The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics
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J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. · Oct 2003
Contractions to histamine in pulmonary and mesenteric arteries from endotoxemic rabbits: modulation by vascular expressions of inducible nitric-oxide synthase and histamine H1-receptors.
The inducible isoform of nitric-oxide synthase (iNOS) is highly expressed after induction of endotoxemia and contributes to vascular hypocontractility in endotoxemia. Circulating levels of histamine are elevated in animal models of sepsis and in patients with septic shock. This study assessed whether the vascular effects of histamine play a significant role in the pathophysiology of endotoxemic shock despite the hyporesponsiveness to vasoconstrictors associated with iNOS up-regulation. ⋯ This was possibly associated with a dramatic increase in H1-receptor expression at the gene and protein levels, as determined by Northern blot and immunoblot analyses. Furthermore, we found that LPS-induced endotoxemia caused prominent increases in production of histamine through induction of histidine decarboxylase in tissues, including blood vessels. From these results, we propose that histamine may contribute to the development of endotoxin-induced pulmonary hypertension.
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J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. · Oct 2003
Capsaicin-induced hyperalgesia and mu-opioid-induced antihyperalgesia in male and female Fischer 344 rats.
The influence of sex in determining responses to opioid analgesics has been well established in rodents and monkeys in assays of short-lasting, phasic pain. The purpose of this investigation was to use a capsaicin model of tonic pain to evaluate sex differences in hyperalgesia and mu-opioid-induced antihyperalgesia in Fischer 344 (F344) rats. Capsaicin injected into the tail produced a dose-dependent thermal hyperalgesia in males and females, with the dose required to produce a comparable level of hyperalgesia being 3.0-fold higher in males than in females. ⋯ When administered locally, the antihyperalgesic effects of morphine were mediated by peripheral opioid receptors in both males and females, since this effect was not reversed by i.c.v. naloxone methiodide. These data contrast with the finding that mu-opioids are more potent in male rodents in assays of phasic pain, thus suggesting that distinct mechanisms underlie male and female sensitivity to opioid antinociception in phasic and tonic pain models. These findings emphasize the need to test male and female rodents in tonic pain assays that may have greater relevance for human pain conditions.
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J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. · Oct 2003
Chronic elevation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor by ampakines.
The ampakine CX614 positively modulates alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor-gated currents and increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression. In rat hippocampal slice cultures, CX614 rapidly increases BDNF gene expression but with time, mRNA levels fall despite the continued presence of active drug. The present study examined this apparent refractory period and the possibility that spaced ampakine treatments could sustain elevated BDNF protein levels. ⋯ Western blots confirmed that after an extended period of ampakine treatment, AMPA receptor protein levels are indeed reduced, suggesting that with longer treatments receptor down-regulation mediates ampakine insensitivity. Finally, using a "24-h on/24-h off" CX614 treatment protocol, the ampakine refractory state was circumvented, BDNF mRNA was induced with each ampakine application, and elevated BDNF protein levels were maintained through 5 days in vitro. These results suggest that spaced ampakine treatments can be used to sustain elevated neurotrophin levels and to test the utility of this manipulation for neuroprotection by endogenous neurotrophins.
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J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. · Oct 2003
Arylacetamide kappa-opioid receptor agonists produce a tonic- and use-dependent block of tetrodotoxin-sensitive and -resistant sodium currents in colon sensory neurons.
We have previously reported that U50,488 [(trans-3,4-dichloro-N-methyl-N-[2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-cyclohexyl]benzeneacetamide] enantiomers contribute to visceral antinociception by a nonopioid receptor-mediated blockade of sodium currents in colon sensory neurons. The present experiments were undertaken to examine the effect of arylacetamide kappa-opioid receptor agonists (kappa-ORAs) U50,488 and EMD 61,753 [(N-methyl-N-[1S)-1-phenyl)-2-(13S))-3-hydroxypyrrolidine-1-yl)-ethyl]-2,2-diphenylacetamide HCl] on tetrodotoxin-sensitive (TTX-S) and -resistant (TTX-R) sodium currents, and the mechanism of their sodium channel-blocking actions. Whole cell patch-clamp experiments were performed on colon sensory neurons from the S1 dorsal root ganglion identified by content of retrograde tracer 1.1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine metanesulfonate. ⋯ Inhibition was present at holding potentials of -100 to -20 mV. After the tonic block elicited by 10 microM U50,488, repetitive stimulation with 5-ms depolarizing pulses at a frequency of 3 Hz further enhanced the inhibition of total, TTX-R, and TTX-S currents by 43.8 +/- 4.9, 46.2 +/- 4.9, and 40 +/- 3.2%, respectively. These results demonstrate that arylacetamide kappa-ORAs nonselectively inhibit voltage-evoked sodium currents in a manner similar to local anesthetics, by enhancing closed-state inactivation and induction of use-dependent block.
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J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. · Oct 2003
Evidence for an involvement of supraspinal delta- and spinal mu-opioid receptors in the antihyperalgesic effect of chronically administered clomipramine in mononeuropathic rats.
The mechanisms of involvement of the opioidergic system in the antinociceptive effect of antidepressants remain to be elucidated. The present study was designed to determine what type of opioid receptors may be involved at the spinal and supraspinal levels in the antihyperalgesic effect of clomipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant commonly prescribed in the treatment of neuropathic pain. Its antihyperalgesic effect on mechanical hyperalgesia (paw pressure test) in rats induced by chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve was assessed after repeated administrations (five injections every half-life, a regimen close to clinical use). ⋯ The effect was inhibited by intrathecal administration of CTOP and intracerebroventricular administration of naltrindole, whereas nor-BNI was ineffective whatever the route of injection. These results demonstrate a differential involvement of opioid receptors according to the level of the central nervous system: delta-receptors at the supraspinal level and mu-receptors at the spinal level. Clomipramine could act via a neuronal pathway in which these two receptors are needed.