Journal of pharmacological sciences
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The endogenous brain constituent, gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), as well as its prodrug, gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), have recently gained interest in the drug addiction field due to their abuse potential and fatalities caused by overdose. It is known that GHB has two sites of actions: the gamma-aminobutyric acid(B) (GABA(B)) receptor and a specific-GHB binding site. The present study was designed to extend to GBL the investigations on the contribution of the GABA(B) receptor and the specific-GHB binding site to its in vivo effects. ⋯ SCH 50911 also provided complete protection against GBL-associated lethality. Vice versa, NCS-382 failed to exert any antagonistic or protective effect. These results suggest that the in vivo GBL effects tested in the present study are mediated by activation of the GABA(B) receptor.
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We investigated whether endothelin (ET) would be involved in skin cancer pain in mice. Orthotopic inoculation of B16-BL6 melanoma cells into the plantar region of the hind paw produced marked mechanical allodynia in C57BL/6 mice. Intraplantar injections of the ET(A)-receptor antagonist BQ-123 (0.3 - 3 nmol/site), but not the ET(B)-receptor antagonist BQ-788 (1 and 3 nmol/site), inhibited mechanical allodynia in mice with grown melanoma. ⋯ The level of mRNA of ET(A), but not ET(B), receptor, was significantly increased in the dorsal root ganglia on the inoculated side. Cultured B16-BL6 cells contained ET, and the melanoma mass increased the concentration of ET as it grew bigger. These results suggest that ET-1 and ET(A) receptor are at least partly involved in the induction of pain induced by melanoma cell inoculation.