Ethanol- and acetaldehyde-metabolizing system of rat liver during development of tolerance to ethanol

Institute of Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Belorussian SSR, Grodno. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR A. V. Val'dman.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 109, No. 2, pp. 161–162, February, 1990.     

Functional activity of the venous system during hypertension development in rats

Problem Research Laboratory for Clinical Nephrology, Academician I. P. Pavlov First Leningrad Medical Institute. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR B.I. Tkachenko.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 111, No. 5, pp. 466–469, May, 1991.     

Effects of saltwort plants on blood plasma lipids in rats during chronic alcohol intoxication and after ethanol withdrawal

Saltwort plants (salsocollin) ameliorated plasma contents of total lipids, triacylglycerols, and phosphatidylcholine in rats with alcohol intoxication, but had no effect on cholesterol and total phospholipid levels. Salsocollin did not prevent the increase in the levels of total lipids and triacylglycerols 3 days after ethanol withdrawal. During abstinence, salsocollin potentiated symptoms of ethanol withdrawal (7 days later) in relation to the content of total phospholipids, but normalized the levels of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and total lipids. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 127, No. 6, pp. 665–667, June, 1999     

The functional development of the reticulo-endothelial system: III. The bactericidal capacity of fixed macrophages of foetal and neonatal chicks and rats

The bactericidal capacity of the fixed macrophages of foetal and neonatal rats and chicks was investigated. It has been shown that as a population the phagocytic cells of these embryos lack a bactericidal mechanism for certain strains of Gram-negative bacteria, even in the presence of specific antibody. Neonates, however, were shown to have developed such a mechanism soon after birth. The implication of these findings is discussed in relation to antibody formation.     

Kinin formation in the plasma and cerebral blood flow under conditions of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion in rats during modulation of kinin system activity

Suppression of kininogenesis is an adaptive phenomenon in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion in rats aimed at elimination of the no-reflow phenomenon. Hyperkininogenesis and suppression of kinin destruction are pathogenetically significant, because they augment the manifestations of no-reflow phenomenon during reperfusion following ischemia. __________ Translated from Byulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 146, No. 7, pp. 30–32, July, 2008     

Exposure to ethanol during pregnancy in mice: potential importance of dose for the development of tolerance in offspring

CD-1 albino mice were given Portagen-10 percent ethanol (ETOH) or isocaloric Portagen-sucrose during pregnancy to determine if tolerance developed in utero and to describe the temporal pattern of its decline postnatally. ETOH mothers did not significantly increase their consumption of ETOH but gained in body weight during pregnancy, showed no signs in the open field of withdrawal from ETOH shortly after delivery and showed less pup-caring behavior than pair-fed controls (PFC). Among offspring 1, 3, 10, 25 and 60 days old, only 25-day old ETOH pups metabolized and cleared an anesthetic dose of ETOH more efficiently than PFC animals, suggesting the absence of Dispositional Tolerance in the other animals. PFC offspring 10 days old took significantly longer to lose the righting reflex than their ETOH counterparts following the anesthetic dose of ETOH, the difference being opposite that which would suggest the occurrence of Adaptive Tolerance. Data are discussed primarily in terms of decreases in dose of ETOH to which mothers and fetuses were exposed during pregnancy.     

The functional development of the reticulo-endothelial system: II. The histology of blood clearance by the fixed macrophages of foetal rats

A histological study has been made of the distribution of particles injected intravenously into foetal rats. It was shown that the organ distribution was similar to that observed in adult rats and that the particles removed from the circulating blood were to be found inside the fixed macrophages.     

The effect of repeated withdrawal episodes on acquisition and loss of tolerance to ethanol in ethanol-treated rats

Male rats were administered ethanol via an intragastric catheter (8.0-12.0 g/kg/day) either continuously for 8 weeks or on a binge schedule with four 2 week cycles of drug administration separated from each successive cycle by a 2 week period of no drug treatment. Older rats were administered ethanol for 2 weeks, to provide an age control for the binge-treated animals as age can alter an animal's sensitivity to ethanol. Acquisition and loss of tolerance to ethanol-induced motor impairment were measured on a dowel task while acquisition and loss of tolerance to ethanol-induced hypothermia were assessed by measuring rectal temperature. Acceleration of tolerance development to both ethanol-induced motor impairment and hypothermia was observed in animals subjected to repeated withdrawal episodes (binge-Study 1) but not in the controls for total dose and duration of drug treatment who experienced withdrawal only once (continuous-Study 2). Persistence of tolerance to ethanol-induced motor impairment occurred in both binge and continuously treated animals while persistence of tolerance to ethanol-induced hypothermia was seen only in the binge treated animals. Age (3 to 7 months) did not affect tolerance development or decay. After three cycles of drug treatment (three withdrawal episodes), binge treated animals showed an impairment in motor ability when blood ethanol levels were near zero. This impairment disappeared when the animals were administered ethanol, indicating a normalizing effect of ethanol on motor behavior in animals subjected to repeated episodes of withdrawal. A similar, but not significant, effect was seen in continuously treated animals. Thus, in an animal exposed to prolonged ethanol treatment, persistent changes in responding to the drug were found. The persistence of these changes was enhanced by the experience of withdrawal from ethanol.     

Anti-morphine antibody contributes to the development of morphine tolerance in rats

Previous studies have shown that tolerance to the antinociceptive effect of morphine develops after a prolonged exposure, but its mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, we examined whether anti-morphine antibody produced by chronic morphine exposure would contribute to the development of morphine antinociceptive tolerance in rats. Our results showed that anti-morphine antibody was present in rats rendered tolerance to antinociception after intrathecal morphine exposure for seven consecutive days. Superfusion of anti-morphine antibody onto spinal cord slice dose-dependently produced an inward excitatory current in spinal cord dorsal horn neurons using whole-cell patch-clamp recording, which surpassed morphine-induced outward inhibiting current. Co-administration of morphine with a monoclonal antibody (2.4G₂) against Fc receptors for seven days significantly attenuated the production of anti-morphine antibody as well as the behavioral manifestation of morphine tolerance in same rats. These results indicate that anti-morphine antibody produced by morphine exposure may contribute to the development of morphine tolerance possibly through counteracting the inhibitory morphine effect on spinal cord dorsal horn neurons.     

Striatal cholinergic activity during morphine-induced catalepsy in the rat: development of tolerance

Morphine hydrochloride (10 mg/kg,i.p.) induced marked catalepsy in rats, which was associated with significantly enhanced striatal acetylcholine levels and reduced cholinesterase activity. Rapid tolerance to morphine-induced catalepsy was noted after twice daily administrations, the tolerance being discernible after the third injection and was complete after the eleventh injection. With the development of tolerance, morphine-induced effects on striatal acetylcholine and cholinesterase were progressively reversed, confirming striatal cholinergic involvement in morphine-induced catalepsy in the rat.     

Ability of exogenous alanine to lower blood beta-hydroxybutyrate during development in rats.

The intraperitoneal injection of L-alanine into 10- and 21-day-old fed Wistar rats resulted in blood alanine levels of 3-5 mM and in a rapid, significant decrease in the concentration of beta-hydroxybutyrate (betaOHB) in blood. The drop in betaOHB was unrelated to changes in the concentrations of pyruvate, lactate, or glucose. The intraperitoneal injection of glutamate at the same age had no effect on betaOHB values. In 2-day-old pups and in older weaned animals, the injection of alanine had either no effect or increased the levels of betaOHB in blood. The most rapid disappearance of exogenous alanine occurred in 35-day-old and not in 10- and 21-day-old rats. These data suggest that alanine has a depressant effect on the level of circulating betaOHB at a specific stage in the animal's maturation.