Biomedical subjects

G Feuerstein

Publications and source records attributed to G Feuerstein.

279 records · Page 16Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Opiate receptors and cardiovascular control in conscious SHR and WKY rats.

This study examined the cardiovascular, respiratory, and sympathetic effects of selective mu and delta opioid agonists microinjected into the hypothalamic nucleus preopticus medialis (POM) of conscious SHR and WKY rats. The mu receptor agonist D-Ala2-MePhe4-Gly5-ol-enkephalin (DAGO) at a dose of 0.6 or 6.0 nanomoles (Nmol) increased the blood pressure and heart rate in WKY rats. In SHR rats, the lower dose of DAGO similarly had a pressor effect whereas the higher dose was depressor; heart rat was increased only by the 6.0 nmol dose in these animals. In both SHR and WKY rats, this opioid caused respiratory acidosis and elevation of plasma norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (E); plasma vasopressin was reduced by the higher dose of DAGO. All of these effects of the mu agonist were reversed by the opiate receptor antagonist naloxone (0.5 mg/kg, i.a.). The delta opiate-receptor agonist D-Ala2-D-leu5-eukephalin at a dose of 6.0 or 20.0 nmol increased blood pressure and heart rate in both SHR and WKY rats without affecting respiratory variables. Plasma NE and EPI were elevated at the peak of the pressor period. These studies suggest that the anteroventral hypothalamic region may be an important site in central autonomic regulation by opioid peptides. The mu-receptor agonist was more potent than the delta agonist in eliciting cardiovascular and respiratory effects and associated sympatho-adrenomedullary activation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Overall and regional hemodynamic effects of leukotriene D4 in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Leukotriene D4, a constituent of slow-reacting substance of anaphylaxis, elicits a pressor response followed by hypotensive shock in spontaneously hypertensive rats but not in other rats. Hemodynamic mechanisms underlying this pattern in spontaneously hypertensive rats, pithed and vagotomized to eliminate circulatory reflexes, were studied using radiolabeled microspheres. One minute after leukotriene D4 administration (20 micrograms/kg i.v.), mean arterial pressure increased by 54 mm Hg, total peripheral resistance index increased by 68%, heart rate decreased by 34 beats/minute, and cardiac index was unchanged. Profound reductions of blood flow and increases of vascular resistance in the hepatosplanchnic area, skeletal muscles, and skin also occurred. Five minutes later, mean arterial pressure remained elevated (+35%), hematocrit rose (+17%), and total peripheral resistance index increased, which offset 40% decreases in cardiac and stroke volume indices. Ten minutes after leukotriene D4 administration, during hypotension, cardiac and stroke volume indices and blood flow to all vascular beds declined further while total peripheral resistance index and hematocrit (+28%) continued to rise. In Wistar-Kyoto rats, administration of leukotriene D4 caused less of a pressor response (+34 mm Hg) because vascular resistance was increased only in skeletal muscles, which was followed by a slight hypotension without any significant changes in cardiac and stroke volume indices, total or regional vascular resistance, and hematocrit. Thus, in spontaneously hypertensive rats the leukotriene D4-induced pressor response appears to be caused by generalized vasoconstriction, and the subsequent hypotension appears to result not from vascular collapse but from reduced cardiac output.

Adrenal Glands↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Postischemic production of eicosanoids in gerbil brain.

The postischemic production of PGE2, PGD2, 6-keto-PGF1 alpha, and TXB2 in brain tissue was studied in Mongolian gerbils using tissue extraction as well as a new ex vivo method. This new method permits the study of prostaglandin synthesis in slices from discrete areas of the brain (cortex, hippocampus, striatum, hypothalamus). Gerbils were sacrificed at 0, 5, and 30 minutes, and 4 and 24 hours after a 15-minute occlusion of both carotid arteries. Apart from 6-keto-PGF1 alpha, tissue prostaglandins determined by the extraction method were significantly increased 3 and 30 minutes after reperfusion. The most pronounced changes found by the ex vivo method were increased productions of PGD2 immediately after reperfusion (285% in cortex, 215% in hypothalamus) and PGE2 (350% in hippocampus, 320% in striatum) 4 hours after reperfusion. At 24 hours after reperfusion PGE2 and PGD2 synthesis were significantly decreased by 23-70% of the values obtained from sham-operated controls. Thromboxane increased slightly in all areas after recirculation and subsequently decreased to values below the control level in striatum. The results obtained by ex vivo incubation of tissue slices demonstrate that ischemia and subsequent recirculation cause site-, time-, and PG-specific changes of tissue eicosanoid production.

6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Breathing 100% oxygen after global brain ischemia in Mongolian Gerbils results in increased lipid peroxidation and increased mortality.

Exposure of Mongolian gerbils to a 100% oxygen atmosphere after 15 minutes of global brain ischemia resulted in a marked increase in the production of pentane, an in vivo product of lipid peroxidation. Much less pentane production occurred in animals subjected to global brain ischemia then exposed to an air atmosphere and in animals exposed to a 100% oxygen atmosphere without ischemia. Gerbils placed in 100% oxygen for 3-6 hours after 15 minutes of ischemia also had a threefold increase in 14-day mortality compared with gerbils subjected to ischemia and then placed in an air atmosphere. These findings raise a serious question about the use of oxygen-enriched atmospheres during reperfusion following ischemia.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Deteriorating stroke model: histopathology, edema, and eicosanoid changes following spinal cord ischemia in rabbits.

Secondary motor dysfunction is often observed following ischemic episodes in the central nervous system. To study potential mechanisms of postischemic motor deterioration, we developed a rabbit spinal cord ischemia model that has characteristics similar to the clinical condition termed deteriorating stroke. In this model, 70% of the rabbits regained substantial motor function by 4 hours after complete hindlimb paralysis during lumbar spinal cord ischemia; however, over the next 20 hours motor function steadily declined to the point where only 30% of the rabbits had minimal hopping function. The role of eicosanoids in spinal cord ischemia was studied by radioimmunoassay of several prostaglandins (6-keto-PGF1 alpha, PGE2, and TxB2) in the spinal cord. After 5 minutes of reperfusion, TxB2 levels were markedly elevated (p less than 0.05) while 6-keto-PGF1 alpha levels did not change. The TxB2:6-keto-PGF1 alpha ratio was also significantly increased. After 30 minutes of reperfusion, PGE2 levels were also elevated (p less than 0.05). Tissue edema measured by microgravimetry was also increased after 30 minutes of reperfusion in both gray and white matter. By 4 hours of reperfusion, rabbits regained near-normal hindlimb motor function while PGE2, 6-keto-PGF1 alpha, TxB2, and tissue water content were back to normal. However, by 18 hours of reperfusion, when hindlimb function was deteriorating, TxB2 levels were elevated again, and edema in gray and white matter was increased as was the number of necrotic neurons observed by light microscopy. These results suggest that the secondary deterioration of motor neurologic function was due to the excess formation of TxA2 primarily in the late reperfusion phase. However, further studies are necessary to elucidate the relation of TxA2 with ischemic neural injury.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The mixed lipoxygenase/cyclooxygenase inhibitor SK&F 105809 reduces cerebral edema after closed head injury in rat.

Closed head injury in rats induces edema formation, which is indicated by a decrease in cerebral specific gravity and an increase in water content. We previously described the activation of the eicosanoid metabolic cascade, namely, activation of PLA2 and accumulation of products of both 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) and cyclo-oxygenase (CO) in the same model of head injury. The present study was designed to determine the effect of a novel drug, SK&F 105809, a dual inhibitor of 5-LO and CO on cerebral edema formation after head injury in rats. Rats, under ether anesthesia, were subjected to sham operation or trauma induced by weight-drop device impacting over the left calvarium. One group of traumatized rats received 0.9% saline and served as control and two other groups were treated with SK&F 105809, 20 or 30 mg/kg, i.p. immediately after the impact. In one group treatment was repeated additionally 2.5 h post-trauma. Four hours after trauma, rats were sacrificed and brain edema was evaluated. SK&F 105809 treated rats which received 30 mg/kg had significantly less brain edema, as measured by both gravimetry and water content, at 4 h after trauma. The lower dose, 20 mg/kg, had no effect. Our results suggest that treatment with a mixed 5-LO/CO inhibitor shortly after head injury will result in less brain edema and ultimately improved functional outcome.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Inhibitory effect of new PAF antagonists on PAF-induced rabbit platelet aggregation in vitro and ex vivo.

The effect of BN 50739, a recently developed PAF antagonist, on PAF-induced rabbit platelet aggregation in vitro and ex vivo was investigated. BN 50739 caused a right shift in PAF dose-response curves of platelet aggregation both in vitro and ex vivo. The amplitude of maximum aggregation, however, did not change as the concentration of PAF was increased indicating that BN 50739 is a competitive inhibitor. In vitro, in the presence of 10, 33 and 66 nM of BN 50739, the EC50 of PAF inducing aggregation increased 3.7, 11.1 and 50 times, respectively, and platelet disaggregation was promoted. The IC50 of BN 50739 for 2.5 nM PAF-induced platelet aggregation was 13.8 nM. Under the same condition, the IC50s of BN 50741, BN 50730, BN 50726, SRI 63-441 and BN 52021 were 18.3, 33.1, 63.4, 712 and 24,600 nM, respectively. BN 50739 given i.p. at 1, 3 or 10 mg/kg increased the concentration of PAF inducing 50% maximal platelet-rich plasma aggregation 3.4, 28 and 134 times, respectively. The apparent biological half-life of BN 50739 at 3 and 10 mg/kg i.p. was 2.5 and 5.4 h, respectively. BN 50739 had no effect on arachidonic acid (AA)- or collagen-induced platelet aggregation at concentrations effectively inhibiting PAF-induced platelet aggregation; however, moderate inhibition on AA- and collagen-induced aggregation was observed as the concentration of BN 50739 exceeded 100 nM. The results indicate that BN 50739 is the most potent and competitive PAF antagonist.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) has no direct effect on rat intracerebral arterioles in vitro.

We examined the effect of platelet activating-factor (PAF) on lumen diameter of penetrating intracerebral arterioles (diameter less than 50 microns) dissected from rat brains. PAF over a concentration range of 10(-12)-10(-6) M had no effect on lumen diameter. However, the arterioles were capable of both vasodilation in response to calcitonin gene-related peptide (EC50 = 4.4 nM) and vasoconstriction in response to the thromboxane mimetic, U44619 (EC50 = 5.8 nM). We conclude that the effects of PAF on the cortical circulation observed in vivo are indirect and may be due to PAF-induced changes in other humoral or cellular mediators.

15-Hydroxy-11 alpha,9 alpha-(epoxymethano)prosta-5↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of systemic platelet-activating factor (PAF) on the rabbit spinal cord microcirculation.

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is an endogenous phospholipid mediator with pro-inflammatory and vasoactive properties. Since PAF has been implicated in ischemic neuroinjury, we determined its effects on rabbit spinal cord microcirculation (SCM). Using laser-Doppler flow measurements, we monitored mean arterial pressure and SCM continuously on-line during and after i.v. infusion (1 min) of 0.5 nmol/kg of PAF (n = 20) and measured thromboxane B2 (TXB2) and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha (6-keto-PGF1 alpha) in arterial blood 1.5 min after the infusion. Responses were compared to those after indometacin pretreatment (4 mg/kg, n = 11). During the infusion, spinal cord blood flow (SCBF) decreased by 14 +/- 5% (P less than 0.05) paralleling the systemic hypotensive changes (17 +/- 5%, P less than 0.01) with no changes in vascular resistance (SCVR). However, immediately after termination of PAF infusion, SCVR decreased by 17 +/- 5% (P less than 0.01) while SCBF rapidly recovered. Plasma levels of both TXB2 and 6-keto-PGF1 alpha were significantly elevated. TXB2 release was correlated with the degree of hypotension during the PAF infusion (r greater than 0.72; P less than 0.05) while 6-keto-PGF1 alpha release correlated well with the decrease in SCVR during the infusion period (r greater than 0.64; P less than 0.05). Indomethacin blocked both the hemodynamic events and the eicosanoid release induced by PAF. Our data suggest that PAF modulates SCM through eicosanoid-mediated mechanism.

Animals↗