Kinetics of d-tubocurarine disposition and pharmacologic response in rats

After bolus intravenous dosing of d-tubocurarine (d-TC) to rats, the twitch heights of the tibialis anterior muscle indirectly stimulated were followed, and its decrease was defined as pharmacologic response of d-TC. The relation between dose and response intensity was found to be well described with Hill's equation. According to a theory proposed by Smolen, Hill's equation was also applicable to the biophase d-TC concentration-response relation; the time courses of the relative biophase d-TC concentration indicated linear kinetics with dose levels 0.15 mg/kg and the occurrence of dose-dependent disposition with 0.30 mg/kg. After bolus i.v. dosing of³H-d-TC, plasma d-TC concentration obeyed a dose-independent two compartment model with doses 0.15mg/kg, but not with 0.30 mg/kg. This finding matched the above estimated with pharmacologic data. The active metabolite was not found in plasma and urine. The extent of d-TC plasma protein binding was independent of the wide range of plasma levels and its mean (±SD) value was 30.5 (±3.8). Plasma d-TC levels and pharmacologie response intensity were well correlated by Hill's equation and a three compartment model (the general two and the biophase compartments) in the dose range 0.15 mg/kg.This work was presented at the First Japanese-American Symposium on Pharmacokinetics and Biopharmaceutics, Tokyo, July 1981, which was held in memory of Dr. Sidney Riegelman.     

Propranolol and atenolol inhibit norepinephrine spillover rate into plasma in conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats

Summary Radiotracer techniques capable of measuring norepinephrine clearance and spillover rate into plasma were used to test the hypothesis that the antihypertensive effects of propranolol and atenolol in conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats are associated with an inhibition of norepinephrine release from postganglionic sympathetic neurons. The 10%–15% fall in mean arterial pressure produced over 4 h by propranolol (1, 3.3 and 10 mg/kg, s. c.) and atenolol (1, 3.3 and 10 mg/kg, s. c.) was not dose-related, and only the largest dose of propranolol caused a significant bradycardia. Each dose of atenolol significantly lowered heart rate. The decrease in blood pressure caused by propranolol and atenolol was not related to the decrease in heart rate. Both propranolol and atenolol inhibited norepinephrine clearance by 12% to 16%. The 1 mg/kg doses of propranolol and atenolol significantly suppressed norepinephrine spillover rate by 21 % and 32%, respectively, at 4 h postinjection. As the dose of propranolol was increased, the inhibition of norepinephrine spillover was reversed as plasma epinephrine concentration rose by 125%. The suppression of norepinephrine spillover rate caused by atenolol was more persistent but did diminish after the 10 mg/kg dose, when plasma epinephrine concentration was elevated by 55%. Both drugs suppressed plasma renin concentration, but the inhibition of norepinephrine spillover rate by propranolol and atenolol was not related to the fall in plasma renin concentration. By comparison, treatment with the adrenergic neuron blocking agent bretylium (5, 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg, s. c.) elicited a dose-related vasodepression with no change in heart rate or plasma renin concentration. The 10 mg/kg dose of bretylium inhibited norepinephrine spillover rate by 40%, but increasing the dose did not produce a further suppression of norepinephrine spillover rate. Bretylium caused a dose-related elevation of plasma epinephrine concentration (354% increase at 40 mg/kg). In a separate study, propranolol (10 mg/kg) and bretylium (40 mg/kg) significantly increased epinephrine spillover rate by 85% and 118%, respectively. Based on these data, we conclude that the -adrenoceptor antagonists lower blood pressure by inhibiting norepinephrine release from postganglionic sympathetic neurons. Send offprint requests to T. K. Keeton at the above address     

Bilateral knife cuts to the perforant path disrupt spatial learning in the Morris water maze.

Both the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex are known to be crucial for spatial learning, but the contribution of the pathway linking the two structures, the perforant path (PP), has never been tested in a spatial learning paradigm. The present study examined the role of the PP in spatial learning using the Morris water maze. Seven days after bilateral transection of the PP with a fine-bladed knife, rats were habituated to the pool, then trained to swim from varying start locations to a platform submerged in a fixed location. After 28 training trials over 5 days, probe trials (without any platform present) were given to assess spatial memory for the location. Compared to sham-operated controls, lesioned rats showed slower learning and poorer asymptotic performance in terms of both swim path distance and escape latency, and less preference for the correct quadrant during probe trials. When the platform location was "reversed" to the opposite quadrant, the lesioned rats again showed poorer learning, poorer asymptotic performance, and reduced preference for the correct quadrant on the probe trial. When tested with a visible platform whose position varied from trial to trial, lesioned rats performed as well as controls. These results are congruent with previous analyses of the contributions of the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus to spatial learning and suggest that for spatial learning, the PP is a critical functional link between these two structures.     

Calbindin-D28K (CaBP28k)-like Immunoreactivity in Ascending Projections

This study concerns the involvement of calbindin-D28K (CaBP28k)-containing neurons in ascending spinal projections to the brainstem (nucleus of the solitary tract, lateral reticular nucleus area), pontine (parabrachial area) and mesencephalic (periaqueductal grey) structures. All these central structures are important in the processing of visceroception and visceronociception and all are targets for spinal efferents from similar areas. CaBP28k controls the excitability of cells by acting on intrinsic calcium metabolism. Results refer to the caudal spinal areas where the visceroceptive regions are concentrated. Experiments were performed through a double labelling approach that combined the retrograde transport of a protein - gold complex to identify the projection cells and immunohistochemistry to identify the CaBP28k-positive cells. The caudal spinal cord is rich in both CaBP28k-containing and projection cells. Cells colocalizing the protein and the retrograde tracer were quite numerous, with a particularly high concentration in the superficial layers of the dorsal horn (laminae I and outer II) and the lateral spinal nucleus. The other spinal areas containing immunoreactive projection cells were the reticular part of the neck of the dorsal horn, the medial laminae VII and VIII, lamina X and the sacral parasympathetic nucleus. The superficial layers and the neck of the dorsal horn are targets for nociceptive, visceroceptive and thermal inputs; the sacral parasympathetic column and lamina X are involved in visceroceptive integration. A functional role for the lateral spinal nucleus has not yet been established. Quite similar results were obtained for each of the ascending pathways under study. The high incidence of CaBP28k in spinal pathways suggests that calbindin has a major role in controlling the excitability of spinal cells subserving the processing of visceroception and/or visceronociception information to supraspinal levels. The participation of CaBP28k-immunoreactive cells in spinal ascending tract cells largely outnumbers those previously reported for various neuropeptides (Leah et al., Neuroscience, 24, 195 - 207, 1988)     

Somatic responses of ventrobasal thalamic neurones in polyarthritic rats

Rats rendered polyarthritic by injection ofMycobacterium butyricum into the tail were used as a model for the study of ‘chronic pain’.In such rats unitary responses of ventrobasal thalamic neurons to somatic stimulations were dramatically modified by comparison to those described in normal rats investigated in the same anaesthetic conditions.

(1) Only the neurons with receptive fields located on inflamed areas (168/194 in 33 rats) have been considered in this study. 27/168 activated only by brushing displayed the classical properties of lemniscal responses; only 20/168 were activated exclusively by intense cutaneous stimuli and 13/168 already activated by light cutaneous stimuli had enhanced discharges when the stimulus intensity was increased. By contrast numerous units (108/168) were excited by mild stimulations applied to the joints or to adjacent cutaneous areas (82 were driven by joint movement and/or mild lateral pressure on the articulation, 26 by brushing the overlapping skin); these responses presented atypical characteristics and displayed unusual patterns with very long afterdischarges of duration several times that of the stimulus.

(2) In 20 additional arthritic rats, responses to transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TES) and/or to noxious heat, were obtained for 34 neurones responding to joint stimuli.

(a) 16 of 18 neurones tested with transcutaneous electrical stimulation had latencies of 25–100 ms, and thresholds of 1–4 mA (width of shock 2 ms). (b) Neurones activated by joint stimuli frequently responded to noxious heat (radiant or waterbath). Initially, their response thresholds tested in 16 neurones were higher by about 4°C than those of ‘noxious’ VB neurones in normal rats; however, following sensitization to heat, thresholds were decreased by 4°C. For 8 neurones there was a linear relation between stimulus intensity and responses.

(3) Several different factors which could explain the important modifications of neuronal responses in VB complex of arthritic rats by comparison with normal are proposed in the discussion.

Evolution of changes in neuronal activity in the subthalamic nucleus of rats with unilateral lesion of the substantia nigra assessed by metabolic and electrophysiological measurements

Cellular expression of cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) mRNA has recently been used as a metabolic marker for neuronal activity to study the functional changes in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in parkinsonism. The previous experimental studies have been performed when the pathological state was stabilized at a maximal level. In order to determine the evolution of changes in neuronal activity in the STN after nigrostriatal denervation, we analysed by in situ hybridization the cellular expression of COI mRNA in the subthalamic neurons at different times, from 6 h to 14 days, after unilateral intranigral microinjection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) in rats. In parallel, the time-dependent changes of the unit neuronal activity of subthalamic neurons have been recorded. Levels of COI mRNA increased by 41% in subthalamic neurons from 24 h after 6-OHDA intoxication, to 14 days (+26%). Similarly, electrical activity started to increase slightly 24 h after lesion (+20%) and remained significantly higher at 14 days after the lesion (+189%). Changes in neuronal mean discharge rate were associated with changes in the pattern of spiking activity, from a regular firing pattern to an irregular one with a high bursting activity. These results show that: (i) the hyperactivity of the STN represents a very early phenomenon in the physiopathology of parkinsonian syndromes; and (ii) that changes in COI mRNA expression slightly precede changes in electrical neuronal activity.     

褐藻酸性寡糖对帕金森病大鼠纹状体、杏仁核多巴胺释放的影响

采用快速周期伏安法(FCV),在以6-羟基多巴胺(6-OHDA)制备的帕金森病(PD)模型大鼠上检测褐藻酸性寡糖HSH971对纹状体(Str)、杏仁核(Amy)多巴胺(DA)释放的影响。结果显示,腹腔注射HSH971 5mg·kg·d~(-1),7d能明显提高PD大鼠损毁侧Str、Amy的DA释放量,而对其健侧无影响。     

去窦弓神经大鼠的心血管及肾脏的形态学改变(英文)

目的　研究去窦弓神经 (SAD)对正常血压大鼠的血流动力学及心、肾、血管等器官病理形态学的影响。方法　采用SD大鼠施行SAD手术 ,术后 18周行股动脉插管 ,在清醒、自由活动状态下计算机实时记录 2 4h动脉收缩压、舒张压和心率 ,并计算血压波动性 (BPV)和心率波动性 (HRV)。处死动物后 ,取心、脑、肾及脾观察大体及光学显微镜下结构变化。结果　SAD术后 18周 ,SAD大鼠的血压和心率水平与假手术组相比无显著差异 ,但 2 4hBPV明显高于假手术组 ,HRV明显低于假手术组 ;大鼠心、肾及血管有明显的类似于高血压靶器官损伤的病理改变。结论　SAD可使大鼠的心、肾和血管发生类似于高血压靶器官损伤的病理改变。     

草苁蓉提取物对大鼠肝癌前病变模型血清抗氧化酶活性及肿瘤坏死因子的影响

目的 :探讨草苁蓉甲醇提取后进一步分离的水层提取物在大鼠肝脏化学致癌初期对血清抗氧化酶活性和肿瘤坏死因子的影响 ,从而进一步探索其抗致癌作用的可能机制。方法 :按略改良的 Solt- Farber方法建立大鼠肝脏癌前病变模型 ,用草苁蓉提取物 (BR)饲养大鼠 6周后 ,取血测定超氧化物歧化酶 (SOD)、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(GSH - PX)、谷胱甘肽 - S-转移酶 (GST)、过氧化氢酶 (CAT)的活性和血清中的丙二醛 (MDA )及肿瘤坏死因子(TNF-α)含量。结果 :草苁蓉提取物在大鼠肝脏化学致癌初期对血清 SOD、GSH - PX、CAT的活性及 TNF-α含量有回升作用 ,并能降低由于癌前病变的形成所增高的 GST活性及 MDA含量。结论 :草苁蓉水层提取物具有抗氧化作用和调节机体免疫功能的作用 ,而这可能是草苁蓉的抗致癌机制之一     

木犀草素对博莱霉素引起的大鼠肺纤维化模型的治疗作用

目的:研究木犀草素对大鼠肺纤维化的治疗作用。方法:观察不同剂量的木犀草素对博莱霉素诱导的大鼠肺纤维化肺组织的肺重量指数、丙二醛(MDA)、羟脯氨酸(HYP)含量及组织学变化的影响。结果:木犀草素在20,40和80mg·kg~(-1)剂量下连续灌胃给药21d,对模型大鼠的上述指标有不同程度的抑制作用,对其组织形态也有明显改善,且呈剂量效应关系。结论:木犀草素对大鼠肺纤维化模型具有较好的治疗效果。