The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics
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J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. · Jun 2000
Enantioselectivity of pregnanolone-induced gamma-aminobutyric acid(A) receptor modulation and anesthesia.
This study reports the actions of enantiomer pairs of anesthetic steroids 3alpha5alphaP/ent-3alpha5alphaP and 3alpha5betaP/ent-3alpha5betaP as modulators of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)(A) receptors and as anesthetics. The enantiomers of structurally related 17-carbonitrile analogs also are examined. These studies were aimed at 1) determining whether the steroid recognition site could distinguish between molecules differing in shape, but not other physical properties (enantioselectivity); 2) providing further insight into the structure-activity relationships of anesthetic steroids; and 3) determining whether modulation of GABA(A) receptor function correlates with anesthetic potency for anesthetic steroid enantiomers. ⋯ For all compounds studied, the effects on GABA(A) receptor function closely tracked with anesthetic effects. These data show that the anesthetic steroid recognition site is capable of distinguishing enantiomers, suggesting a protein-binding site of specific dimensions and shape. The results are compatible either with a structural model of the binding site that can accommodate 3alpha5alphaP, 3alpha5betaP, and ent-3alpha5betaP, but not ent-3alpha5alphaP, or with two different binding sites for steroid anesthetics.
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J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. · May 2000
Protein kinase C-mediated acute tolerance to peripheral mu-opioid analgesia in the bradykinin-nociception test in mice.
We studied the acute tolerance liability of peripheral opioid analgesia in mice. The analgesia was assessed by the inhibition of bradykinin (BK)-induced nociceptive action by using a newly developed flexor reflex paradigm. Morphine [intraplantarly (i.pl.)] given ipsilaterally to BK showed a dose-dependent reduction of the BK (2 pmol) responses, whereas the administration of 10 nmol of morphine into the contralateral side failed to show any significant analgesic effects. ⋯ Although morphine analgesia by the second challenge was markedly attenuated, U-69593 analgesia was not. The attenuated morphine analgesia was completely reversed by the pretreatment of calphostin C, Go6976, or HBDDE, a protein kinase C inhibitor, but not by KT-5720, a protein kinase A inhibitor. These results suggest that selective acute tolerance of peripheral morphine analgesia, but not U-69593 analgesia, through MORs and KORs located on polymodal nociceptors, respectively, in the bradykinin-nociception test in mice was mediated through protein kinase C activation.
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J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. · Apr 2000
SB 239063, a potent p38 MAP kinase inhibitor, reduces inflammatory cytokine production, airways eosinophil infiltration, and persistence.
The anti-inflammatory/antiallergic activity of a novel second-generation p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor, SB 239063[trans-1-(4-hydroxycyclohexyl) -4-(4-fluorophenyl)-5-(2-methoxypyridimidin-4-yl)imidazole], was investigated in vivo and in vitro. SB 239063 had an IC(50) of 44 nM for inhibition of recombinant purified human p38alpha. In lipopolysaccharide-stimulated human peripheral blood monocytes, SB 239063 inhibited interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha production (IC(50) values = 0.12 and 0.35 microM, respectively). ⋯ Apoptosis of cultured eosinophils isolated from guinea pig BAL was increased by SB 239063 (1-10 microM) in the presence of interleukin-5. These results indicate that SB 239063 is a potent inhibitor of inflammatory cytokine production, inhibits eosinophil recruitment, in addition to enhancing apoptosis of these cells. Collectively, the results support the potential utility of p38 kinase inhibitors, such as SB 239063, for the treatment of asthma and other inflammatory disorders.
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J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. · Apr 2000
Taurine and niacin block lung injury and fibrosis by down-regulating bleomycin-induced activation of transcription nuclear factor-kappaB in mice.
The effects of taurine (T) and niacin (N) on bleomycin (BL)-induced increased production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin (IL)-1alpha, IL-6, and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and increased collagen content and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation in the lungs were investigated in mice. The mice were intratracheally instilled with saline (SA) or BL (0.1 U/mouse/50 microliter) under ketamine and xylazine anesthesia. They had ad libitum access to diet containing 2.5% niacin (w/w) or the same control diet (CD) and water with and without taurine (1%) 3 days before intratracheal instillation and throughout the study. ⋯ This revealed a progressive increase in NF-kappaB activation and IkBalpha depletion in lungs from mice in BL + CD groups from day 1 through day 21 compared with the corresponding SA + CD control groups. Treatment with taurine and niacin generally inhibited the BL-induced increases in the nuclear localization of NF-kappaB and preserved IkappaBalpha protein in BL + TN groups. This may be one of the mechanisms for the antifibrotic effect of taurine and niacin.
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J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. · Apr 2000
Effects of cigarette smoke on immune response: chronic exposure to cigarette smoke impairs antigen-mediated signaling in T cells and depletes IP3-sensitive Ca(2+) stores.
Chronic exposure of mice and rats to cigarette smoke affects T-cell responsiveness that may account for the decreased T-cell proliferative and T-dependent antibody responses in humans and animals exposed to cigarette smoke. However, the mechanism by which cigarette smoke affects the T cell function is not clearly understood. Our laboratory has shown that chronic exposure of rats to nicotine inhibits the antibody-forming cell response, impairs the antigen-mediated signaling in T cells, and induces T cell anergy. ⋯ Moreover, spleen cells from smoke-exposed and nicotine-treated animals have depleted inositol-1, 4,5-trisphosphate-sensitive Ca(2+) stores and a decreased ability to raise intracellular Ca(2+) levels in response to T cell antigen receptor ligation. These results suggest that chronic smoking causes T cell anergy by impairing the antigen receptor-mediated signal transduction pathways and depleting the inositol-1,4, 5-trisphosphate-sensitive Ca(2+) stores. Moreover, nicotine may account for or contribute to the immunosuppressive properties of cigarette smoke.