Search results for "Neurotransmitter"
showing 10 items of 275 documents
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…
Differential effect of beta-N-oxalylamino-L-alanine, the Lathyrus sativus neurotoxin, and (+/-)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate …
2000
We studied the effect of beta-oxalylamino-L-alanine, a glutamate analog present in Lathyrus sativus seeds and implicated in the etiopathogenesis of neurolathyrism, and (+/-)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate on the extracellular levels of aspartate, glutamate and taurine in the primary motor cortex of freely moving rats. We found that while both neurotoxins increase the level of aspartate and glutamate, only (+/-)-alpha(-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate is able to modulate the level of taurine. GYKI-52466, a non-competitive non-NMDA antagonist, inhibited beta-oxalylamino-L-alanine-induced increase of aspartate, but not that of glutamate. Conversely, this ant…
Continuous intra-amygdalar infusion of GABA in the amygdala kindling model of epilepsy in rat.
2003
Objective: To explore the effect of continuous intra-amygdalar infusion of GABA in the amygdala kindling model of epilepsy in rat. Methods: An electrode and cannula complex was implanted in adult male Wistar rats, the electrode being targeted to the left basolateral amygdala. The animals were subjected to a standard kindling procedure. Osmotic minipumps filled with either GABA or mannitol were connected to cannulas and allowed to infuse during 7 days. Kindling experiments measuring after-discharge and seizure thresholds, seizure severity and duration, and behavioral toxicity were performed before, during and after the drug infusion period. Results: Both after-discharge and seizure threshold…
Glucagon-like peptide-2 modulates neurally evoked mucosal chloride secretion in guinea pig small intestine in vitro
2009
Glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) is an important neuroendocrine peptide in intestinal physiology. It influences digestion, absorption, epithelial growth, motility, and blood flow. We studied involvement of GLP-2 in intestinal mucosal secretory behavior. Submucosal-mucosal preparations from guinea pig ileum were mounted in Ussing chambers for measurement of short-circuit current ( Isc) as a surrogate for chloride secretion. GLP-2 action on neuronal release of acetylcholine was determined with ELISA. Enteric neuronal expression of the GLP-2 receptor (GLP-2R) was studied with immunohistochemical methods. Application of GLP-2 (0.1–100 nM) to the serosal or mucosal side of the preparations evoke…
In vitro effects of putative neurotransmitters on synaptic ribbon numbers and N-acetyltransferase activity in the rat pineal gland
1992
The pineal contains a large number of classical transmitters and neuropeptides. Some of these neurochemicals are involved in the regulation of serotonin N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity and hence in melatonin synthesis. Synaptic ribbons present in the pineal gland also exhibit a numerical day/night rhythm parallel to that of NAT activity. There is scarcity of information regarding the regulation of synaptic ribbon (SR) numbers. In the present study, we have investigated in vitro effects of a number of classical neurotransmitters and neuropeptides. NAT activity was used to monitor melatonin synthesis under the experimental conditions used. Norepinephrine (NE), Delta sleep-inducing peptide …
Melatonin binding sites in brain of the 2-day-old chicken: An autoradiographic localisation
1990
Melatonin, released in a circadian manner from the avian pineal gland into the circulation, is concentrated in distinct brain areas, possibly by receptor-mediated uptake mechanisms. For anatomical localisation of putative melatonin receptors in birds, cryostat-cut, coronal 15 microns brain sections of 2-day-old chicken were investigated by means of in vitro receptorautoradiography, using 125I-melatonin as a ligand. Binding occurred in brain structures receiving or mediating visual or auditory sensory input. Binding characteristics were investigated in homogenates of a brain region labelled by 125I-melatonin and showed to be specific and saturable (Kd: 87.2 pM; Bmax: 16.1 fmol/mg protein). R…
Neurochemistry of olivocochlear neurons in the hamster.
2009
The present study was conducted to characterize the superior olivary complex (SOC) of the lower brain stem in the pigmented Djungarian hamster Phodopus sungorus. Using Nissl-stained serial cryostat sections from fresh-frozen brains, we determined the borders of the SOC nuclei. We also identified olivocochlear (OC) neurons by retrograde neuronal tracing upon injection of Fluoro-Gold into the scala tympani. To evaluate the SOC as a putative source of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), arginine-vasopressin (AVP), oxytocin (OT), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), or pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) that were all found in the cochlea, we conducted immunohistoc…
Candidate genetic pathways for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show association to hyperactive/impulsive symptoms in children with AD…
2013
Item does not contain fulltext OBJECTIVE: Because multiple genes with small effect sizes are assumed to play a role in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) etiology, considering multiple variants within the same analysis likely increases the total explained phenotypic variance, thereby boosting the power of genetic studies. This study investigated whether pathway-based analysis could bring scientists closer to unraveling the biology of ADHD. METHOD: The pathway was described as a predefined gene selection based on a well-established database or literature data. Common genetic variants in pathways involved in dopamine/norepinephrine and serotonin neurotransmission and genes involv…
Day- and night-time contents of monoamines and their metabolites in the medial preoptic area of the rat hypothalamus.
1999
The present study was conducted to investigate whether monoamines and their metabolites in the medial preoptic area (mPOA) of the rat hypothalamus exhibit differences in their contents between day and night. We therefore sampled the mPOA from adult animals of either sex at the middle of the light or dark period, respectively, and analyzed the tissue by means of high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. We found that, in female animals at mid-night, dopamine and 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl acetic acid (DOPAC) was reduced to 43 and 30%, respectively, of daytime levels, while the norepinephrine content was doubled. No significant differences were observed in male animals. …
Are the effects of the antidepressants amitriptyline, maprotiline, and fluoxetine on inhibitory avoidance state-dependent?
2005
Abstract State-dependent learning (SDL) is a phenomenon in which the retrieval of newly acquired information is possible if the subject is in the same physiological state as during the encoding phase. SDL makes it possible to separate the effects of drugs per se on learning from the effects due to changes in drug state during the task. The present work was designed to investigate whether the antidepressants amitriptyline (30 mg/kg), maprotiline (25 mg/kg), and fluoxetine (15 mg/kg) produce SDL of the inhibitory avoidance conditioning in male and female CD1 mice. In three separate experiments, independent groups were used for each pharmacological treatment and for each sex using a 2 × 2 expe…