Biomedical subjects

C A Altar

Publications and source records attributed to C A Altar.

84 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

PubMed1986

Striatal dopamine uptake and swim performance of the aged rat.

The striatum and olfactory tubercle of 30-month-old F344 rats contain significantly (21-24%) less dopamine compared with young adult (8-month) animals. However, rats of the two age groups show identical Km and Vmax values for the kinetics of [3H]dopamine uptake into striatal homogenates; uptake into the olfactory tubercle also appeared unaffected in old age. The preservation of dopamine uptake despite reductions in content of the transmitter suggests that the forebrain dopaminergic nerve terminals are intact, but that reduced dopamine synthesis and/or enhanced degradation may occur in the existing terminals. Administration to senescent animals of the dopamine uptake blockers nomifensine or bupropion (but not the norepinephrine uptake blocker desmethylimipramine) improved their swim performance to levels comparable with young adult animals. The findings suggest that amine reuptake may limit the synaptic effectiveness of dopamine released in the aged striatum.

Aging↗

PubMed1986

125I-LSD autoradiography confirms the preferential localization of caudate-putamen S2 receptors to the caudal (peripallidal) region.

The in vitro binding of 125I-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) to horizontal sections of rat brain was quantified with computer-assisted autoradiography. Specific binding of 125I-LSD to D2 and S2 sites, defined with 5 microM (+)-butaclamol, was 65-94% of the total binding. Identification of S2 sites with 50 nM ketanserin showed that over 90% of the butaclamol-displaced 125I-LSD binding in the frontal, cingulate and parietal neocortex was to S2 sites (22-55 fmol/mg protein). 125I-LSD also labeled a dense population of S2 sites (16 fmol/mg protein) in the caudal caudate-putamen at the level of the globus pallidus which exceeded by 5-fold the concentration of S2 sites (3 fmol/mg protein) in more rostral portions of the caudate-putamen. The peripallidal distribution of S2 sites was identical to that observed previously with the less selective S2 label, [3H]spiperone. The dense concentration of S2 sites in the caudal caudate-putamen and their overlap with D2 binding sites indicates that the peripallidal neostriatum may play an important role in interactions between dopamine and serotonin.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Autoradiographic localization and pharmacology of unique [3H]tryptamine binding sites in rat brain.

The distribution and pharmacological specificity of [3H]tryptamine binding to coronal and horizontal sections of the rat brain were investigated with computer-assisted autoradiography. [3H]Tryptamine bound to brain regions with up to 58% specificity, as determined with 10 microM tryptamine as a displacer. The capacity (Bmax) of saturable [3H]tryptamine binding sites was greatest in the nucleus accumbens and claustrum (660-760 fmol mg protein-1), with intermediate binding site concentrations in hippocampus, septum, olfactory tubercle, frontal cortex, cingulate cortex and caudate-putamen. The phenylalkylamine, p-methoxyphenylpropylamine and the beta-carboline, harmaline, as well as 5-methyl-tryptamine, displaced [3H]tryptamine from each of these brain regions with a potency that approximated the 5-9 nM affinity (Kd) of [3H]tryptamine binding to each site. Only micromolar concentrations of serotonin displaced [3H]tryptamine, which did not bind to S1, S2, D1, D2 or alpha- or beta-adrenergic sites. The unique pharmacology and the regional overlap of [3H]tryptamine binding sites with dopaminergic nerve terminals in the nucleus accumbens and caudate-putamen suggest that tryptamine-containing neurons in the mammalian brain may modulate behavioral functions such as locomotion.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Typical and atypical antipsychotic occupancy of D2 and S2 receptors: an autoradiographic analysis in rat brain.

In thin sections of rat brain, [3H]spiperone binds to D2 sites in the basal ganglia (caudate-putamen, nucleus accumbens, olfactory tubercle) and S2 sites in the claustrum and motor cortex. The in vitro displacement of [3H]spiperone from these regions was quantified autoradiographically with the "atypical" neuroleptics clozapine and thioridazine, which ameliorate psychosis, a "typical" neuroleptic, haloperidol, which also induces extrapyramidal side effects, or with metoclopramide, which induces extrapyramidal side effects but is an ineffective antipsychotic. Whereas metoclopramide was equipotent at D2 sites, haloperidol was less potent and clozapine and thioridazine more potent by 2- to 3-fold at competing for D2 sites in the nucleus accumbens or olfactory tubercle than in the caudate-putamen. As measured autoradiographically or with tissue homogenates, clozapine, thioridazine, and five other atypical neuroleptics were 4- to 800-times more potent at competing for S2 sites in the frontal cortex than for D2 sites in the basal ganglia. A preference of atypical antipsychotics for D2 receptors in the nucleus accumbens and olfactory tubercle and for the S2 receptor may explain the relative lack of extrapyramidal side effects produced by these compounds.

Animals↗

PubMed1985

Brain dopamine and serotonin receptor sites revealed by digital subtraction autoradiography.

Autoradiography combined with image analysis permitted quantitative visualization of dopamine (D2) and serotonin (S2) binding sites in rat brain. Forebrain sections were incubated with tritiated spiroperidol alone or with tritiated spiroperidol plus unlabeled compounds that saturated the D2 or S2 sites. By subtracting the digitized image of an autoradiograph derived from the latter sections from that of the former, the D2 or S2 sites were specifically revealed. The resulting quantitative images demonstrate the differing anatomical distributions of these sites. The D2 site is largely restricted to the striatal complex (caudate-putamen, nucleus accumbens septi, and olfactory tubercle), whereas the S2 site is enriched in layer 5 of motor cortex, the perirhinal and cingulate cortices, and the claustrum.

Animals↗

PubMed1985

Computer imaging and analysis of dopamine (D2) and serotonin (S2) binding sites in rat basal ganglia or neocortex labeled by [3H]spiroperidol.

The equilibrium properties, pharmacological specificity and regional distribution of serotonin (S2) and dopamine (D2) binding sites in coronal or horizontal rat brain sections labeled by [3H] spiroperidol were investigated by computer analysis of digitized autoradiographs. Domperidone or (+)-butaclamol displaced [3H] spiroperidol from the anterior caudate-putamen, nucleus accumbens, olfactory tubercle, claustrum, layer 5A of motor cortex and layer 1 of the anterior cingulate cortex (IC50 = 2-80 nM). Equilibrium saturation analysis of the (+)-butaclamol-displaced binding of [3H]spiroperidol revealed higher binding affinities in the anterior caudate-putamen, nucleus accumbens and olfactory tubercle (Kd = 0.16-0.32 nM) than in the claustrum or layer 5A of motor cortex (Kd = 1.5-1.9 nM). The [3H]spiroperidol binding displaced by (+)-butaclamol was resolved into a dopaminergic (D2) component, displaced by 100 microM 2-amino-6,7-dihydroxytetrahydronapthalene or 10 microM (-)-sulpiride and a serotonergic (S2) component, displaced by 40 nM ketanserin or 100 nM methysergide. Methysergide or ketanserin displaced [3H]spiroperidol only from the caudal (peripallidal) caudate-putamen, claustrum or layer 5A of motor cortex (IC50 = 2-14 nM), whereas the D2 agonist 2-amino-6,7-dihydroxytetrahydronapthalene displaced [3H]spiroperidol from the caudate-putamen but not from cortex. The competition curve for 2-amino-6,7-dihydroxytetrahydronapthalene displacement of [3H]spiroperidol binding to D2 sites in the caudate-putamen was markedly biphasic and shifted to the right by the GTP analog, guanylimidodiphosphate. The D2 antagonist (+/-)- or (-)-sulpiride also displaced [3H]spiroperidol from the nucleus accumbens and olfactory tubercle as well as from the caudate-putamen (IC50 values = 0.14 microM). In contrast, the butyrophenone derivative, spirodecanone, displaced with equal potency all [3H]spiroperidol from each of the six brain regions. Neither the alpha-1 receptor ligand prazosin nor the excitatory amino acid receptor ligands l-aspartate, l-glutamate or dl-homocysteic acid displaced [3H]spiroperidol from any brain area. A 5-fold rostral-to-caudal gradient of decreasing S2 concentration was observed in neocortical layer 1 of horizontal sections. In the caudate-putamen, D2 density decreased by 30% rostrocaudally, whereas S2 sites were located mostly in the peripallidal caudate-putamen. The rostral-to-caudal gradients of D2 or S2 sites in the caudate-putamen correspond remarkably well with previously reported caudate-putamen concentration gradients for dopamine or serotonin, respectively.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Quantitative analysis of [3H]spiroperidol binding to rat forebrain sections: plasticity of neostriatal dopamine receptors after nigrostriatal injury.

The binding of [3H]spiroperidol to rat coronal sections in vitro was investigated using two procedures: swabbing studies, in which the tissue sections are wiped from the microscope slides after incubation in the presence of [3H]spiroperidol, and autoradiographic studies, in which the autoradiographic negatives are analyzed using computer-assisted densitometry. In the swabbing studies, the pharmacological and kinetic properties of butaclamol-displaceable binding were investigated, and the following results suggest that [3H]spiroperidol binds specifically to only a single site within the basal forebrain of tissue sections and that the site is the dopamine D-2 receptor. The pseudo-first order and first order plots for the rate of association to and dissociation from tissue sections appeared to be linear. Dopamine antagonists, such as haloperidol and butaclamol, were much more effective than dopamine agonists or the serotonin S-2 ligand, ketanserin, in inhibiting [3H]spiroperidol binding. The ability of dopamine agonists to inhibit [3H]spiroperidol binding was markedly reduced by the guanine nucleotide, Gpp(NH)p. Saturation analysis of specific [3H]spiroperidol binding revealed a Kd and Bmax of 0.93 nM and 447 fmol/mg protein, and a Hill coefficient of 1.05. The findings are also compatible with the possibility that [3H]spiroperidol binds to several sites that have identical affinities for this ligand. Densitometric studies were used to assess the effect of lesions on [3H]spiroperidol binding in the neostriatum. Intrastriatal injection of kainic acid substantially reduced 1 microM (+)--butaclamol-displaceable binding, indicating that the receptors are in large part on intrinsic striatal neurons. Neostriatal [3H]spiroperidol binding was investigated 7 days after destruction of the mesotelencephalic dopamine system by the ventral tegmental injection of 6-hydroxydopamine. As determined by saturation analysis, the average values for Kd and Bmax were 0.66 nM and 1212 fmol/mg protein in the intact striatum, and 0.82 nM and 1504 fmol/mg in the denervated striatum. The finding of a significant 23.8% increase in receptor density by the end of the first postoperative week, a period during which behavioral supersensitivity to apomorphine increases rapidly, supports the hypothesis that a proliferation of D-2 receptors underlies the behavioral manifestations of denervation supersensitivity.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Sensorimotor impairment and elevated levels of dopamine metabolites in the neostriatum occur rapidly after intranigral injection of 6-hydroxydopamine or gamma-hydroxybutyrate in awake rats.

The unilateral injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (8 micrograms) into the ventral tegmental area of awake rats produced a rapidly developing and irreversible sensory neglect to contralateral tactile stimuli. This neglect developed in a caudal to rostral direction on the affected body surface and coincided with significant elevation in the concentrations of dopamine and two of its metabolites, dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA) in the ipsilateral neostriatum. The unilateral injection of procaine or gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) into the substantia nigra of awake animals also produced a contralateral neglect that developed in a caudal to rostral direction, but the behavioral effect of these drugs diminished within 1 hr. Concentrations of dopamine, dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid in the neostriatum were markedly elevated during continuous infusions of procaine or gamma-hydroxybutyric acid. The extent of sensory neglect and changes in dopamine metabolism in the neostriatum varied according to the amount of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid injected into the nigra and according to the proximity of injections of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid to the pars compacta. The rapid onset of sensory neglect following microinjections of 6-hydroxydopamine, procaine or gamma-hydroxybutyric acid is consistent with the ability of each of these drugs to block the conduction of impulses in mesostriatal neurons and suggests that concomitant increases in levels of dopamine, dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid in the neostriatum resulted from decreases in the release of dopamine coupled with increased synthesis of dopamine. These findings also indicate that the catabolism of dopamine to dihydroxyphenylacetic acid or homovanillic acid may originate intraneuronally, without prior release of dopamine and its recapture by mesostriatal terminals, if the flow of impulses in this pathway has been blocked.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗

PubMed1984

An easily constructed and inexpensive three-layer cassette for tritium-sensitive film autoradiography.

This report describes the design, construction, and use of a three-layer photographic cassette that is suitable for tritium-sensitive film autoradiography. The cassette can be produced easily and at a fraction of the cost of commercially available cassettes. The three-tiered design allows for the simultaneous exposure of 108 standard-sized glass microscope slides to three 20 X 34 cm pieces of 3H-Ultrofilm (LKB). The small between- or within-film variation of gray values recorded for either background, tritium-containing standards, or neighboring brain sections labeled with 3H-spiroperidol demonstrates the reliability of the cassette for autoradiographic quantification of tritium label.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Computer-assisted video analysis of [3H]spiroperidol binding autoradiographs.

A computer-based video image processing system is described that quantifies the binding of the neuroleptic drug, [3H]spiroperidol, to rat forebrain sections. Adjacent sections were incubated in buffer containing [3H]spiroperidol or [3H]spiroperidol plus 1 microM (+)-butaclamol and exposed to tritium-sensitive film to produce autoradiographs of total binding or non-butaclamol-displaced ('non-specific') binding. The image processing system digitized each autoradiograph, attenuated geometric distortion and unevenness of background illumination, and reassigned the digitized image intensities (gray values) to be a linear function of fmol [3H]spiroperidol bound per mg protein by using a calibration curve generated from 3H-containing tissue standards. An image of butaclamol-displaced ('specific') [3H]spiroperidol binding was produced by subtracting the linearized image of non-specific binding from the superimposed image of total binding. An image of percent specific [3H]spiroperidol binding was obtained by dividing the image of specific binding by the superimposed image of total binding. The computer-derived images, which could be displayed in gray tones or pseudocolor-coded, revealed that the greatest amounts of specific [3H]spiroperidol binding (1000-3000 fmol/mg protein; 60-80% specifically bound) were located in layers 5A and 5C of the neocortex, the claustrum, and in the caudate-putamen, where a lateral-to-medial binding gradient occurred. [3H]Spiroperidol was bound to a lesser extent (400-1000 fmol/mg protein; 31-51% specifically bound) to the medial nucleus accumbens septi or olfactory tubercle and without measurable specificity to the lateral septum, anterior commissure, corpus callosum, or superficial neocortex. These procedures are particularly useful for the quantitative and visual analysis of autoradiographs in which [3H]ligand binding is associated with more than a single site.

Animals↗

PubMed1983

Glucocorticoid induction of tryptophan oxygenase. Attenuation by intragastrically administered carbohydrates and metabolites.

In vivo tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TPO) activity in male rats was estimated from the rate of production of 14CO2 after intragastric administration of [14C-2]tryptophan. The synthetic glucocorticoids hydrocortisone-21-sodium succinate or Triamcinolone acetonide were injected to elevate hepatic TPO activity on an acute (1-6 hr) or chronic (24 hr) basis. Glucose, fructose, or glycerol was intragastrically intubated in doses ranging from 4 to 16 mmoles to assess their abilities to attenuate acute or chronic increases of TPO activity by these glucocorticoids. Hydrocortisone-21-sodium succinate at doses of 0, 25, and 50 mg/kg produced dose-dependent elevations of TPO. A 50 mg/kg dose produced a 3-fold elevation of enzyme activity when measured in vitro as product produced by liver homogenates and a 2-fold elevation when assessed from expired radioactive carbon dioxide from radiolabeled tryptophan in vivo. Enzyme activity measured by 14CO2 production reached peak values in 2-3 hr and returned to baseline in 5 hr. Glucose, fructose or glycerol completely prevented the rise in conversion of [14C-2]tryptophan produced by hydrocortisone hemisuccinate when administered at doses of 12 or 16 mmoles 0.5 hr before the steroid. Lower doses had less effect. The potencies of the compounds in inhibiting acute increases in TPO activity produced by hydrocortisone hemisuccinate were in the order glycerol greater than fructose greater than glucose. Chronic Triamcinolone treatment elevated in vivo TPO activity by 2.5-fold and in vitro TPO activity by 5-fold. The chronic elevation of in vivo TPO by Triamcinolone could be arrested within 1 hr by an intragastric fructose load. The present finding, that acute or chronic glucocorticoid-induced increases in in vivo TPO activity were rapidly blocked by intragastric carbohydrate loads, is consistent with the view that dietary carbohydrates modulate hepatic TPO activity via feedback repression and not by a cessation of TPO enzyme synthesis.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cell-mediated delivery of brain-derived neurotrophic factor enhances dopamine levels in an MPP+ rat model of substantia nigra degeneration.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) promotes the survival of fetal mesencephalic dopaminergic cells and protects dopaminergic neurons against the toxicity of MPP+ in vitro. Supranigral implantation of fibroblasts genetically engineered to secrete BDNF attenuates the loss of substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) dopaminergic neurons associated with striatal infusion of MPP+ in the adult rat. Using this MPP+ rat model of nigral degeneration, we evaluated the neurochemical effects of supranigral, cell-mediated delivery of BDNF on substantia nigra (SN) dopamine (DA) content and turnover. Genetically engineered BDNF-secreting fibroblasts (approximately 12 ng BDNF/24 h) were implanted dorsal to the SN 7 days prior to striatal MPP+ administration. The present results demonstrate that BDNF-secreting fibroblasts, as compared to control fibroblasts, enhance SN DA levels ipsilateral as well as contralateral to the graft without altering DA turnover. This augmentation of DA levels suggests that local neurotrophic factor delivery by genetically engineered cells may provide a therapeutic strategy for preventing neuronal death or enhancing neuronal function in neurodegenerative diseases characterized by dopaminergic neuronal dysfunction, such as Parkinson's disease.

1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium↗