Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P20366 (substance P)
 21,176 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The effects of neurotransmitters or drugs on the release of endogenous dopamine (DA) and extracellular levels of its metabolites, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA), were examined in vivo by intracerebral dialysis. A dialysis tube was implanted stereotaxically through bilateral caudate nuclei of rats and perfused with the Ringer solution. Amounts of DA, DOPAC and HVA in the perfusates were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with electrochemical detection. The basal level of DA was 2.76 +/- 0.64 pg/min, whereas the levels of DOPAC and HVA were 218.7 +/- 20.7 and 142.4 +/- 10.6 pg/min, respectively. Apomorphine (4 mg/kg, i.v.) reduced the efflux of DA and its metabolites. Haloperidol (0.4 mg/kg, i.v.) did not change DA release and produced only a minor increase of its metabolites. This increase of metabolites was inhibited by pargyline. Met-enkephalin (10(-4) M), substance P (10(-4) M) and acetylcholine chloride (10(-4) M) added to the perfusing medium increased the release of DA. Met-enkephalin also increased the release of DOPAC. gamma-Amino-n-butyric acid (GABA, 10(-4) M) reduced the release of DOPAC and HVA when added to the perfusing medium. Thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH, 5 mg/kg, i.v.) increased the release of HVA. These findings indicated that different mechanisms mediated effects of neurotransmitters or drugs on the release and metabolism of DA in the rat striatum.
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PMID:Effects of neurotransmitters or drugs on the in vivo release of dopamine and its metabolites. 287 Feb 4

While the dentate gyrus is clearly the simplest of the cortical fields that constitute the hippocampal formation, it nonetheless occupies a pivotal position in the flow of information through this region. Though it has been the subject of anatomical study for over a century and its major connections have been known for almost as long, the use of newly developed histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques have demonstrated many new facets of its intrinsic connectivity and afferent innervation. These techniques have established that it is innervated by cholinergic, noradrenergic, serotonergic and dopaminergic fibers. More recent studies have shown that fibers and cell bodies of the dentate gyrus are immunoreactive for variety of neuroactive substances including the excitatory amino acids glutamate and aspartate, the inhibitory transmitter GABA, as well as peptides of many types including the opioid peptides, enkephalin and dynorphin, several forms of somatostatin, neuropeptide Y, cholycystokinin, vasoactive intestinal peptide and substance P. In this review, we will briefly summarize the distribution of each of these putative transmitter systems within the dentate gyrus. The perspective emerges that the plethora of newly identified and chemically specific fiber systems enriches the classical understanding of the organization of this relatively simple cortical structure. Since there is thus far no evidence for the exclusion from the dentate gyrus of any class of transmitter bearing fiber or neuron found in the neocortex, it can be viewed as a relatively simple model system for studying the interactions of specific transmitter systems in a laminated, cortical structure.
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PMID:Transmitter systems in the primate dentate gyrus. 287 75

The purpose of this study was to determine the distribution of cells in the medial reticular formation (MRF) and the pontomedullary locomotor strip (PLS), which can induce locomotion when activated. Controlled microinjections of neuroactive substances (Goodchild et al., 1982) into the MRF or PLS were made in order to activate cell bodies in those areas. The ability of trigeminal receptive field stimulation to induce locomotion before and after drug infusion into the PLS was also assessed since the PLS and the spinal nucleus of the trigeminal nerve are similar in their anatomical distribution. Experiments were performed on precollicular-postmamillary decerebrate cats walking on a treadmill. Injections of glutamic acid (GA; 500 nmol) into the MRF produced locomotion that was antagonized by infusion of glutamic acid diethyl ester into the same spot. Decreases in the current threshold for locomotion produced by electrical stimulation of the MRF were observed when the MRF was infused with either GA (40-80 nmol), DL-homocysteic acid (DL-HCA; 200 nmol), or picrotoxin (PIC; 15 nmol). Injections of GA (100 nmol), DL-HCA (700 nmol), PIC (10-50 nmol), and substance P (2 nmol) into the PLS also produced locomotion. Locomotion produced by injections of PIC into the PLS was blocked by infusion of equal amounts of muscimol or GABA. Effective PLS injection sites were all confined to the trigeminal spinal nucleus or immediately ventral and medial to this in the adjacent lateral reticular formation. Trigeminal nerve peripheral field stimulation evoked locomotion after microinjection of PIC into the PLS, although this same facial stimulus was not effective prior to drug injection. We conclude that the MRF and PLS regions of the cat brain stem contain cells that produce locomotion when chemically stimulated, and we suggest that the PLS is closely related to or synonymous with the spinal nucleus of the trigeminal nerve. Furthermore, we suggest that stimulation of trigeminal afferents is analogous to stimulation of segmental afferent pathways in the production of locomotion (Sherrington, 1910; Jankowska et al., 1967; Afelt, 1970; Budakova, 1972; Grillner and Zangger, 1979).
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PMID:Locomotion produced in mesencephalic cats by injections of putative transmitter substances and antagonists into the medial reticular formation and the pontomedullary locomotor strip. 289 14

In vivo and in vitro perfusion techniques have been used to study the release of neurokinin A-like immunoreactivity from the rat substantia nigra. Potassium depolarization and electrical field stimulation evoked calcium-dependent release from nigral slices. Potassium depolarization was also effective in vivo. Tetrodotoxin (1 microM) completely blocked electrically stimulated release but only diminished release in response to depolarizing potassium. Neurokinin A-like immunoreactivity release showed frequency dependence and a clear facilitation phenomenon between 5 and 25 Hz. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis of the immunoreactivity released in vitro revealed the presence of neurokinin A, neuropeptide K and neurokinin B, along with their sulphoxide forms. A marked depletion of neuropeptide K and neurokinin B content was observed when the tachykinin content of the nigral slices was examined before and after stimulation. However, the neurokinin A content of the slices was unchanged or even increased, suggesting an accelerated processing of neurokinin A precursors during the stimulation. The tachykinin peptides were degraded at different rates by substantia nigra homogenates; degradation was fastest for neuropeptide K and slowest for neurokinin A. The addition of a mixture of peptidases inhibitors (thiorphan, phosphoramidon, bestatin and captopril) substantially reduced the degradation of all three tachykinins, but did not completely block degradation. GABA-A receptor antagonists such as bicuculline and, particularly, picrotoxin potentiated the stimulated neurokinin A-like immunoreactivity release in vitro, but the GABA-agonist muscimol had no effect. Picrotoxin was even more potent in vivo. The results presented in this study demonstrate that neurokinin A, neuropeptide K and neurokinin B can be released by depolarizing stimuli from rat substantia nigra. Furthermore, the features exhibited by this release suggest that these peptides may have a neurotransmitter/neuromodulator role in the rat substantia nigra.
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PMID:In vitro and in vivo release of neurokinin A-like immunoreactivity from rat substantia nigra. 290 88

The long-term administration of neuroleptics causes tardive dyskinesia, which closely resembles levodopa-induced dyskinesias, and is brought about through complex mechanisms which are ill-defined. It is generally believed that the pathogenesis of tardive dyskinesia relates closely to the chronic blockade of dopamine receptor sites and that its pathophysiology results from a hypersensitivity of dopamine receptor sites. In the therapeutic management of neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia, in addition to reserpine and lithium, diazepam, baclofen, or gamma-vinyl-gamma-aminobutyric acid have also been advocated. However, the reported beneficial effects of diazepam and GABA-mimetic agents in ameliorating the symptoms of tardive dyskinesia may occur through a mechanism which does not necessarily link transmission involving both dopamine and GABA. The presence of high concentrations of both cholecystokinin and opioids in the striatum also suggests that these peptides not only may influence dopaminergic transmission, but that they may also be relevant to the psychopathology of schizophrenia and to the therapeutic effects of neuroleptics. Indeed, the acute and chronic administration of neuroleptics alters the levels of cholecystokinin and opioids and their receptors in several brain regions including the striatum. However, neuroleptics also alter the biochemical integrity of neurotensin, neuropeptide Y, substance P and somatostatin, which may also play a role in the overall expression of the neuroleptic-induced extrapyramidal reactions.
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PMID:Dopamine, GABA, cholecystokinin and opioids in neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia. 290 20

The relationship between cerebral GABA content and susceptibility to seizures is addressed from the point of view of specific brain loci at which GABA synapses may control convulsive activity. The substantia nigra (SN) has been identified as a critical site at which GABA-agonist drugs act to reduce susceptibility to a number of types of experimentally induced generalized seizures. Moreover, the ability of GABA-elevating agents to protect against seizures in the maximal electroshock model is directly correlated with increases in GABA specifically in the nerve-terminal compartment of SN. Studies with 2-deoxyglucose indicate that a marked increase in metabolic activity in SN is a common feature of several types of generalized seizures; it is possible that some of this increased activity is associated with GABAergic nerve terminals that become activated in an attempt to suppress seizure spread. Because GABA has been shown to inhibit nigral efferents, it is likely that GABA terminals inhibit nigral projections that are permissive or facilitative to seizure propagation. In support of this, bilateral destruction of SN attenuated clonic and tonic chemoconvulsant and electroshock seizures. Other treatments capable of reducing nigral output, namely opiate agonists (morphine and D-Ala-Met-enkephalin), and substance P antagonist analogs, were also found to have anticonvulsant effects when applied bilaterally into SN. Thus, the seizure-facilitating nigral efferents may be subject to inhibition by both GABA and opiates and may normally be driven by substance P. Of the various outputs from SN, the GABAergic projections to thalamus, reticular formation and/or superior colliculus are most likely responsible for influencing seizure propagation. Experimental evidence does not indicate a significant role of pars compacta nigrostriatal dopamine neurons for controlling the various types of seizures subject to nigral influence. We propose that the inhibition of the GABAergic outputs from SN pars reticulata can suppress the progression of seizure discharge through circuits involving the target areas of these outputs. Because chemical or electrical stimulation of SN does not initiate convulsions, it appears that seizure activity generated elsewhere in the brain may be amplified or sustained by activity in these nigral outputs.
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PMID:Role of the substantia nigra in GABA-mediated anticonvulsant actions. 301 Jun 76

Both directly acting (GABAA and GABAB agonists) and indirectly acting GABAergic agents (GABA uptake inhibitors and GABA-transaminase inhibitors) produce analgesia in a variety of animal test systems. Analgesia produced by GABAA agonists is probably due to a supraspinal action, although spinal sites may also play a role. GABAA agonist analgesia is insensitive to naloxone, bicuculline, picrotoxin and haloperidol, but is blocked by atropine, scopolamine and yohimbine suggesting a critical role for central cholinergic and noradrenergic pathways in this action. The lack of blockade by the GABAA antagonist bicuculline is difficult to explain. Both bicuculline and picrotoxin have intrinsic analgesia actions which may not necessarily be mediated by GABA receptors. The GABAB agonist baclofen produces analgesia by actions at both spinal and supraspinal sites. Baclofen analgesia is insensitive to naloxone, bicuculline and picrotoxin, and blockade by cholinergic antagonists occurs only under limited conditions. Catecholamines are important mediators of baclofen analgesia because analgesia is potentiated by reserpine, alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine, phentolamine, ergotamine, haloperidol and chlorpromazine. A role for serotonergic mechanisms is less well defined. Methylxanthines, which produce a clonidine-sensitive increase in noradrenaline (NA) turnover, increase baclofen analgesia by a clonidine-sensitive mechanism. Both ascending and descending NA pathways are implicated in the action of baclofen because dorsal bundle lesions, intrathecal 6-hydroxydopamine and medullary A1 lesions markedly decrease baclofen analgesia. However, simultaneous depletion of NA in ascending and descending pathways by locus coeruleus lesions potentiates baclofen analgesia suggesting a functionally important interaction between the two aspects. Baclofen analgesia within the spinal cord may be mediated by a distinct baclofen receptor because GABA does not mimic the effect of baclofen and the rank order of potency both of close structural analogs of baclofen as well as antagonists differs for analgesia and GABAB systems. The spinal mechanism may involve an interaction with substance P (SP) because SP blocks baclofen analgesia, and desensitization to SP alters the spinal analgesic effect of baclofen. GABA uptake inhibitors produce analgesia which is similar to that produced by GABAA agonists because it is blocked by atropine, scopolamine and yohimbine. Analgesia produced by GABA-transaminase inhibitors is similar to that produced by GABAA agonists because it can be blocked by atropine, but it is potentiated by haloperidol while THIP analgesia is not.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:GABAergic mechanisms of analgesia: an update. 303 1

Recent evidence suggests that the glutaramic acid derivative proglumide (PROG) is a selective antagonist of cholecystokinin (CCK) in the rat CNS. The extent of this selectivity has now been characterized in more detail. Iontophoretic or intravenous (i.v.) administration of PROG was ineffective against the excitatory effect of iontophoretically applied neurotensin on midbrain dopamine (DA) cells, the excitatory effect of substance P and the inhibitory effect of Met-enkephalin on prefrontal cortical neurons, and the inhibitory effect of histamine on neurons of the sensorimotor cortex. In contrast, PROG blocked the excitatory effect of the C-terminal octapeptide of CCK in all 3 areas. Furthermore, iontophoretic PROG diminished, whereas CCK enhanced the inhibitory effect of similarly applied DA and GABA on DA cells. PROG pretreatment (1 mg/kg, i.v.) reduced the inhibitory potency and maximum effect of i.v. apomorphine (APO) on A9 DA neurons, while the inhibitory potency of APO was enhanced by i.v. CCK. Pretreatment with PROG plus CCK resulted in APO effects which were no different from those after PROG alone. Chronic treatment with PROG (1 mg/kg, p.o., 21 days) resulted in a return to normal of DA cell APO sensitivity. Combined, these findings suggest that PROG may be a relatively selective CCK antagonist, that the functional effect of dendritically released DA may be influenced by endogenously released CCK, and that tolerance may develop to the effects of chronic CCK receptor blockade.
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PMID:Electrophysiological studies on the specificity of the cholecystokinin antagonist proglumide. 303 8

The striatum, the main component of the basal ganglia, is composed of mainly one type of neuron, the so-called medium spiny neuron. This neuron cell type, which constitutes over 90% of striatal neurons, is the major output neuron of the striatum. Combined ultrastructural neuroanatomical methods have elucidated the organization of afferent connectivity to these neurons. The major physiologic function of striatal efferent activity appears to be inhibition of tonically active GABAergic neurons in the globus pallidus and substantia nigra pars reticulata. Thus, the excitatory input from the cerebral cortex, whose afferents make asymmetric synapses with the spines of medium spiny neurons, appears to drive the efferent activity of the striatum. Other extrinsic and intrinsic afferent synapses are situated in a position to regulate the effect of the corticostriatal excitatory input to the medium spiny neurons. For example, dopaminergic afferents from the midbrain make mainly symmetric synapses with the spine necks and dendritic shafts of the medium spiny neurons. Medium spiny neurons themselves have local axon collaterals, in addition to their efferent axon that exits the striatum, which serve to link together local clusters of medium spiny neurons. These local axon collaterals, which contain either GABA, substance P, or enkephalin, also make mainly symmetric synapses with the necks of spines or dendritic shafts of medium spiny neurons. Other afferents with similar synaptic connections to these neurons arise from cholinergic or somatostatinergic striatal intrinsic neurons. Additionally, the patterns of extrinsic and intrinsic afferents to medium spiny neurons and their extrinsic projections are related to the organization of medium spiny neurons into two mosaically organized macroscopic compartments, the striatal patches and matrix.
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PMID:Synaptic organization of the striatum. 306 70

Immunocytochemical methods were used to localize tachykinin-like immunoreactivity within neurons of the monkey cerebral cortex. Three primary antibodies were used: polyclonal antisera raised against fragments of substance P and substance K that excluded the carboxyl termini of these peptides, and a monoclonal antibody that recognized the carboxyl terminus of the tachykinin family. Each antibody stained 2 populations of cortical nonpyramidal neurons: (1) A small number of large, intensely stained cells that give rise to long, coarsely beaded processes; (2) a relatively large number of small, lightly stained cells that are embedded in dense plexuses of stained punctate profiles. The large, dark cells are present in a superficial band that includes layers II and III, and in a deep band that includes layer VI and the subjacent white matter. The smaller, pale cells are present in the middle layers of cortex (layers IV and/or V). Colocalization studies indicate that virtually all the small tachykinin-immunoreactive neurons also display GABA immunoreactivity. The larger cells are not GABA-positive, but display both somatostatin-like and neuropeptide Y-like immunoreactivity. The immunocytochemically stained beaded processes and punctate profiles from plexuses that vary in density and laminar distribution among different areas of monkey cortex. The coarsely beaded processes form a basic quadrilaminar pattern, with relatively dense plexuses in layers I and VI and in 2 middle layers, usually III and V. However, this pattern varies considerably from area to area. Electron microscopically, the large cells contain a rich collection of cytoplasmic organelles, particularly Golgi complex, while the small cells contain relatively few organelles. Both types of cells, including large neurons in the white matter, receive symmetric and asymmetric synaptic contacts on their somata and proximal dendrites. The numbers of these axosomatic contacts are low. Virtually all synaptic contacts formed by immunoreactive terminals possess symmetric membrane thickenings. In 2 areas examined in detail (areas 2 and 4), pyramidal cell somata and dendrites are the major targets of the immunoreactive synaptic terminals.
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PMID:A study of tachykinin-immunoreactive neurons in monkey cerebral cortex. 316 46


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