC KRÁLOVÉ) 2019. [DOI: 10.14712/18059694.2019.124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The polyamines (putrescine, cadaverine, agmatine, spermidine and spermine), wide-spread in all organisms, have been shown to play a role in regulation of growth and differentiation of virtually all types of cells. Their role in many physiological and pathophysiological processes have been studied very intensively during the last two decades. Inhibitors of polyamine biosynthesis have potential clinical uses as antitumor and antiparasitic agents. The brief summary with regard to their biological consequences in mammals is discussed in this paper.
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16
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Kotagale NR, Taksande BG, Inamdar NN. Neuroprotective offerings by agmatine. Neurotoxicology 2019; 73:228-245. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2019.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2019] [Revised: 05/01/2019] [Accepted: 05/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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17
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Taksande BG, Khade SD, Aglawe MM, Gujar S, Chopde CT, Kotagale NR. Agmatine Inhibits Behavioral Sensitization to Ethanol Through Imidazoline Receptors. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2019; 43:747-757. [DOI: 10.1111/acer.13972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2018] [Accepted: 01/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Brijesh G. Taksande
- Department of Pharmacology Division of Neuroscience Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy Nagpur India
| | - Supriya D. Khade
- Department of Pharmacology Division of Neuroscience Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy Nagpur India
| | - Manish M. Aglawe
- Department of Pharmacology Division of Neuroscience Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy Nagpur India
| | - Shreyans Gujar
- Department of Pharmacology Division of Neuroscience Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy Nagpur India
| | - Chandrabhan T. Chopde
- Department of Pharmacology Division of Neuroscience Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy Nagpur India
| | - Nandkishor R. Kotagale
- Department of Pharmacology Division of Neuroscience Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy Nagpur India
- Government Colleges of Pharmacy Amravati India
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18
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Watts D, Pfaffenseller B, Wollenhaupt-Aguiar B, Paul Géa L, Cardoso TDA, Kapczinski F. Agmatine as a potential therapeutic intervention in bipolar depression: the preclinical landscape. Expert Opin Ther Targets 2019; 23:327-339. [DOI: 10.1080/14728222.2019.1581764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Devon Watts
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Bianca Pfaffenseller
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | | | - Luiza Paul Géa
- Graduate Program in Biological Sciences, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Laboratory of Molecular Psychiatry, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | | | - Flavio Kapczinski
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Graduate Program in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, Brazil
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19
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Therapeutic Effect of Agmatine on Neurological Disease: Focus on Ion Channels and Receptors. Neurochem Res 2019; 44:735-750. [PMID: 30610652 DOI: 10.1007/s11064-018-02712-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2018] [Revised: 12/19/2018] [Accepted: 12/24/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The central nervous system (CNS) is the most injury-prone part of the mammalian body. Any acute or chronic, central or peripheral neurological disorder is related to abnormal biochemical and electrical signals in the brain cells. As a result, ion channels and receptors that are abundant in the nervous system and control the electrical and biochemical environment of the CNS play a vital role in neurological disease. The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, 2-amino-3-(5-methyl-3-oxo-1,2-oxazol-4-yl) propanoic acid receptor, kainate receptor, acetylcholine receptor, serotonin receptor, α2-adrenoreceptor, and acid-sensing ion channels are among the major channels and receptors known to be key components of pathophysiological events in the CNS. The primary amine agmatine, a neuromodulator synthesized in the brain by decarboxylation of L-arginine, can regulate ion channel cascades and receptors that are related to the major CNS disorders. In our previous studies, we established that agmatine was related to the regulation of cell differentiation, nitric oxide synthesis, and murine brain endothelial cell migration, relief of chronic pain, cerebral edema, and apoptotic cell death in experimental CNS disorders. In this review, we will focus on the pathophysiological aspects of the neurological disorders regulated by these ion channels and receptors, and their interaction with agmatine in CNS injury.
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20
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Camargo A, Rodrigues ALS. Novel Targets for Fast Antidepressant Responses: Possible Role of Endogenous Neuromodulators. CHRONIC STRESS (THOUSAND OAKS, CALIF.) 2019; 3:2470547019858083. [PMID: 32440595 PMCID: PMC7219953 DOI: 10.1177/2470547019858083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2019] [Accepted: 05/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The available medications for the treatment of major depressive disorder have limitations, particularly their limited efficacy, delayed therapeutic effects, and the side effects associated with treatment. These issues highlight the need for better therapeutic agents that provide more efficacious and faster effects for the management of this disorder. Ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, is the prototype for novel glutamate-based antidepressants that has been shown to cause a rapid and sustained antidepressant effect even in severe refractory depressive patients. Considering the importance of these findings, several studies have been conducted to elucidate the molecular targets for ketamine's effect. In addition, efforts are under way to characterize ketamine-like drugs. This review focuses particularly on evidence that endogenous glutamatergic neuromodulators may be able to modulate mood and to elicit fast antidepressant responses. Among these molecules, agmatine and creatine stand out as those with more published evidence of similarities with ketamine, but guanosine and ascorbic acid have also provided promising results. The possibility that these neuromodulators and ketamine have common neurobiological mechanisms, mainly the ability to activate mechanistic target of rapamycin and brain-derived neurotrophic factor signaling, and synthesis of synaptic proteins in the prefrontal cortex and/or hippocampus is presented and discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anderson Camargo
- Neuroscience Postgraduate Program,
Center of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina,
Florianópolis, Brazil
| | - Ana Lúcia S. Rodrigues
- Department of Biochemistry, Center of
Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis,
Brazil
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21
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Weiss T, Bernard R, Bernstein HG, Veh RW, Laube G. Agmatine modulates spontaneous activity in neurons of the rat medial habenular complex-a relevant mechanism in the pathophysiology and treatment of depression? Transl Psychiatry 2018; 8:201. [PMID: 30250120 PMCID: PMC6155246 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-018-0254-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2018] [Revised: 08/02/2018] [Accepted: 08/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The dorsal diencephalic conduction system connects limbic forebrain structures to monaminergic mesencephalic nuclei via a distinct relay station, the habenular complexes. Both habenular nuclei, the lateral as well as the medial nucleus, are considered to play a prominent role in mental disorders like major depression. Herein, we investigate the effect of the polyamine agmatine on the electrical activity of neurons within the medial habenula in rat. We present evidence that agmatine strongly decreases spontaneous action potential firing of medial habenular neurons by activating I1-type imidazoline receptors. Additionally, we compare the expression patterns of agmatinase, an enzyme capable of inactivating agmatine, in rat and human habenula. In the medial habenula of both species, agmatinase is similarly distributed and observed in neurons and, in particular, in distinct neuropil areas. The putative relevance of these findings in the context of depression is discussed. It is concluded that increased activity of the agmatinergic system in the medial habenula may strengthen midbrain dopaminergic activity. Consequently, the habenular-interpeduncular axis may be dysregulated in patients with major depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Torsten Weiss
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Vegetative Anatomy, Berlin, Germany.
| | - René Bernard
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Klinik für Neurologie, Department of Experimental Neurology, Berlin, Germany
| | - Hans-Gert Bernstein
- 0000 0001 1018 4307grid.5807.aDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, University of Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Rüdiger W. Veh
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Vegetative Anatomy, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gregor Laube
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Vegetative Anatomy, Berlin, Germany
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22
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Donertas B, Unel CC, Erol K. Cannabinoids and agmatine as potential therapeutic alternatives for cisplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy. J Exp Pharmacol 2018; 10:19-28. [PMID: 29950907 PMCID: PMC6018893 DOI: 10.2147/jep.s162059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Cisplatin is a widely used antineoplastic agent in the treatment of various cancers. Peripheral neuropathy is a well-known side effect of cisplatin and has the potential to result in limiting and/or reducing the dose, decreasing the quality of life. Unfortunately, the mechanism for cisplatin-induced neuropathy has not been completely elucidated. Currently, available treatments for neuropathic pain (NP) are mostly symptomatic, insufficient and are often linked with several detrimental side effects; thus, effective treatments are needed. Cannabinoids and agmatine are endogenous modulators that are implicated in painful states. This review explains the cisplatin-induced neuropathy and antinociceptive effects of cannabinoids and agmatine in animal models of NP and their putative therapeutic potential in cisplatin-induced neuropathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Basak Donertas
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey
| | - Cigdem Cengelli Unel
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey
| | - Kevser Erol
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey
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23
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Benítez J, García D, Romero N, González A, Martínez-Oyanedel J, Figueroa M, Salas M, López V, García-Robles M, Dodd PR, Schenk G, Carvajal N, Uribe E. Metabolic strategies for the degradation of the neuromodulator agmatine in mammals. Metabolism 2018; 81:35-44. [PMID: 29162499 DOI: 10.1016/j.metabol.2017.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2017] [Revised: 10/23/2017] [Accepted: 11/08/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Agmatine (1-amino-4-guanidinobutane), a precursor for polyamine biosynthesis, has been identified as an important neuromodulator with anticonvulsant, antineurotoxic and antidepressant actions in the brain. In this context it has emerged as an important mediator of addiction/satiety pathways associated with alcohol misuse. Consequently, the regulation of the activity of key enzymes in agmatine metabolism is an attractive strategy to combat alcoholism and related addiction disorders. Agmatine results from the decarboxylation of L-arginine in a reaction catalyzed by arginine decarboxylase (ADC), and can be converted to either guanidine butyraldehyde by diamine oxidase (DAO) or putrescine and urea by the enzyme agmatinase (AGM) or the more recently identified AGM-like protein (ALP). In rat brain, agmatine, AGM and ALP are predominantly localised in areas associated with roles in appetitive and craving (drug-reinstatement) behaviors. Thus, inhibitors of AGM or ALP are promising agents for the treatment of addictions. In this review, the properties of DAO, AGM and ALP are discussed with a view to their role in the agmatine metabolism in mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Benítez
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile
| | - David García
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile
| | - Nicol Romero
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile
| | - Arlette González
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile
| | - José Martínez-Oyanedel
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile
| | - Maximiliano Figueroa
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile
| | - Mónica Salas
- Instituto de Bioquímica y Microbiología, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
| | - Vasthi López
- Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Católica del Norte, Coquimbo, Chile
| | - María García-Robles
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile
| | - Peter R Dodd
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Gerhard Schenk
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Nelson Carvajal
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile
| | - Elena Uribe
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile.
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24
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Dempsey DR, Nichols DA, Battistini MR, Pemberton O, Ospina SR, Zhang X, Carpenter AM, O'Flynn BG, Leahy JW, Kanwar A, Lewandowski EM, Chen Y, Merkler DJ. Structural and Mechanistic Analysis of Drosophila melanogaster Agmatine N-Acetyltransferase, an Enzyme that Catalyzes the Formation of N-Acetylagmatine. Sci Rep 2017; 7:13432. [PMID: 29044148 PMCID: PMC5647378 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13669-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2016] [Accepted: 09/26/2017] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Agmatine N-acetyltransferase (AgmNAT) catalyzes the formation of N-acetylagmatine from acetyl-CoA and agmatine. Herein, we provide evidence that Drosophila melanogaster AgmNAT (CG15766) catalyzes the formation of N-acetylagmatine using an ordered sequential mechanism; acetyl-CoA binds prior to agmatine to generate an AgmNAT•acetyl-CoA•agmatine ternary complex prior to catalysis. Additionally, we solved a crystal structure for the apo form of AgmNAT with an atomic resolution of 2.3 Å, which points towards specific amino acids that may function in catalysis or active site formation. Using the crystal structure, primary sequence alignment, pH-activity profiles, and site-directed mutagenesis, we evaluated a series of active site amino acids in order to assign their functional roles in AgmNAT. More specifically, pH-activity profiles identified at least one catalytically important, ionizable group with an apparent pKa of ~7.5, which corresponds to the general base in catalysis, Glu-34. Moreover, these data led to a proposed chemical mechanism, which is consistent with the structure and our biochemical analysis of AgmNAT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel R Dempsey
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, 33620, United States.,Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Derek A Nichols
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, 33612, United States.,Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, 33612, United States
| | - Matthew R Battistini
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, 33620, United States
| | - Orville Pemberton
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, 33612, United States
| | | | - Xiujun Zhang
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, 33612, United States
| | - Anne-Marie Carpenter
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, 33620, United States.,University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, 32610-0216, United States
| | - Brian G O'Flynn
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, 33620, United States
| | - James W Leahy
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, 33620, United States.,Department of Molecular Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, 33612, United States.,Florida Center of Excellence for Drug Discovery and Innovation, 3720 Spectrum Boulevard, Suite 305, Tampa, FL, 33612, United States
| | - Ankush Kanwar
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, 33620, United States
| | - Eric M Lewandowski
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, 33612, United States
| | - Yu Chen
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, 33612, United States.
| | - David J Merkler
- Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, 33620, United States.
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25
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Neis VB, Rosa PB, Olescowicz G, Rodrigues ALS. Therapeutic potential of agmatine for CNS disorders. Neurochem Int 2017; 108:318-331. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2017.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2017] [Revised: 05/06/2017] [Accepted: 05/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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Acute orexigenic effect of agmatine involves interaction between central α2-adrenergic and GABAergic receptors. Biomed Pharmacother 2017; 93:939-947. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2017.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2017] [Revised: 06/14/2017] [Accepted: 07/03/2017] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
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Agmatine: multifunctional arginine metabolite and magic bullet in clinical neuroscience? Biochem J 2017; 474:2619-2640. [DOI: 10.1042/bcj20170007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2017] [Revised: 05/23/2017] [Accepted: 05/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Agmatine, the decarboxylation product of arginine, was largely neglected as an important player in mammalian metabolism until the mid-1990s, when it was re-discovered as an endogenous ligand of imidazoline and α2-adrenergic receptors. Since then, a wide variety of agmatine-mediated effects have been observed, and consequently agmatine has moved from a wallflower existence into the limelight of clinical neuroscience research. Despite this quantum jump in scientific interest, the understanding of the anabolism and catabolism of this amine is still vague. The purification and biochemical characterization of natural mammalian arginine decarboxylase and agmatinase still are open issues. Nevertheless, the agmatinergic system is currently one of the most promising candidates in order to pharmacologically interfere with some major diseases of the central nervous system, which are summarized in the present review. Particularly with respect to major depression, agmatine, its derivatives, and metabolizing enzymes show great promise for the development of an improved treatment of this common disease.
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Freitas AE, Neis VB, Rodrigues ALS. Agmatine, a potential novel therapeutic strategy for depression. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2016; 26:1885-1899. [PMID: 27836390 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2016.10.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2016] [Revised: 10/12/2016] [Accepted: 10/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Major depressive disorder is the most common psychiatric disorder with lifetime prevalence of up to 20% worldwide. It is responsible for more years lost to disability than any other disorder. Despite the fact that current available antidepressant drugs are safe and effective, they are far from ideal. In addition to the need to administer the drugs for weeks or months to obtain clinical benefit, side effects are still a serious problem. Agmatine is an endogenous polyamine synthesized by the enzyme arginine decarboxylase. It modulates several receptors and is considered as a neuromodulator in the brain. In this review, studies demonstrating the antidepressant effects of agmatine are presented and discussed, as well as, the mechanisms of action related to these effects. Also, the potential beneficial effects of agmatine for the treatment of other neurological disorders are presented. In particular, we provide evidence to encourage future clinical studies investigating agmatine as a novel antidepressant drug.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andiara E Freitas
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Biochemistry, Center of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Universitário, Trindade, 88040-900 Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
| | - Vivian B Neis
- Department of Biochemistry, Center of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Universitário, Trindade, 88040-900 Florianópolis, SC, Brazil
| | - Ana Lúcia S Rodrigues
- Department of Biochemistry, Center of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Universitário, Trindade, 88040-900 Florianópolis, SC, Brazil
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Shelkar GP, Gakare SG, Chakraborty S, Dravid SM, Ugale RR. Interactions of nitric oxide with α2 -adrenoceptors within the locus coeruleus underlie the facilitation of inhibitory avoidance memory by agmatine. Br J Pharmacol 2016; 173:2589-99. [PMID: 27273730 PMCID: PMC4978159 DOI: 10.1111/bph.13531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2015] [Revised: 05/20/2016] [Accepted: 05/27/2016] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Agmatine, a putative neurotransmitter, plays a vital role in learning and memory. Although it is considered an endogenous ligand of imidazoline receptors, agmatine exhibits high affinity for α-adrenoceptors, NOS and NMDA receptors. These substrates within the locus coeruleus (LC) are critically involved in learning and memory processes. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH The hippocampus and LC of male Wistar rat were stereotaxically cannulated for injection. Effects of agmatine, given i.p. or intra-LC, on acquisition, consolidation and retrieval of inhibitory avoidance (IA) memory were measured. The NO donor S-nitrosoglutathione, non-specific (L-NAME) and specific NOS inhibitors (L-NIL, 7-NI, L-NIO), the α2 -adrenoceptor antagonist (yohimbine) or the corresponding agonist (clonidine) were injected intra-LC before agmatine. Intra-hippocampal injections of the NMDA antagonist, MK-801 (dizocilpine), were used to modify the memory enhancing effects of agmatine, SNG and yohimbine. Expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and eNOS in the LC was assessed immunohistochemically. KEY RESULTS Agmatine (intra-LC or i.p.) facilitated memory retrieval in the IA test. S-nitrosoglutathione potentiated, while L-NAME and L-NIO decreased, these effects of agmatine. L-NIL and 7-NI did not alter the effects of agmatine. Yohimbine potentiated, whereas clonidine attenuated, effects of agmatine within the LC. The effects of agmatine, S-nitrosoglutathione and yohimbine were blocked by intra-hippocampal MK-801. Agmatine increased the population of TH- and eNOS-immunoreactive elements in the LC. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The facilitation of memory retrieval in the IA test by agmatine is probably mediated by interactions between eNOS, NO and noradrenergic pathways in the LC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gajanan P Shelkar
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur, India
| | - Sukanya G Gakare
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur, India
| | - Suwarna Chakraborty
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
| | | | - Rajesh R Ugale
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur, India
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Involvement of the agmatinergic system in the depressive-like phenotype of the Crtc1 knockout mouse model of depression. Transl Psychiatry 2016; 6:e852. [PMID: 27404284 PMCID: PMC5545706 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2016.116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2015] [Revised: 04/27/2016] [Accepted: 04/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies implicate the arginine-decarboxylation product agmatine in mood regulation. Agmatine has antidepressant properties in rodent models of depression, and agmatinase (Agmat), the agmatine-degrading enzyme, is upregulated in the brains of mood disorder patients. We have previously shown that mice lacking CREB-regulated transcription coactivator 1 (CRTC1) associate behavioral and molecular depressive-like endophenotypes, as well as blunted responses to classical antidepressants. Here, the molecular basis of the behavioral phenotype of Crtc1(-/-) mice was further examined using microarray gene expression profiling that revealed an upregulation of Agmat in the cortex of Crtc1(-/-) mice. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analyses confirmed Agmat upregulation in the Crtc1(-/-) prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus, which were further demonstrated by confocal immunofluorescence microscopy to comprise an increased number of Agmat-expressing cells, notably parvalbumin- and somatostatin-positive interneurons. Acute agmatine and ketamine treatments comparably improved the depressive-like behavior of male and female Crtc1(-/-) mice in the forced swim test, suggesting that exogenous agmatine has a rapid antidepressant effect through the compensation of agmatine deficit because of upregulated Agmat. Agmatine rapidly increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels only in the PFC of wild-type (WT) females, and decreased eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2) phosphorylation in the PFC of male and female WT mice, indicating that agmatine might be a fast-acting antidepressant with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist properties. Collectively, these findings implicate Agmat in the depressive-like phenotype of Crtc1(-/-) mice, refine current understanding of the agmatinergic system in the brain and highlight its putative role in major depression.
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Gawali NB, Chowdhury AA, Kothavade PS, Bulani VD, Nagmoti DM, Juvekar AR. Involvement of nitric oxide in anticompulsive-like effect of agmatine on marble-burying behaviour in mice. Eur J Pharmacol 2015; 770:165-71. [PMID: 26593708 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2015.11.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2015] [Revised: 11/20/2015] [Accepted: 11/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In view of the reports that nitric oxide modulates the neurotransmitters implicated in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), patients with OCD exhibit higher plasma nitrate levels, and drugs useful in OCD influence nitric oxide. Agmatine is a polyamine and widely distributed in mammalian brain which interacts with nitrergic systems. Hence, the present study was carried out to understand the involvement of nitrergic systems in the anticompulsive-like effect of agmatine. We used marble-burying behaviour (MBB) of mice as the animal model of OCD, and nitric oxide levels in hippocampus (HC) and cortex homogenate were measured. Results revealed that, agmatine (20 and 40mg/kg, i.p) significantly inhibited the MBB. Intraperitoneal administration of nitric oxide enhancers viz. nitric oxide precursor - l-arginine (l-ARG) (400mg/kg and 800mg/kg) increased MBB as well as brain nitrites levels, whereas treatment with N(G)-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) neuronal nitric oxide synthase inhibitor (30mg/kg and 50mg/kg, i.p.) and 7-nitroindazole (7-NI) (20mg/kg and 40mg/kg) attenuated MBB and nitrites levels in brain. Further, in combination studies, the anticompulsive-like effect of agmatine (20mg/kg, ip) was exacerbated by prior administration of l-ARG (400mg/kg) and conversely l-NAME (15mg/kg) or 7-NI (10.0mg/kg) attenuated OCD-like behaviour with HC and cortex changes in the levels of NO. None of the above treatment had any significant influence on locomotor activity. In conclusion, Agmatine is effective in ameliorating the compulsive-like behaviour in mice which appears to be related to nitric oxide in brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nitin B Gawali
- Pharmacology Research Lab 1, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, Nathalal Parekh Marg, Matunga (E), Mumbai 400019, India.
| | - Amrita A Chowdhury
- Pharmacology Research Lab 1, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, Nathalal Parekh Marg, Matunga (E), Mumbai 400019, India
| | - Pankaj S Kothavade
- Pharmacology Research Lab 1, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, Nathalal Parekh Marg, Matunga (E), Mumbai 400019, India
| | - Vipin D Bulani
- Pharmacology Research Lab 1, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, Nathalal Parekh Marg, Matunga (E), Mumbai 400019, India
| | - Dnyaneshwar M Nagmoti
- Pharmacology Research Lab 1, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, Nathalal Parekh Marg, Matunga (E), Mumbai 400019, India
| | - Archana R Juvekar
- Pharmacology Research Lab 1, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, Nathalal Parekh Marg, Matunga (E), Mumbai 400019, India.
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Jing Y, Liu P, Leitch B. Region-specific changes in presynaptic agmatine and glutamate levels in the aged rat brain. Neuroscience 2015; 312:10-8. [PMID: 26548412 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2015] [Revised: 10/14/2015] [Accepted: 11/01/2015] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
During the normal aging process, the brain undergoes a range of biochemical and structural alterations, which may contribute to deterioration of sensory and cognitive functions. Age-related deficits are associated with altered efficacy of synaptic neurotransmission. Emerging evidence indicates that levels of agmatine, a putative neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain, are altered in a region-specific manner during the aging process. The gross tissue content of agmatine in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of aged rat brains is decreased whereas levels in the temporal cortex (TE) are increased. However, it is not known whether these changes in gross tissue levels are also mirrored by changes in agmatine levels at synapses and thus could potentially contribute to altered synaptic function with age. In the present study, agmatine levels in presynaptic terminals in the PFC and TE regions (300 terminals/region) of young (3month; n=3) and aged (24month; n=3) brains of male Sprague-Dawley rats were compared using quantitative post-embedding immunogold electron-microscopy. Presynaptic levels of agmatine were significantly increased in the TE region (60%; p<0.001) of aged rats compared to young rats, however no significant differences were detected in synaptic levels in the PFC region. Double immunogold labeling indicated that agmatine and glutamate were co-localized in the same synaptic terminals, and quantitative analyses revealed significantly reduced glutamate levels in agmatine-immunopositive synaptic terminals in both regions in aged rats compared to young animals. This study, for the first time, demonstrates differential effects of aging on agmatine and glutamate in the presynaptic terminals of PFC and TE. Future research is required to understand the functional significance of these changes and the underlying mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Jing
- Department of Anatomy, Brain Health Research Centre, Otago School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - P Liu
- Department of Anatomy, Brain Health Research Centre, Otago School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - B Leitch
- Department of Anatomy, Brain Health Research Centre, Otago School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
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Manzhulo IV, Dyuizen IV. Neurochemical changes in the rostral ventromedial nucleus of the medulla oblongata in rats with developing neuropathic pain. NEUROCHEM J+ 2015. [DOI: 10.1134/s1819712415030071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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Han N, Yu L, Song Z, Luo L, Wu Y. Agmatine protects Müller cells from high-concentration glucose-induced cell damage via N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor inhibition. Mol Med Rep 2015; 12:1098-106. [PMID: 25816073 PMCID: PMC4438955 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2015.3540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2014] [Accepted: 03/09/2015] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Neural injury is associated with the development of diabetic retinopathy. Müller cells provide structural and metabolic support for retinal neurons. High glucose concentrations are known to induce Müller cell activity. Agmatine is an endogenous polyamine, which is enzymatically formed in the mammalian brain and has exhibited neuroprotective effects in a number of experimental models. The aims of the present study were to investigate whether agmatine protects Müller cells from glucose-induced damage and to explore the mechanisms underlying this process. Lactate dehydrogenase activity and tumor necrosis factor-α mRNA expression were significantly reduced in Müller cells exposed to a high glucose concentration, following agmatine treatment, compared with cells not treated with agmatine. In addition, agmatine treatment inhibited glucose-induced Müller cell apoptosis, which was associated with the regulation of Bax and Bcl-2 expression. Agmatine treatment suppressed glucose-induced phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) protein in Müller cells. The present study demonstrated that the protective effects of agmatine on Müller cells were inhibited by N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA). The results of the present study suggested that agmatine treatment protects Müller cells from high-concentration glucose-induced cell damage. The underlying mechanisms may relate to the anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic effects of agmatine, as well as to the inhibition of the MAPK pathway, via NMDA receptor suppression. Agmatine may be of use in the development of novel therapeutic approaches for patients with diabetic retinopathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ning Han
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130041, P.R. China
| | - Li Yu
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130041, P.R. China
| | - Zhidu Song
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130041, P.R. China
| | - Lifu Luo
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130041, P.R. China
| | - Yazhen Wu
- Department of Ocular Fundus Disease, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130041, P.R. China
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Kotagale NR, Chopde CT, Umekar MJ, Taksande BG. Chronic agmatine treatment prevents behavioral manifestations of nicotine withdrawal in mice. Eur J Pharmacol 2015; 754:190-8. [PMID: 25744879 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2015.02.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2014] [Revised: 02/23/2015] [Accepted: 02/23/2015] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Smoking cessation exhibits an aversive withdrawal syndrome characterized by both increases in somatic signs and affective behaviors including anxiety and depression. In present study, abrupt withdrawal of daily nicotine injections (2mg/kg, s.c., four times daily, for 10 days) significantly increased somatic signs viz. rearing, grooming, jumping, genital licking, leg licking, head shakes with associated depression (increased immobility in forced swim test) as well as anxiety (decreased the number of entries and time spent in open arm in elevated plus maze) in nicotine dependent animals. The peak effect was observed at 24h time point of nicotine withdrawal. Repeated administration of agmatine (40-80µg/mouse, i.c.v.) before the first daily dose of nicotine from day 5 to 10 attenuated the elevated scores of somatic signs and abolished the depression and anxiety like behavior induced by nicotine withdrawal in dependent animals. However, in separate groups, its acute administration 30min before behavior analysis of nicotine withdrawal was ineffective. This result clearly shows the role of agmatine in development of nicotine dependence and its withdrawal. In extension to behavioral experiments, brain agmatine analyses, carried out at 24h time point of nicotine withdrawal demonstrated marked decrease in basal brain agmatine concentration as compared to control animals. Taken together, these data support the role of agmatine as common biological substrate for somatic signs and affective symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. This data may project therapies based on agmatine in anxiety, depression and mood changes associated with tobacco withdrawal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nandkishor R Kotagale
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, Maharashtra 441002, India
| | - Chandrabhan T Chopde
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, Maharashtra 441002, India
| | - Milind J Umekar
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, Maharashtra 441002, India
| | - Brijesh G Taksande
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, Maharashtra 441002, India.
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Ramos-Molina B, López-Contreras AJ, Lambertos A, Dardonville C, Cremades A, Peñafiel R. Influence of ornithine decarboxylase antizymes and antizyme inhibitors on agmatine uptake by mammalian cells. Amino Acids 2015; 47:1025-34. [PMID: 25655388 DOI: 10.1007/s00726-015-1931-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2014] [Accepted: 01/24/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Agmatine (4-aminobutylguanidine), a dicationic molecule at physiological pH, exerts relevant modulatory actions at many different molecular target sites in mammalian cells, having been suggested that the administration of this compound may have therapeutic interest. Several plasma membrane transporters have been implicated in agmatine uptake by mammalian cells. Here we report that in kidney-derived COS-7 cell line, at physiological agmatine levels, the general polyamine transporter participates in the plasma membrane translocation of agmatine, with an apparent Km of 44 ± 7 µM and Vmax of 17.3 ± 3.3 nmol h(-1) mg(-1) protein, but that at elevated concentrations, agmatine can be also taken up by other transport systems. In the first case, the physiological polyamines (putrescine, spermidine and spermine), several diguanidines and bis(2-aminoimidazolines) and the polyamine transport inhibitor AMXT-1501 markedly decreased agmatine uptake. In cells transfected with any of the three ornithine decarboxylase antizymes (AZ1, AZ2 and AZ3), agmatine uptake was dramatically reduced. On the contrary, transfection with antizyme inhibitors (AZIN1 and AZIN2) markedly increased the transport of agmatine. Furthermore, whereas putrescine uptake was significantly decreased in cells transfected with ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the accumulation of agmatine was stimulated, suggesting a trans-activating effect of intracellular putrescine on agmatine uptake. All these results indicate that ODC and its regulatory proteins (antizymes and antizyme inhibitors) may influence agmatine homeostasis in mammalian tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Ramos-Molina
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular B e Inmunología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain
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Gross JA, Turecki G. Suicide and the polyamine system. CNS & NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS-DRUG TARGETS 2014; 12:980-8. [PMID: 24040803 DOI: 10.2174/18715273113129990095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2012] [Revised: 12/02/2012] [Accepted: 12/02/2012] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Suicide is a significant worldwide public health problem. Understanding the neurobiology is important as it can help us to better elucidate underlying etiological factors and provide opportunities for intervention. In recent years, many lines of research have suggested that the polyamine system may be dysregulated in suicidal behaviors. Initial research in animals provided evidence of a dysfunctional polyamine stress response system, while later work using post-mortem human brain tissue has suggested that molecular mechanisms may be at play in the suicide brain. In this review, we will describe the research that suggests the presence of alterations in the polyamine system in mental disorders and behavioral phenotypes, with particular attention to work on suicide. In addition, we will also describe potential avenues for future work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey A Gross
- McGill Group for Suicide Studies, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, 6875 boul. Lasalle, Verdun, Quebec, H4H 1R3, Canada.
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Zádori ZS, Tóth VE, Fehér Á, Philipp K, Németh J, Gyires K. Evidence for the gastric cytoprotective effect of centrally injected agmatine. Brain Res Bull 2014; 108:51-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2014.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2014] [Revised: 07/19/2014] [Accepted: 07/31/2014] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Taksande BG, Kotagale NR, Gawande DY, Bharne AP, Chopde CT, Kokare DM. Neuropeptide Y in the central nucleus of amygdala regulates the anxiolytic effect of agmatine in rats. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2014; 24:955-63. [PMID: 24461723 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2013.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2013] [Revised: 11/15/2013] [Accepted: 12/02/2013] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
In the present study, modulation of anxiolytic action of agmatine by neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) is evaluated employing Vogel's conflict test (VCT) in rats. The intra-CeA administration of agmatine (0.6 and 1.2µmol/rat), NPY (10 and 20pmol/rat) or NPY Y1/Y5 receptors agonist [Leu(31), Pro(34)]-NPY (30 and 60pmol/rat) significantly increased the number of punished drinking licks following 15min of treatment. Combination treatment of subeffective dose of NPY (5pmol/rat) or [Leu(31), Pro(34)]-NPY (15pmol/rat) and agmatine (0.3µmol/rat) produced synergistic anxiolytic-like effect. However, intra-CeA administration of selective NPY Y1 receptor antagonist, BIBP3226 (0.25 and 0.5mmol/rat) produced anxiogenic effect. In separate set of experiment, pretreatment with BIBP3226 (0.12mmol/rat) reversed the anxiolytic effect of agmatine (0.6µmol/rat). Furthermore, we evaluated the effect of intraperitoneal injection of agmatine (40mg/kg) on NPY-immunoreactivity in the nucleus accumbens shell (AcbSh), lateral part of bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNSTl) and CeA. While agmatine treatment significantly decreased the fibers density in BNSTl, increase was noticed in AcbSh. In addition, agmatine reduced NPY-immunoreactive cells in the AcbSh and CeA. Immunohistochemical data suggest the enhanced transmission of NPY from the AcbSh and CeA. Taken together, this study suggests that agmatine produced anxiolytic effect which might be regulated via modulation of NPYergic system particularly in the CeA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brijesh G Taksande
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur (M.S.) 441002, India
| | - Nandkishor R Kotagale
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur (M.S.) 441002, India
| | - Dinesh Y Gawande
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur (M.S.) 441002, India
| | - Ashish P Bharne
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur 440033, India
| | - Chandrabhan T Chopde
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur (M.S.) 441002, India
| | - Dadasaheb M Kokare
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur 440033, India.
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Agmatine abolishes restraint stress-induced depressive-like behavior and hippocampal antioxidant imbalance in mice. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2014; 50:143-50. [PMID: 24370459 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2013.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2013] [Revised: 12/02/2013] [Accepted: 12/14/2013] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Agmatine has been recently emerged as a novel candidate to assist the conventional pharmacotherapy of depression. The acute restraint stress (ARS) is an unavoidable stress situation that may cause depressive-like behavior in rodents. In this study, we investigated the potential antidepressant-like effect of agmatine (10mg/kg, administered acutely by oral route) in the forced swimming test (FST) in non-stressed mice, as well as its ability to abolish the depressive-like behavior and hippocampal antioxidant imbalance induced by ARS. Agmatine reduced the immobility time in the mouse FST (1-100mg/kg) in non-stressed mice. ARS caused an increase in the immobility time in the FST, indicative of a depressive-like behavior, as well as hippocampal lipid peroxidation, and an increase in the activity of hippocampal superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) activities, reduced catalase (CAT) activity and increased SOD/CAT ratio, an index of pro-oxidative conditions. Agmatine was effective to abolish the depressive-like behavior induced by ARS and to prevent the ARS-induced lipid peroxidation and changes in SOD, GR and CAT activities and in SOD/CAT activity ratio. Hippocampal levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) were not altered by any experimental condition. In conclusion, the present study shows that agmatine was able to abrogate the ARS-induced depressive-like behavior and the associated redox hippocampal imbalance observed in stressed restraint mice, suggesting that its antidepressant-like effect may be dependent on its ability to maintain the pro-/anti-oxidative homeostasis in the hippocampus.
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Dixit MP, Thakre PP, Pannase AS, Aglawe MM, Taksande BG, Kotagale NR. Imidazoline binding sites mediates anticompulsive-like effect of agmatine in marble-burying behavior in mice. Eur J Pharmacol 2014; 732:26-31. [PMID: 24657463 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2014.02.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2013] [Revised: 02/04/2014] [Accepted: 02/23/2014] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Agmatine is a cationic amine formed by decarboxylation of l-arginine by the mitochondrial enzyme arginine decarboxylase and widely distributed in mammalian brain. Although the precise function of endogenous agmatine has been largely remained unclear, its exogenous administration demonstrated beneficial effects in several neurological and psychiatric disorders. This study was planned to examine the role of imidazoline binding sites in the anticompulsive-like effect of agmatine on marble-burying behavior. Agmatine (20 and 40mg/kg, ip), mixed imidazoline I1/α2 agonists clonidine (60µg/kg, ip) and moxonidine (0.25mg/kg, ip), and imidazoline I2 agonist 2- BFI (10mg/kg, ip) showed significant inhibition of marble burying behavior in mice. In combination studies, the anticompulsive-like effect of agmatine (10mg/kg, ip) was significantly potentiated by prior administration of moxonidine (0.25mg/kg, ip) or clonidine (30µg/kg,) or 2-BFI (5mg/kg, ip). Conversely, efaroxan (1mg/kg, ip), an I1 antagonist and idazoxan (0.25mg/kg, ip), an I2 antagonist completely blocked the anticompulsive-like effect of agmatine (10mg/kg, ip). These drugs at doses used here did not influence the basal locomotor activity in experimental animals. These results clearly indicated the involvement of imidazoline binding sites in anti-compulsive-like effect of agmatine. Thus, imidazoline binding sites can be explored further as novel therapeutic target for treatment of anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhura P Dixit
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur 441002, Maharashtra, India
| | - Prajwal P Thakre
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur 441002, Maharashtra, India
| | - Akshay S Pannase
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur 441002, Maharashtra, India
| | - Manish M Aglawe
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur 441002, Maharashtra, India
| | - Brijesh G Taksande
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur 441002, Maharashtra, India
| | - Nandkishor R Kotagale
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur 441002, Maharashtra, India.
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Taksande BG, Faldu DS, Dixit MP, Sakaria JN, Aglawe MM, Umekar MJ, Kotagale NR. Agmatine attenuates chronic unpredictable mild stress induced behavioral alteration in mice. Eur J Pharmacol 2013; 720:115-20. [PMID: 24183973 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2013.10.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2013] [Revised: 10/19/2013] [Accepted: 10/23/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Chronic stress exposure and resulting dysregulation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis develops susceptibility to variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Agmatine, a putative neurotransmitter has been reported to be released in response to various stressful stimuli to maintain the homeostasis. Present study investigated the role of agmatine on chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) induced behavioral and biochemical alteration in mice. Exposure of mice to CUMS protocol for 28 days resulted in diminished performance in sucrose preference test, splash test, forced swim test and marked elevation in plasma corticosterone levels. Chronic agmatine (5 and 10 mg/kg, ip, once daily) treatment started on day-15 and continued till the end of the CUMS protocol significantly increased sucrose preference, improved self-care and motivational behavior in the splash test and decreased duration of immobility in the forced swim test. Agmatine treatment also normalized the elevated corticosterone levels and prevented the body weight changes in chronically stressed animals. The pharmacological effect of agmatine was comparable to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, fluoxetine (10mg/kg, ip). Results of present study clearly demonstrated the anti-depressant like effect of agmatine in chronic unpredictable mild stress induced depression in mice. Thus the development of drugs based on brain agmatinergic modulation may represent a new potential approach for the treatment of stress related mood disorders like depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brijesh G Taksande
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur 441002, Maharashtra, India
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Agmatine attenuates acquisition but not the expression of ethanol conditioned place preference in mice: a role for imidazoline receptors. Behav Pharmacol 2013; 24:87-94. [PMID: 23399882 DOI: 10.1097/fbp.0b013e32835efc46] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The present study investigated the effect of agmatine on acquisition and expression of ethanol conditioned place preference (CPP) and its modulation by imidazoline agents. Swiss albino mice were treated intraperitoneally with saline or agmatine (20-40 mg/kg) before injection of ethanol (1.25 mg/kg) during conditioning days or on a test day (20-120 mg/kg), to observe the effect on acquisition or expression of CPP, respectively. Agmatine inhibited the acquisition but not the expression of ethanol CPP. Furthermore, both the I₁ receptor antagonist, efaroxan (9 mg/kg) and the I₂ receptor antagonist, BU224 (5 mg/kg) attenuated the agmatine-induced inhibition of the ethanol CPP acquisition. In contrast, the I₂ receptor agonist, 2-BFI (5 mg/kg) and I₁ receptor agonist, moxonidine (0.4 mg/kg) alone, or a combination of their subeffective doses, significantly attenuated the effect of agmatine (20 mg/kg) on acquisition of ethanol CPP. Agmatine or imidazoline agents alone produced neither place preference nor aversion, and at the doses used in the present study did not affect locomotor activity. Thus, agmatine attenuates the acquisition of ethanol CPP at least in part by imidazoline (I₁ or I₂) receptors. In future studies, agmatine or agents acting at the imidazoline receptors could be explored for their therapeutic potential in ethanol dependence.
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Kotagale NR, Shirbhate SH, Shukla P, Ugale RR. Agmatine attenuates neuropathic pain in sciatic nerve ligated rats: Modulation by hippocampal sigma receptors. Eur J Pharmacol 2013; 714:424-31. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2013.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2013] [Revised: 06/29/2013] [Accepted: 07/04/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Piletz JE, Aricioglu F, Cheng JT, Fairbanks CA, Gilad VH, Haenisch B, Halaris A, Hong S, Lee JE, Li J, Liu P, Molderings GJ, Rodrigues ALS, Satriano J, Seong GJ, Wilcox G, Wu N, Gilad GM. Agmatine: clinical applications after 100 years in translation. Drug Discov Today 2013; 18:880-93. [PMID: 23769988 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2013.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 172] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2013] [Revised: 04/27/2013] [Accepted: 05/22/2013] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Agmatine (decarboxylated arginine) has been known as a natural product for over 100 years, but its biosynthesis in humans was left unexplored owing to long-standing controversy. Only recently has the demonstration of agmatine biosynthesis in mammals revived research, indicating its exceptional modulatory action at multiple molecular targets, including neurotransmitter systems, nitric oxide (NO) synthesis and polyamine metabolism, thus providing bases for broad therapeutic applications. This timely review, a concerted effort by 16 independent research groups, draws attention to the substantial preclinical and initial clinical evidence, and highlights challenges and opportunities, for the use of agmatine in treating a spectrum of complex diseases with unmet therapeutic needs, including diabetes mellitus, neurotrauma and neurodegenerative diseases, opioid addiction, mood disorders, cognitive disorders and cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- John E Piletz
- Department of Biology, Mississippi College, Clinton, MS 39058, USA
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Kotagale NR, Tripathi SJ, Aglawe MM, Chopde CT, Umekar MJ, Taksande BG. Evidences for the agmatine involvement in antidepressant like effect of bupropion in mouse forced swim test. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2013; 107:42-7. [PMID: 23583442 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2013.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2012] [Revised: 03/25/2013] [Accepted: 03/30/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Although bupropion has been widely used in the treatment of depression, the precise mechanism of its therapeutic actions is not fully understood. The present study investigated the role of agmatine in an antidepressant like effect of bupropion in mouse forced swim test. The antidepressant like effect of bupropion was potentiated by pretreatment with agmatine (10-20mg/kg, ip) and by the drugs known to increase endogenous agmatine levels in brain viz., l-arginine (40 μg/mouse, icv), an agmatine biosynthetic precursor, ornithine decarboxylase inhibitor, dl-α-difluoromethyl ornithine hydrochloride, DFMO (12.5 μg/mouse, icv), diamine oxidase inhibitor, aminoguanidine (6.5 μg/mouse, icv) and agmatinase inhibitor, arcaine (50 μg/mouse, icv) as well as imidazoline I1 receptor agonists, moxonidine (0.25mg/kg, ip) and clonidine (0.015 mg/kg, ip) and imidazoline I2 receptor agonist, 2-(2-benzofuranyl)-2-imidazoline hydrochloride, 2-BFI (5mg/kg, ip). Conversely, prior administration of I1 receptor antagonist, efaroxan (1mg/kg, ip) and I2 receptor antagonist, idazoxan (0.25mg/kg, ip) blocked the antidepressant like effect of bupropion and its synergistic combination with agmatine. These results demonstrate involvement of agmatine in the antidepressant like effect of bupropion and suggest agmatine and imidazoline receptors as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of depressive disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nandkishor R Kotagale
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, Maharashtra 441 002, India
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Rushaidhi M, Jing Y, Zhang H, Liu P. Participation of hippocampal agmatine in spatial learning: an in vivo microdialysis study. Neuropharmacology 2012; 65:200-5. [PMID: 23116777 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2012.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2012] [Revised: 10/07/2012] [Accepted: 10/09/2012] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Agmatine, decarboxylated arginine, is widely distributed in mammalian brains and is considered as a novel putative neurotransmitter. Recent research demonstrates spatial learning-induced increases in agmatine in memory-related structures at the tissue and presynaptic terminal levels. By using the in vivo microdialysis technique coupled with highly sensitive liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry assay, we investigated dynamic changes of extracellular agmatine in the rat dorsal hippocampus before, during and after water maze training to find a fixed hidden platform on the first and forth day of testing. It was firstly noted that the basal level of extracellular agmatine was significantly elevated on day 4. While swimming per se had no effect, a rapid rise (2-6 folds) in extracellular agmatine was observed during water maze training regardless of testing day. Such learning-induced rise was found to successively lessen across the multiple blocks of training on day 1. However, this pattern was reversed on day 4 when the platform was removed during the final training trial. The present study, for the first time, demonstrates water maze training-induced increase of extracellular agmatine in the dorsal hippocampus. The results suggest a role of endogenous agmatine in the encoding and retrieval of spatial information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madihah Rushaidhi
- Department of Anatomy, Brain Health Research Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
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Molderings GJ, Haenisch B. Agmatine (decarboxylated l-arginine): Physiological role and therapeutic potential. Pharmacol Ther 2012; 133:351-65. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2011.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2011] [Accepted: 12/05/2011] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
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Betancourt L, Rada P, Paredes D, Hernández L. In vivo monitoring of cerebral agmatine by microdialysis and capillary electrophoresis. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci 2012; 880:58-65. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2011.11.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2011] [Revised: 11/07/2011] [Accepted: 11/09/2011] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
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The pharmacological importance of agmatine in the brain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2012; 36:502-19. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2011] [Revised: 06/23/2011] [Accepted: 08/18/2011] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
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