Search results for " Synaptosomes"
showing 6 items of 6 documents
Prenatal diazepam exposure functionally alters the GABA(A) receptor that modulates [3H]noradrenaline release from rat hippocampal synaptosomes.
2002
In rats, exposure to diazepam (DZ) during the last week of gestation is associated with behavioral alterations (in some cases sexually dimorphic) that appear when the animals reach adulthood. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of prenatal DZ exposure on the function of the gamma-aminobutyric (GABA)(A) receptor complex. The method used - perfusion of rat hippocampal nerve terminals labeled with [3H]noradrenaline (NA) - allowed us to evaluate the effects of DZ on a specific native GABA(A) receptor subtype which is located on hippocampal noradrenergic nerve endings and mediates the release of NA. Muscimol stimulated synaptosomal release of [3H]NA in a concentration-dependent mann…
Inhibition by Anandamide and Synthetic Cannabimimetics of the Release of [3H]d-Aspartate and [3H]GABA from Synaptosomes Isolated from the Rat Hippoca…
2004
Cannabinoids (CB) can act as retrograde synaptic mediators of depolarization-induced suppression of inhibition or excitation in hippocampus. This mechanism may underlie the impairment of some cognitive processes produced by these compounds, including short-term memory formation in the hippocampus. In this study, we investigated several compounds known to interact with CB receptors, evaluating their effects on K +-evoked release of [ 3H]d-aspartate ([ 3H]d-ASP) and [ 3H]GABA from superfused synaptosomes isolated from the rat hippocampus. [ 3H]d-ASP and [ 3H]GABA release were inhibited to different degrees by the synthetic cannabinoids WIN 55,212-2; CP 55,940, and arachidonyl-2′- chloroethyla…
Neurosteroid modulation of the presynaptic NMDA receptors regulating hippocampal noradrenaline release in normal rats and those exposed prenatally to…
2003
Abstract Prenatal exposure to diazepam (DZ), a positive allosteric modulator of the γ-aminobutyric acidA (GABAA) receptor complex, exerts profound effects that become more evident during puberty and in many cases are sex-specific, suggesting that such exposure interferes with the activity of steroid hormones. Apart from their well known effects on the genome, the reduced metabolites of many steroid hormones also interact directly with membrane receptors, including those for N-methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA). In this study, we compared the effects of several neurosteroids on NMDA receptors from normal rats and those exposed in utero to DZ (1.25 mg/kg per day) from the 14th through the 20th day o…
Role of calcineurin in Ca2+-induced release of catecholamines and neuropeptides
1998
Neurotransmission requires rapid docking, fusion, and recycling of neurotransmitter vesicles. Several of the proteins involved in this complex Ca2+-regulated mechanism have been identified as substrates for protein kinases and phosphatases, e.g., the synapsins, synaptotagmin, rabphilin3A, synaptobrevin, munc18, MARCKS, dynamin I, and B-50/GAP-43. So far most attention has focused on the role of kinases in the release processes, but recent evidence indicates that phosphatases may be as important. Therefore, we investigated the role of the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase calcineurin in exocytosis and subsequent vesicle recycling. Calcineurin-neutralizing antibodies, which blocke…
[3H]-DA release evoked by low pH medium and internal H+ accumulation in rat hypothalamic synaptosomes: involvement of calcium ions
2003
The pH fluctuations have been often interpreted as an insufficient regulation or as a consequence of the onset of pathological events, such as ischemia, in which a significant decrease in pH levels occurs. Neurotransmitter release appears to be affected by pH drop significantly. In this study, we investigated the effect of an extracellular and an intracellular acidification on tritiated dopamine release ([3H]-DA release), from superfused rat hypothalamic synaptosomes. When compared to basal release, extracellular acidification, due to a reduction in the external pH of the nominally carbonic-free superfusion media, provoked a significant increase in [3H]-DA release that showed a sensitivenes…
The neurobiological bases for the pharmacotherapy of nicotine addiction.
2007
Nicotine, the major psychoactive agent present in tobacco, acts as a potent addictive drug both in humans and laboratory animals, whose locomotor activity is also stimulated. A large body of evidence indicates that the locomotor activation and the reinforcing effects of nicotine may be related to its stimulatory effects on the mesolimbic dopaminergic function. Thus, it is now well established that nicotine can increase in vivo DA outflow in the nucleus accumbens and the corpus striatum. The stimulatory effect of nicotine on DA release most probably results from its ability to excite the neuronal firing rate and to increase the bursting activity of DA neurons in the substantia nigra pars com…