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C Beyer

Publications and source records attributed to C Beyer.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Activation of dopaminergic D1 receptors promotes morphogenesis of developing striatal neurons.

The early dopaminergic input from the midbrain may play an important role in the development of the basal ganglia. We therefore investigated whether and how dopamine affects the morphogenesis of striatal target neurons. Dissociated cell cultures of embryonic day 17 rat striatum were raised for seven days. Cells were then incubated with dopamine or various receptor-specific ligands for 1 h. At various times after termination of the treatment, cells were immunostained for growth-associated protein-43. Morphological parameters including numbers of growth cones, length of neurites, number of bifurcations, and neuronal soma size were assessed by means of a computer-based morphometric device. Treatment with dopamine in low concentrations as well as with the D1-like receptor agonist SKF 38393 increased the numbers of growth cones and neurite length and arborization. The morphogenetic effect took several hours to evolve and remained stable for at least 24 h. It could be blocked by the D1-like receptor antagonist SCH 23390 or by cycloheximide but not by pretreatment of the cultures with tetrodotoxin. The D2-like receptor agonist quinpirole had no effect on the morphological parameters and did not contribute to that of SKF 38393. Dopamine and SKF 38393 but not quinpirole also induced an increase in the number of neurons immunoreactive for Fos-like proteins. However, this effect was restricted to growth-associated protein-43-negative neurons. This is the first observation of a positive regulatory effect of D1-like receptors on neuronal morphogenesis. We conclude that the changes reflect true differentiation rather than short-term modulation of cellular properties and that c-fos induction is not an obligatory step in the transduction pathway coupling D1-like receptors to neurite outgrowth. Our results suggest that the differentiation of embryonic striatal neurons is promoted by the dopaminergic nigrostriatal projection through D1-like receptors.

2,3,4,5-Tetrahydro-7,8-dihydroxy-1-phenyl-1H-3-ben↗

Regulation of sex-specific formation of oestrogen in brain development: endogenous inhibitors of aromatase.

Brain sexual differentiation occurs during the steroid-sensitive phases in early development, and is affected particularly by exposure to oestrogens formed in the brain by aromatisation of androgen. The organisational effects of oestrogen result in male-specific neuronal morphology, control of reproductive behaviour, and patterns of gonadotrophin secretion. A question which still has to be resolved is what determines changes in aromatase activity effective for the differentiation of sexually dimorphic brain development during sensitive periods of growth. In the mouse, a sex difference exists at early stages of embryonic development in aromatase-containing neurones of the hypothalamus. The embryonic aromatase system is regulated later in foetal development by androgens. Testosterone treatment increases the numbers of aromatase-immunoreactive hypothalamic neuronal cell bodies. Kinetic evidence from studies on the avian brain suggest that endogenous steroid inhibitors of aromatase, probably formed within neuroglia, also have a role in the control of oestrogen production. Inhibitory kinetic constant determination of endogenous androgenic metabolites formed in the brain showed that preoptic aromatase is potently inhibited by 5 alpha-androstanedione(K(i)=6nM) and less strongly by 5 beta-dihydrotestosterone (K(i)=350nM). Regulation by steroidal and possibly non-steroidal inhibitors may contribute to the special characteristics and plasticity in aromatase activity which develops at certain stages in ontogeny.

Androgens↗

Estradiol, progesterone, and prolactin regulate maternal nest-building in rabbits.

Maternal nest-building in rabbits, expressed across the last third of pregnancy, consists of: digging a burrow, collecting straw and shaping it into a nest inside the burrow, plucking body hair and lining the straw nest with it. The sequential expression of these activities is correlated with specific changes in the plasma concentration of estradiol, progesterone (P), and prolactin (PRL). To further substantiate the participation of these hormones in the control of maternal nest-building we explored in ovariectomized (ovx) New Zealand white rabbits the capacity of several combinations of such hormones to stimulate digging, straw-carrying, and hair-pulling. Does given estradiol benzoate (EB; 5 micrograms/day from days 3 to 21) plus P (2 or 10 mg/day from days 4 to 16) dug into a substrate from the fourth day of the P treatment until withdrawal of this hormone. The intensity of this effect was greater in the group treated with the high dose of P. Straw-carrying and hair-pulling occurred after P withdrawal in a dose-response way. Food intake, which declines in pregnant females shortly before parturition, decreased to the same extent in both groups of ovx EB-treated does after P withdrawal. A significant increase in PRL plasma levels was observed on day 9 in does given EB plus 2 mg P/day and at two days following P withdrawal in does given EB plus 10 mg P/day. When such ovx EB/P-treated does were given bromocriptine to block PRL release (1 or 3 mg/Kg/day, from days 11 to 21) the expression of digging was unmodified. By contrast, bromocriptine abolished the display of straw-carrying and hair-pulling, and also prevented the decline in food intake normally following P withdrawal. The addition of ovine PRL to ovx EB/P-treated does given bromocriptine reduced the expression of digging, did not restore straw-carrying or hair-pulling, and provoked a sharp decline in food intake. The possible mechanisms of interaction between PRL and steroid hormones for the regulation of specific aspects of the pregnant doe's physiology and behavior are discussed.

Animals↗

Sex differentiation of rat hippocampal GABAergic neurons.

In order to analyse mechanisms of sex differentiation of the hippocampus at the cellular level, the differentiation of hippocampal GABAergic neurons was studied in vitro. Serum-supplemented and serum-free dissociated cell cultures were raised from the hippocampus of embryonic day 17 male and female rat embryos for up to 14 days in vitro. This time period roughly corresponds to the critical phase for sex differentiation of the rat brain as determined in vivo. Serum-free cultures were treated with testosterone and/or 17 beta-oestradiol for the entire culture period. Control cultures from male donors contained twice as many GABA-immunoreactive neurons as those from female donors, while there was no sex difference in overall counts of neurons stained for microtubule-associated protein 5. Measurements of high-affinity uptake of [3H]GABA essentially confirmed this sex difference. The development of the sex difference could not be influenced by long-term treatment with androgen or oestrogen. It is concluded that sex differentiation of a specific subpopulation of hippocampal neurons may take place independently of the environment provided by gonadal steroids and in the absence of extrinsic connections with the hypothalamus or other relays of the limbic circuit.

Animals↗

Enzymatic measurement of creatine in erythrocytes.

We describe an automated enzymatic procedure for quantifying creatine in erythrocytes. In this assay, after sample clean-up, creatine kinase (CK; EC 2.7.3.2) and pyruvate kinase (EC 2.1.7.40) are used as auxiliary enzymes; lactate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27) is used in the indicator reaction. CK is also used as the starting reagent. Data obtained with the present method (y) correlated as follows with those from the comparison method (x) for creatine measurement in erythrocytes (colorimetric, diacetyl-alpha-naphthol): y = 1.017x - 27.5 (S(y/x) = 11.9, r = 0.997). Precision data were obtained by analyzing three different samples of erythrocytes nine times per day for 25 days with both methods. The total CVs determined by our method and the comparison method were respectively 3.0-4.8% (measured creatine range, 171-463 micromol/L) and 5.1-7.1% (creatine, 185-485 micromol/L). We established the reference interval (mean +/- 2SD) for creatine in erythrocytes from healthy individuals as 194-538 micromol/L for men (n = 71) and 241-677 micromol/L for women (n = 100). Using erythrocytes from patients with various hematological abnormalities and chronic renal failure, who were being treated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis or hemodialysis, we performed a clinical evaluation and obtained results in agreement with existing data on biochemical markers for the mean age of erythrocytes.

Adolescent↗

Ontogeny of aromatase messenger ribonucleic acid and aromatase activity in the rat midbrain.

Estrogen formation catalyzed by neural aromatase is crucial for the sexual differentiation of the brain. Ontogenic expression of aromatase mRNA and aromatase activity were studied in male and female rat midbrains. Aromatase mRNA was transiently expressed in both sexes showing maximum levels on postnatal day (P)2 and being absent on P20 and in adults. Developmental expression of aromatase mRNA preceded that of aromatase activity. These data demonstrate that the capacity for estrogen formation is present during a distinct phase of midbrain development. Our findings suggest an active role for estrogens in the differentiation of midbrain neurons.

Animals↗

Hypothalamic distribution of astrocytes is gender-related in Mongolian gerbils.

Hypothalamic neuroglial ontogeny was examined during neonatal development of two hormone-sensitive, sex-specific nuclei, the pars compacta of the sexually dimorphic area (SDApc) and the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the gerbil. Specific antibodies against vimentin and glial fibrillary acidic proteins (GFAP) identified neuroglia. Unbiased measures of labelled cell anatomical parameters were taken using stereomorphometric techniques. High numbers of cells in the female and male SCN immunoreacted with vimentin in neonates and GFAP in adults. Astrocytes containing vimentin or GFAP were few in number in the SDApc and surrounding areas in neonates and adults, respectively. There was a sex difference in the numerical density of both vimentin and GFAP-positive cells in the SCN. We suggest that (a) pre-astroglia are involved in gender-related organization of the SCN but not in SDApc, and (b) neuroglia have a sex-related, functional role in the mature SCN.

Aging↗

Ring A reduced progestins potently stimulate estrous behavior in rats: paradoxical effect through the progesterone receptor.

The effect of ring A reductions at C5 and C3 on the capacity of the progesterone (P) molecule to stimulate estrous behavior was studied in ovariectomized estrogen primed rats (5 micrograms estradiol benzoate, EB, 40 h before progestin administration). Dose-response curves (dose range: 0.75-200 micrograms) for the lordosis quotient (LQ), lordosis score (LS), and proceptivity were constructed for P and all its ring A reduced metabolites: 5 alpha-pregnanedione (alpha DHP), 5 beta-pregnanedione (beta DHP), 3 alpha,5 alpha-pregnanolone (3 alpha,5 alpha-Pgl), 3 alpha,5 beta-pregnanolone (3 alpha,5 beta-Pgl), 3 beta,5 alpha-pregnanolone (3 beta,5 alpha-Pgl), and 3 beta,5 beta-pregnanolone (3 beta,5 beta-Pgl). Progestins were dissolved in propylene glycol and IV injected through an indwelling jugular catheter. Tests for lordosis and proceptivity were made at 5, 30, and 120 min after progestin injection. Weak, though significant lordosis behavior was observed at 5 min following the injection of some of the progestins, particularly the pregnanolones. Maximal responses were obtained at 120 min postinjection for all progestins. Dose response curves of the LQ, LS, and proceptivity were dualistic for alpha DHP and both 3 alpha pregnanolones, smaller responses being observed with high doses. Relative potency analysis revealed that alpha DHP, 3 alpha,5 beta-Pgl, 3 beta,5 alpha-Pgl, and 3 alpha,5 alpha-Pgl were considerably more potent for eliciting lordosis than P (14, 13.7, 9, and 4-fold, respectively). The same order of relative potencies was found for both LS and proceptivity. 3 beta,5 beta-Pgl and beta DHP were only slightly more potent than P (2 and 1.5-fold, respectively). In a second study, the antiprogestin RU486 (5 mg, SC), injected 60 min before one of four selected progestins (alpha DHP, 3 alpha,5 alpha-Pgl, 3 alpha,5 beta-Pgl, and 3 beta,5 beta-Pgl), significantly inhibited their action on estrous behavior (lordosis and proceptivity) when tested at 60 and 120 min postinjection. On the other hand, RU486 failed to inhibit early lordotic responses obtained at 5 and 30 min following 3 alpha,5 alpha-Pgl and 3 alpha,5 beta-Pgl. Similarly RU486 was ineffective in inhibiting lordosis in ovariectomized rats treated only with estradiol (3 micrograms of EB/day for 7 days). Data suggest that: (i) ring A reduction of the P molecule plays an important role in the normal facilitation of estrous behavior in the rat; and (ii) ring A reduced progestins provoke this effect by acting, at least partially, through the progesterone receptor.

Animals↗

Sexual dimorphism in the developmental regulation of brain aromatase.

Steroid sex hormones have an organizational role in gender-specific brain development. Aromatase (cytochrome P450AR), converting testosterone (T) to estradiol-17 beta (E2) is a key enzyme in brain development and the regulation of aromatase determines the availability of E2 effective for neural differentiation. Gender differences in brain development and behaviour are likely to be influenced by E2 acting during sensitive periods. This differentiating action has been demonstrated in rodent and avian species, but also probably occurs in primates including humans. In rodents, E2 is formed in various hypothalamic areas of the brain during fetal and postnatal development. The question considered here is whether hypothalamic aromatase activity is gender-specific during sensitive phases of behavioural and brain development, and when these sensitive phases occur. In vitro preoptic and limbic aromatase activity has been measured in two strains of wild mice, genetically selected for behavioural aggression based on attack latency, and in the BALB/c mouse. Short attack latency males show a different developmental pattern of aromatase activity in hypothalamus and amygdala to long attack latency males. Using primary brain cell cultures of the BALB/c mouse, sex differences in hypothalamic aromatase activity during both early embryonic and later perinatal development can be demonstrated, with higher E2 formation in males. The sex dimorphism are brain region specific, since no differences between male and female are detectable in cultured cortical cells. Immunoreactive staining with a polyclonal aromatase antibody identifies a neuronal rather than an astroglial localization of the enzyme. T increases fetal brain aromatase activity and numbers of aromatase-immunoreactive hypothalamic neuronal cell bodies. T appears to influence the growth of hypothalamic neurons containing aromatase. Differentiation of sexually dimorphic brain mechanisms may involve maturation of a gender-specific network of estrogen-forming neurons which are steroid-sensitive in early development.

Age Factors↗

NaCl injections in brain induce natriuresis and blood pressure responses sensitive to ANG II AT1 receptors.

In the present study we tested the hypothesis that the natriuretic and pressor effects of intracerebroventricularly (icv) injected hypertonic saline involve a central angiotensinergic pathway. All experiments were performed in conscious Wistar rats. Bolus injections of hypertonic saline (0.19, 0.23, 0.30, and 0.60 M icv; injection volume 5 microliters) induced a concentration-dependent increase of renal sodium excretion without affecting urinary flow. The increase in renal sodium excretion after the two highest saline concentrations was accompanied by significant increases in mean arterial blood pressure (MAP). Pretreatment with the angiotensin (ANG) AT1 receptor antagonist, losartan (5 micrograms icv), reduced the natriuretic effect of 0.23 and 0.30 M saline but did not affect the natriuresis induced by 0.60 M saline. The increase in MAP after 0.30 and 0.60 M saline icv was markedly attenuated by intracerebroventricular pretreatment with losartan. Our results demonstrate the involvement of a central angiotensinergic mechanism in the natriuretic and pressor responses to hypertonic saline. In addition to the ANG II-mediated natriuresis, an additional natriuretic mechanism, independent of ANG II and associated with the saline-induced pressor effect, seems to be recruited with increasing concentrations of saline in the cerebrospinal fluid.

Angiotensin II↗

Osmotically induced natriuresis and blood pressure response involves angiotensin AT1 receptors in the subfornical organ.

OBJECTIVE: In the present study we tested the hypothesis of whether the centrally induced natriuresis and blood pressure increase after intracerebroventricular injection of hypertonic saline involves the subfornical organ, as suggested by the occurrence of osmosensitive cells as well as a high concentration of angiotensin II receptors in this brain area. METHODS: All experiments were performed in conscious Wistar rats. A chronic cannula was inserted into the lateral brain ventricle for intracerebroventricular injection and a chronic indwelling intracranial guide cannula for microinjection was placed in the subfornical organ. In addition, the rats were provided with ureter catheters for urine collection. RESULTS: Intracerebroventricular injections of hypertonic saline (0.3 mol/l; n = 7) increased renal sodium excretion from 180.0 +/- 30.0 to 279.0 +/- 34.0 mol/l/60 min (P < 0.001) accompanied by an increase in mean arterial pressure of 8.3 +/- 1.2 mmHg (P < 0.01). No change in urinary volume was observed. After injection of the specific AT1 receptor antagonist, losartan, into the subfornical organ (5 micrograms/200 nl; n = 8) the natriuresis and blood pressure response to intracerebroventricular hypertonic saline was completely abolished. Control injections of losartan into areas adjacent to the subfornical organ had no effect on the responses to hypertonic saline. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the centrally induced natriuresis and blood pressure responses to hypertonic saline are mediated by an angiotensinergic mechanism involving the subfornical organ.

Animals↗

Activation of cultured rat hypothalamic dopaminergic neurons by long-term but not short-term treatment with prolactin.

Pituitary prolactin (PRL) secretion is inhibited by hypothalamic GABAergic and dopaminergic (DAergic) systems. PRL, in turn, appears to be capable of activating these neurons, thus, providing for a negative feedback regulation. We have recently shown that cultured hypothalamic GABAergic- but not DAergic neurons respond to PRL with a rapid increase in intracellular free calcium. Here, we demonstrate that cultured hypothalamic DAergic neurons can be activated in terms of synthesis of dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) by long-term PRL treatment. Short-term PRL treatment was ineffective. It is concluded that hypothalamic DAergic neurons are indeed capable of responding to PRL. However, their response differs from that of GABAergic neurons with respect to time scale and signal transduction. We suggest that the two types of hypothalamic cells are involved in separate feedback loops that provide for tonic and rapid regulation of pituitary PRL secretion, respectively.

Animals↗

Momentary analgesia produced by copulation in female rats.

To assess possible changes in nociception during copulation in estrous rats, electric shocks that were 20% suprathreshold for eliciting vocalization in response to tail shock (STS), were applied to the tail before the initiation of copulation and, thereafter, coincident with the onset of mounting bouts by the male (Experiment 1). Females vocalized significantly less during non-intromittive mounts (M; P < 0.001), intromissions (I; P < 0.001), and ejaculation (E; P < 0.01) than before the initiation of copulation. In order to assess the importance of vaginal stimulation (VS) by penile insertion during mating, in Experiment 2 30% STS were applied 300-400 ms after the initiation of mounting to ensure that the stimuli fell within the period of penile insertion occurring during I and E. M failed to significantly inhibit vocalizations to 30% STS. By contrast, both I and E markedly inhibited vocalizations in response to STS. This effect was transitory since subjects (Ss) vocalized to nearly all 30% STS when delivered 15 s after I or E. Copulatory analgesia (CA) was abolished by the bilateral transection of the pelvic and hypogastric nerves but not by the transection of the pudendal nerve (Experiment 3). The magnitude of CA was calibrated by determining the doses of morphine sulfate (MS) required to produce similar decrements in vocalization to STS. The analgesic effects of I and E were equivalent to more than 10 mg/kg and 15 mg/kg, respectively, of MS (Experiment 4). Pelvic-hypogastric neurectomy, but not pudendal neurectomy, also significantly reduced the effect of VS on facilitating lordosis, inducing immobilization and hind leg extension, and blocking the withdrawal reflex to foot pinch (Experiment 5).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Analgesia↗

Aromatase-immunoreactivity is localised specifically in neurones in the developing mouse hypothalamus and cortex.

Local formation of oestrogens from androgens by aromatase cytochrome P-450 within brain cells is crucial for the sexual differentiation of the mammalian CNS. Aromatase activity has been detected in several brain regions of the developing rodent brain. In the present study, we used a mouse-specific, peptide-generated, polyclonal aromatase antibody to determine whether neurones and/or glial cells in the developing brain are involved in androgen aromatization and if aromatase-immunoreactive (Arom-IR) cells exhibit a sex-specific distribution and regional-specific morphological characteristics. For these experiments, gender-specific cell cultures were prepared from embryonic day 15 mouse hypothalamus and cortex. Specificity of the immunoreaction was confirmed by Western-blot analysis and by inhibition of aromatase activity using tissue homogenates from mouse ovaries and male newborn hypothalamus and from male hypothalamic cultures with known aromatase activity, respectively. Arom-IR cells were found in both hypothalamic and cortical cultures. Double-labeling experiments revealed that Arom-IR cells co-stained only for the neuronal marker MAP II, but never for glial markers. Therefore aromatase immunoreactivity is specifically neuronal. Regional differences in the morphology of Arom-IR neurones were observed between both brain regions. In hypothalamic cultures, IR-neurones represented a heterologous population of phenotypes (magnocellular, small bipolar and multipolar neurones with long processes showing varicose-like structures or without processes). Cortical Arom-IR neurones were always oval in shape with short or no IR-processes. Sexual dimorphisms in numbers of Arom-IR neurones were found in the hypothalamus with significantly higher cell numbers in male cultures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Maternal behavior in New Zealand white rabbits: quantification of somatic events, motor patterns, and steroid plasma levels.

Several parameters associated with maternal behavior were quantified under laboratory conditions in New Zealand white rabbits. Digging behavior appeared earliest (8-6 days prepartum), its decline preceding the onset of straw carrying (3-1 days prepartum). Hair pulling consummated the construction of the maternal nest. Food intake significantly decreased on days 2 and 1 prepartum. On parturition day, all females spent 300-500 s with the litter while, for the rest of lactation, nursing bouts lasted 199 +/- 7 s. Milk yield increased linearly up to lactation day 19, declining thereafter. Pup weight increased linearly throughout lactation despite the decline in milk yield. Plasma estradiol (E) levels did not significantly vary across pregnancy: 60 +/- 2 pg/ml (days 10-25) and 75 +/- 6 pg/ml (day 30). The testosterone (T) levels at these times were: 200 +/- 10 and 308 +/- 0.03 pg/ml, respectively. Testosterone significantly declined from pregnancy day 30 to lactation day 1 (202 +/- 0.02 pg/ml). Progesterone (P) levels significantly declined from pregnancy day 20 (9 +/- 1 ng/ml) onwards. Progesterone levels were negligible across lactation. Thus, mother rabbits display a sequence of motor patterns and somatic events correlated with changes in plasma levels of T and P against a background of E.

Animals↗

Perispinal progestins enhance the antinociceptive effects of muscimol in the rat.

The intrathecal (IT) injection of progesterone (PROG) or three of its ring A-reduced metabolites (5 beta,3 alpha-pregnanolone, 5 alpha,3 alpha-pregnanolone, or 5 beta,3 beta-pregnanolone) did not significantly alter any of two pain thresholds (vocalization threshold to tail shock, VTTS, or tail flick latency, TFL) in ovariectomized rats when tested in a wide range of doses (2.5-250 micrograms). When combined with a subanalgesic dose of muscimol (MUSC; 1 microgram IT), PROG and its two 3 alpha-hydroxy derivatives, but not the 3 beta, caused significant analgesia in the VTTS but not in the TFL test. No clear dose-response relationships were noted in the analgesic response to the combination of the progestins and MUSC. The present results indicate that PROG, either directly or through its ring A-reduction, can modulate nociceptive information by enhancing the action of GABA agonists on GABAA receptors.

Analgesics↗

Participation of opiatergic, GABAergic, and serotonergic systems in the expression of copulatory analgesia in male rats.

Copulation in the male rat provoked an abrupt and significant rise in the threshold to induce vocalization by electrical shock to the tail (copulatory analgesia, CA). The possible effect on CA of the intrathecal (IT) administration of receptor antagonists to neurotransmitters participating in nociception was ascertained in this study. CA was significantly reduced, though not abolished, by IT injections of either naloxone, picrotoxin, or methysergide, but not by strychnine or yohimbine. This analgesic effect was achieved without significantly altering copulatory behavior. Results suggest that both brain and spinal systems participate in the development of CA. Brain effects would be mediated by descending serotonergic fibers, although intrinsic spinal systems would involve both opiate and GABA interneurons.

Analgesia↗

Effects of sex steroids on sensory and motor spinal mechanisms.

The male copulatory pattern uses muscles in the penis for erection and penile insertion, the lower trunk for pelvic thrusting, and the sex accessory organs for seminal emission. Organization of the nuclei controlling penile muscles is achieved through cell growth, dendritic arborization, and synaptogenesis, actions dependent on androgen but not estrogen. Testosterone (T) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) but not estradiol (E2), stimulate pelvic thrusting vigor by synchronizing discharge of motoneurons innervating pelvic muscles. Pelvic thrusting rhythmicity, regulated by spinal interneurons, is produced in female rabbits by E2 or T but not by DHT. Reflex contraction of the seminal vesicles, due to penile insertion, is facilitated by androgen presumably by its effect on preganglionic neurons of the hypogastric nerve, located in the dorsal commissural nucleus.

Animals↗