The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics
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The histaminergic system fulfills a major role in the maintenance of waking. Histaminergic neurons are located exclusively in the posterior hypothalamus from where they project to most areas of the central nervous system. ⋯ It is noteworthy that this action also extends to heteroreceptors on the axons of most other neurotransmitter systems, allowing a powerful control over multiple homeostatic functions. The particular properties and locations of histamine H(3) receptors provide quite favorable attributes to make this a most promising target for pharmacological interventions of sleep and waking disorders associated with narcolepsy, Parkinson's disease, and other neuropsychiatric indications.
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J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. · Jan 2011
Comparative StudyFunctional plasticity of group II metabotropic glutamate receptors in regulating spinal excitatory and inhibitory synaptic input in neuropathic pain.
Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are involved in the modulation of synaptic transmission and plasticity. Group II mGluRs in the spinal cord regulate glutamatergic input, but their functional changes in neuropathic pain are not clear. In this study, we determined the plasticity of spinal group II mGluRs in controlling excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission and nociception in neuropathic pain. ⋯ Strikingly, intrathecal injection of DCG-IV dose-dependently attenuated allodynia and hyperalgesia in nerve-injured rats but produced hyperalgesia in control rats. Our study provides new information that nerve injury up-regulates group II mGluRs present on glutamatergic and glycinergic interneurons in the spinal cord. Activation of group II mGluRs reduces neuropathic pain probably by attenuating glutamatergic and glycinergic input to spinal dorsal horn neurons.
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J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. · Jan 2011
Comparative StudyDown-regulation of synaptic GluN2B subunit-containing N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors: a physiological brake on CA1 neuron α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid hyperexcitability during benzodiazepine withdrawal.
A significant link was previously established between benzodiazepine withdrawal anxiety and a progressive increase in α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPAR) potentiation in hippocampal CA1 neurons from rats withdrawn up to 2 days from 1-week oral administration of the benzodiazepine flurazepam (FZP). Despite AMPAR current potentiation, withdrawal anxiety was masked by a 2-fold reduction in CA1 neuron N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) currents since preinjection of an NMDA antagonist restored NMDAR currents and unmasked anxiety in 2-day FZP-withdrawn rats. In the current study, GluN subunit levels in postsynaptic density (PSD)-enriched subfractions of CA1 minislices were compared with GluN2B-mediated whole-cell currents evoked in CA1 neurons in hippocampal slices from 1- and 2-day FZP-withdrawn rats. ⋯ Because AMPA (1 μM) preincubation of slices from 1-day FZP-withdrawn rats induced depression of GluN2B subunit-mediated currents, depression of NMDAR currents was probably secondary to AMPAR potentiation. CA1 neuron NMDAR currents were depressed ∼50% after 2-day withdrawal and offset potentiation of AMPAR-mediated currents, leaving total charge transfer unchanged between groups. Collectively, these findings suggest that a reduction of GluN2B-containing NMDAR may serve as a homeostatic feedback mechanism to modulate glutamatergic synaptic strength during FZP withdrawal to alleviate benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms.