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Biomedical subjects

D W Schulz

Publications and source records attributed to D W Schulz.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

SCH23390 effects on apomorphine-induced responses of nigral dopaminergic neurons.

SCH23390 is a dopamine antagonist which has a high affinity for D1-like dopaminergic receptors. Receptor binding studies demonstrated significant levels of specific SCH23390 binding within nigral tissue. Therefore, electrophysiological experiments were conducted to determine if this antagonist influenced apomorphine-induced suppressions of unit firing recorded from dopaminergic cells of the substantia nigra zona compacta. Results presented in this report indicate that the autoreceptors located on dendrites and cell bodies of dopamine-containing neurons are not directly acted upon by SCH23390. This conclusion is drawn because: doses of SCH23390 known to block behaviors caused by dopamine agonists were ineffective in blocking rate reductions produced by apomorphine and pretreatment with 0.1 mg/kg of SCH23390 did not change the apomorphine dose-response curve for inhibition of dopaminergic neurons. Consistent with this finding, microinjections of SCH23390 into the zona compacta did not alter apomorphine-induced behaviors which are known to be blocked by haloperidol (a D2-like antagonist) intranigral injections. However, when only the larger apomorphine doses (64 and 128 micrograms/kg i.v.) are considered, SCH23390 pretreatment did attenuate the maximum response to apomorphine in some nigral cells. Because larger apomorphine concentrations alter striatal activity, such results may be reflective of alterations in a subpopulation of nigral neurons which are postsynaptic to neurons containing D1-like receptors and located elsewhere in the brain (e.g., in striatum). Collectively, these results agree with previous studies which suggest that dopamine receptors located on dopamine-containing neurons of the substantia nigra zona compacta are likely not of the D1-type.

Analysis of Variance↗

SCH23390 causes persistent antidopaminergic effects in vivo: evidence for longterm occupation of receptors.

SCH23390 has neurochemical properties characteristic of a specific D1 dopamine receptor antagonist. However, it is a potent inhibitor of dopamine-mediated behaviors which previously had been thought to be linked to D2 receptors. The metabolism of SCH23390 following parenteral administration to rats was much more rapid in the periphery than in brain, and SCH23390 had behavioral effects long after its circulating concentration had declined below detectable levels. Furthermore, the stimulation of adenylate cyclase by dopamine was attenuated in striatal homogenates taken from rats treated with SCH23390 as much as twelve hours before sacrifice. Pretreatment with cis-flupenthixol, a compound with equivalent D1 potency in vitro, failed to inhibit dopamine-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity one or four hours following injection, despite the fact that this dose produced significant behavioral effects. These data indicate that SCH23390 may act with unusual tenacity at certain sites in the central nervous system.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

Binding of [3H]SCH23390 in rat brain: regional distribution and effects of assay conditions and GTP suggest interactions at a D1-like dopamine receptor.

The compound [9-3H]SCH23390 [R-(+)-8-chloro-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-3-methyl-5-phenyl-1H-3-benzazepine-7- ol] was synthesized, and the binding of this purportedly selective antagonist of D1 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethylamine (dopamine) receptors was characterized. The regional distribution of high-affinity, specific [3H]SCH23390 binding sites in the rat brain correlated well with levels of endogenous dopamine. Receptor densities were greatest in corpus striatum, nucleus accumbens, and olfactory tubercle; intermediate levels were found in several limbic and cortical areas, whereas few sites were detectable in cerebellum, brainstem, and ol-factory bulb. Specific binding in caudate-putamen was found to be both temperature- and pH-dependent, with optima at 25-30 degrees C and pH 7.8-8.0. Scatchard or Woolf analyses of binding in caudate-putamen suggest that most of the sites are either of a single class or of classes with similar characteristics (KD = 0.7 +/- 0.1 nM; Bmax = 347 +/- 35 fmol/mg of protein). Both dopamine and cis-flupenthixol altered the slope but not the intercept of lines generated by Scatchard analysis, suggesting a competitive mode of inhibition of [3H]SCH23390 binding. Competition for binding by dopamine or the D1 agonist SKF38393 was inhibited by guanine nucleotides, whereas GTP had little effect on the competition for binding by the antagonist cis-flupenthixol. The competition for [3H]SCH23390 binding sites by dopamine was much more sensitive to GTP than was competition for [3H]spiperone binding. These data support the hypotheses that [3H]SCH23390 binds to recognition sites that differ from those previously described using other radiolabeled dopamine antagonists and that these sites have the characteristics expected of dopamine receptors.

Animals↗

Bombesin-induced locomotor hyperactivity: evaluation of the involvement of the mesolimbic dopamine system.

The neuropeptide bombesin was administered centrally to conscious, unrestrained rats. Bombesin caused a dose-dependent increase in locomotor behavior, as well as licking and grooming. The effect on locomotion was most readily elicited when bombesin was infused into the nucleus accumbens, and was attenuated by pretreatment with haloperidol but not atropine or diphenhydramine. Centrally administered bombesin did not change regional levels of dopamine or its principal metabolites.

Animals↗

An improved, automated adenylate cyclase assay utilizing preparative HPLC: effects of phosphodiesterase inhibitors.

Analysis of adenylate cyclase (ACase) activity in broken cell preparations usually involves conversion of [alpha-32P]ATP to [32P]cyclic AMP (cAMP) followed by purification of cAMP by liquid chromatographic methods. An automated, preparative reverse-phase HPLC procedure was developed that purifies cAMP rapidly and decreases variability and background. It permits the separation procedure to be validated rapidly prior to use with actual samples, and is readily adaptable for assaying guanylate cyclase, phosphodiesterases (PDE), or a variety of other related nucleotide-metabolizing enzymes. For ACase assays, 4.5% ZnSO4-10% Ba(OH)2 is added to the incubation mixture, and following centrifugation, the supernatant is injected on an HPLC apparatus fitted with a Waters Z-Module containing a 10-microns C18 reverse-phase cartridge. Using a mobile phase of 0.15 M sodium acetate-20% methanol (pH 5.0) at a flow rate of 4 ml/min, cAMP is eluted at k' greater than 1.25, whereas k' less than 0.5 for all other adenine nucleotides, permitting collection of the cAMP fraction after running the other nucleotides to waste. The method was validated by characterizing dopamine-sensitive ACase in homogenates of striatum from Sprague-Dawley rats. Basal activity (177 +/- 16 pmol/mg protein/min), the stimulation by dopamine (186 +/- 19 pmol/mg/min), the apparent Km for dopamine (5.0 +/- 1.5 microM), and expected effects of varying magnesium, EGTA, and GTP were similar to available data. However, it was found that isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX) or theophylline, usually included in the incubation mixture as PDE inhibitors, markedly inhibited the synthesis of cAMP in both the presence and absence of dopamine. A consequence of this inhibition was a marked change in the apparent Km of dopamine calculated from a Lineweaver-Burk plot. The use of IBMX to inhibit PDEs was compared with an alternate strategy, the addition of excess exogenous cAMP. Simultaneous analysis of PDE and ACase activity was accomplished by including [3H]cAMP in the incubation and quantifying the amounts of [3H]cAMP hydrolyzed and [32P]cAMP synthesized. Without IBMX, a concentration of 1 mM exogenous cAMP was sufficient to prevent significant loss of [3H]cAMP. In the absence of exogenous cAMP, 0.5 mM IBMX did not completely prevent the breakdown of [3H]cAMP, whereas 2.5 mM IBMX did. Although there was 25% less [3H]cAMP recovered in the presence of 0.5 mM IBMX than with 2.5 mM IBMX, there was no difference in the amount of [32P]cAMP formed (either with or without dopamine).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

3',5'-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterases↗

Effect of chronic hypernatremic dehydration and rapid rehydration on brain carbohydrate, energy, and amino acid metabolism in weanling mice.

This is a study of the effects of chronic hypernatremic dehydration and rehydration on carbohydrate, energy, and amino acid metabolism in the brains of weanling mice. Chronic hypernatremic dehydration induced by 4 days of water deprivation and salt loading was associated with severe weight loss (no other observed clinical effects), increased brain Na+ levels, and a decreased brain water content. Changes in the concentrations of brain glucose, glycolytic and citric acid cycle metabolic intermediates, and phosphocreatine were compatible with reduced cerebral metabolic rate. In adaptation to chronic hypernatremia, there was a significant increase in the content of the measured brain amino acids. Rapid rehydration over a 4-h period with 2.5% dextrose in water returned plasma Na+ levels and brain Na+ and water contents to normal. After rehydration, metabolites were altered in a manner consistent with increased fluxes through the glycolytic pathway and citric acid cycle; the brain glycogen content almost tripled. Brain taurine and glutamine levels were not lowered by rehydration, and the total content of the measured amino acids in brain was still significantly higher than in controls. We speculate that these metabolic perturbations may relate to the development of cerebral edema and seizures or coma following rapid rehydration of humans with chronic hypernatremic dehydration.

Amino Acids↗

Barbiturate enhancement of GABA-mediated inhibition and activation of chloride ion conductance: correlation with anticonvulsant and anesthetic actions.

The anesthetic-sedative barbiturate pentobarbital (PB) and the anticonvulsant barbiturate phenobarbital (PhB) were applied to mammalian spinal cord neurons in primary dissociated cell culture to assess their effects on: (1) postsynaptic GABA-responses; (2) paroxysmal activity produced by the convulsant bicuculline; (3) resting membrane properties; and (4) spontaneous neuronal activity. The results demonstrated that: (1) anticonvulsant actions occurred at barbiturate concentrations which augmented GABA-responses; (2) anesthetic actions occurred at barbiturate concentrations which produced direct increases in chloride conductance; (3) both anticonvulsant and anesthetic actions occurred at clinically relevant concentrations; and (4) concentrations of PhB, but not PB, which produced GABA-augmentation and direct conductance changes were widely separated. These findings support the hypotheses that augmentation of GABA-mediated inhibition and possibly reduction of glutamate (GLU)-mediated excitation form the basis at least in part for barbiturate anticonvulsant action and that addition of direct increases in chloride conductance to augmentation of GABA-mediated inhibition and reduction of GLU-mediated excitation may partially underlie anesthetic-sedative barbiturate action.

Animals↗

Chronic valproate administration produces hepatic dysfunction and may delay brain maturation in infant mice.

Infant mice (2 to 4 days old) received valproate (100 or 200 mg per kilogram body weight) subcutaneously once daily for 5 days. Both dosages decreased plasma beta-hydroxybutyrate levels to about one-third of the control value, in the face of normal free fatty acid and glycerol levels. At 200 mg per kilogram of valproate, there were significant decreases in brain weight and brain K content. Both doses produced metabolite changes in brain compatible with a reduced metabolic flux through the glycolytic pathway and the citric acid cycle. Valproate reduced brain aspartate but did not increase brain GABA levels in infant mice. At 200 mg per kilogram of valproate, brain glutamate decreased and taurine levels increased. Two hundred milligrams per kilogram of valproate caused a profound reduction of liver glycogen stores. The apparent decrease in cerebral metabolic rate, reduced glutamate and aspartate, and increased levels of taurine in brain may relate to the anticonvulsant action of valproate. Together with the decreased brain weight and K content, the findings are also compatible with maturational delay. Decreased ketonemia and liver glycogen content may relate to the hepatic toxicity associated with valproate administration in infants and children.

3-Hydroxybutyric Acid↗

The distribution of the components of the cyclic GMP cycle in retina.

Frozen sections of retinas from rabbit (mostly rods), ground squirrel (mostly cones), and monkey (mixed rods and cones) were freeze dried, and samples from all the discrete layers analyzed for the enzymes which form cyclic GMP and subsequently convert it back to GTP. The distribution of cyclic GMP was also measured in monkey retina, and the retinal layers of both monkey and rabbit were analyzed for GTP, GTP plus GDP, ATP, ATP plus ADP, and UTP plus CTP. The ratio of guanylates to adenylates was found to be about 1:1 in photoreceptor cell layers, but only 1:4 or 5 in deeper layers. In all species, guanylate cyclase (EC 4.6.1.2) and cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase were highest in the outer segment layer. Other layers were lower by factors of 10 to 500. Guanylate kinase (EC 2.7.4.8) was extremely high in all photoreceptor cell layers except the outer segments, but was much lower elsewhere. Nucleoside diphosphokinase (EC 2.7.4.6) paralleled guanylate kinase throughout the photoreceptor cell layers, but did not fall to such low levels in the deeper layers of the retina. Although there were significant differences among the three species, they all displayed the same general enzyme pattern.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗