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M Raiteri

Publications and source records attributed to M Raiteri.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Characterization of two central AMPA-preferring receptors having distinct location, function and pharmacology.

The existence of a pharmacological heterogeneity among the glutamate receptors sensitive to (RS)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate (AMPA) has been investigated in the adult rat central nervous system (CNS). AMPA stimulated [3H]noradrenaline ([3H]NA) release from hippocampal synaptosomes (pD2 = 4.58) and the production of cGMP in cerebellar slices (pD2 = 7.75). The AMPA effects in the two systems were tested against several glutamate receptor antagonists including 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX), 6,7-dinitro-quinoxaline-2,3-dione (DNQX), L-glutamate diethylester (GDEE), gamma-D-glutamyl-glycine (GDGG) and gamma-D-glutamyl-aminomethylsulphonate (GAMS). In both systems the AMPA effect was equally sensitive to CNQX or DNQX. However, while the AMPA-evoked increase of [3H]NA release from presynaptic terminals was not affected by GAMS, GDGG or GDEE, the postsynaptic cGMP response was prevented by GDGG and GDEE. It is concluded that rat hippocampus and cerebellum possess, respectively, presynaptic and postsynaptic AMPA-sensitive receptors involved in different functions and endowed with diverse pharmacological properties.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Functional studies of neurotransmitter receptors in human brain.

Understanding synaptic transmission in the human brain is of the uppermost importance due to the involvement of neurotransmitters in several neurological and psychiatric disorders. Studies of animal pharmacology and of molecular biology are revealing that transmitter receptors are highly heterogeneous. It is therefore essential, also in view of using animal models in the development of therapeutically useful drugs, to establish if functionally corresponding receptors in men and animals also display identical pharmacological profiles. Using human brain tissue samples removed during neurosurgery and monitoring transmitter release as a functional response, a number of neurotransmitter receptors have been identified, localized and pharmacologically characterized as types and subtypes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Fenfluramine releases serotonin from human brain nerve endings by a dual mechanism.

Fenfluramine is the most widely used anorexigenic drug in humans. In animal experiments d-fenfluramine has been shown to act as a potent releaser of brain serotonin [5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)]. Here we have investigated the effects of d-fenfluramine on the release of [3H]5-HT from isolated nerve endings of human neocortex. The drug elicited release of unmetabolized [3H]5-HT, and this effect was concentration dependent. However, the mechanism of release seems to differ profoundly depending on the concentrations of d-fenfluramine used. At 5 microM, the release of [3H]5-HT was blocked by the 5-HT transporter inhibitor fluoxetine and was Ca2+ independent and insensitive to the human autoreceptor 5-HT1D agonist sumatriptan. The release of [3H]5-HT elicited by 0.5 microM d-fenfluramine was similarly blocked by fluoxetine, but it was strongly Ca2+ dependent and sensitive to sumatriptan. It is suggested that, at relatively high concentrations, d-fenfluramine largely diffuses into serotonergic terminals and causes release of 5-HT through the 5-HT carrier working in the inside-outside direction; at relatively low concentrations d-fenfluramine enters the terminals through the 5-HT transporter but elicits release of 5-HT by an exocytotic-like mechanism.

Calcium↗
PubMed1994

Extracellular cGMP in the hippocampus of freely moving rats as an index of nitric oxide (NO) synthase activity.

The nitric oxide (NO) synthase/cGMP pathway has been studied in vivo in the adult rat hippocampus by monitoring the levels of extracellular cGMP during microdialysis in conscious unrestrained animals. The basal cGMP efflux was concentration-dependently reduced upon local infusion of the NO synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine (NARG; 10 microM to 1 mM). The NO donors hydroxylamine and S-nitroso-N-penicillamine, perfused through the dialysis probe at 1 mM, increased by about 200% the extracellular levels of cGMP. The glutamate receptor agonist NMDA (125-500 microM) produced concentration-dependent cGMP responses that were abolished by the selective receptor antagonist D-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid or by NARG. Local perfusion of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX; 1 mM) produced a steady eightfold increase of extracellular cGMP levels. The effect of IBMX was highly sensitive to NARG. The inhibition by NARG of the IBMX-induced cGMP response was reversed when the NO synthase substrate L-arginine was administered. It is concluded that cGMP collected during in vivo microdialysis reflects NO synthase activity in the rat hippocampus. The technique may be utilized to investigate the pathophysiology and the pharmacology of the NO/cGMP pathway in the hippocampus of living animals.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗
PubMed1994

Pharmacological discrimination between gamma-aminobutyric acid type B receptors regulating cholecystokinin and somatostatin release from rat neocortex synaptosomes.

The gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)B receptors modulating the depolarization-evoked release of somatostatin (SRIF) or cholecystokinin (CCK) from superfused rat cerebrocortical synaptosomes have been characterized pharmacologically. GABA inhibited the 15 mM KCl-evoked overflow of both SRIF and CCK; the EC50 values were 1.3 microM and 1.4 microM, respectively. The GABAB receptor agonist (-)-baclofen also diminished the release of SRIF (EC50 = 1.9 microM) and CCK (EC50 = 2.6 microM). The novel compound CGP 47656, a highly selective GABAB receptor ligand, inhibited the release of SRIF, with its affinity and efficacy being similar to those of GABA or (-)-baclofen; however, the compound was unable to affect CCK release even when tested at 300 microM. The GABAB receptor antagonist phaclofen prevented, with identical affinities, the effects of (-)-baclofen on SRIF (pKb = 4.9) and CCK (pKb = 4.8) release. The same was true for CGP 35348, another GABAB receptor antagonist, which blocked (-)-baclofen with a pKb value of 6.1 at both the GABAB receptors regulating SRIF and CCK release. The effects of (-)-baclofen were also counteracted by the novel GABAB receptor antagonist CGP 52432. However, the affinity of the drug at the GABAB receptors modulating SRIF release (pKb = 6.2) was about 30-fold lower than that at the receptors regulating CCK release (pKb = 7.6). The data suggest that the GABAB receptors situated on nerve terminals releasing SRIF and CCK display pharmacological heterogeneity and may represent different subtypes of GABAB receptors.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Evaluation of the mechanisms underlying the kainate-induced impairment of [3H]dopamine release in the rat striatum.

Kainic acid caused a marked decrease of the electrically evoked release of [3H]dopamine from rat striatal slices 4 days after its injection (10 nmol/microliters) into the corpus striatum. This damage was prevented by the non-N-methyl-D-aspartate (non-NMDA) receptor antagonist 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (DNQX) when co-injected with kainic acid into the striatum. Prior systemic administration of the NMDA selective antagonists (cis-4-phosphonomethyl-2-piperidine carboxylic acid (CGS 19755), dizocilpine (MK-801) and ketamine did not alter the kainate effect. Previous destruction of the cortico-striatal pathway abolished the kainate-induced decrease of [3H]dopamine release. When injected into the striatum, domoic acid or alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) mimicked kainic acid and damaged the dopaminergic nigro-striatal afferents. The [3H]dopamine release evoked by electrical stimulation of slices of frontal cortex was unaffected following local injections of kainic acid. Taken together, the results indicate that AMPA/kainate receptors play a key role in the impairment of [3H]dopamine release caused by kainate in the striatum. However, the kainic acid effect is probably indirect since it appears to require the availability of endogenous glutamate originating from cortico-striatal afferents.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

CGP 52432: a novel potent and selective GABAB autoreceptor antagonist in rat cerebral cortex.

As previously reported GABAB receptors are heterogeneous. Three pharmacologically distinct receptor subtypes mediating inhibition of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamate or somatostatin release, respectively, exist on axon terminals of rat cerebral cortex. We investigated the novel GABAB receptor antagonist, [3-[[(3,4-dichlorophenyl)methyl]amino]propyl](diethoxy-methyl) phosphinic acid (CGP 52432), on the above receptor subtypes. The effects of (-)-baclofen on the K(+)-evoked release of GABA, glutamate or somatostatin from rat cortical synaptosomes were antagonized by CGP 52432. The IC50 of the drug at GABA autoreceptors (0.085 microM) was 35- and 100-fold lower than at the receptors regulating somatostatin and glutamate overflow, respectively. At the autoreceptor the calculated pA2 for CGP 52432 amounted to 7.70, which makes the drug about 1000-fold more potent than phaclofen at this receptor. The potency and selectivity characteristics of CGP 52432 indicate that the drug is by far the most appropriate tool to investigate the terminal GABAB autoreceptors of the rat cerebral cortex.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Release of endogenous glutamic and aspartic acids from cerebrocortex synaptosomes and its modulation through activation of a gamma-aminobutyric acidB (GABAB) receptor subtype.

The depolarization-evoked release of endogenous glutamate (GLU) and -aspartate (ASP) and its modulation mediated by gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) heteroreceptors was investigated in superfused rat cerebrocortical synaptosomes. Exposure to 12 mM K+ enhanced the release of GLU and ASP. The K(+)-evoked overflow of both amino acids was largely Ca(2+)-dependent. Exogenous GABA inhibited the K(+)-evoked overflow of GLU (EC50 2.8 microM) and ASP (EC50 2.7 microM). The effect of GABA was mimicked by the GABAB receptor agonist (-)-baclofen (EC50 2.0 microM for GLU and 1.3 microM for ASP release) but not by the GABAA receptor agonist muscimol, up to 100 microM. Accordingly, the GABA-induced inhibition of GLU and ASP release was not affected by the GABAA receptor antagonists, bicuculline or picrotoxin, but was antagonized by the GABAB receptor antagonist, 3-amino-propyl(diethoxymethyl)phosphinic acid (CGP 35348). The GABA effect was, however, insensitive to another GABAB receptor antagonist, phaclofen, up to 1,000 microM. It can be concluded that GABA heteroreceptors of the GABAB type regulating the depolarization-evoked release of GLU and ASP are present on cortical GLU/ASP-releasing nerve terminals. These receptors may be classified as a phaclofen-insensitive GABAB receptor subtype.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Age-related decrease of the NMDA receptor-mediated noradrenaline release in rat hippocampus and partial restoration by D-cycloserine.

The release of [3H]noradrenaline ([3H]NA) evoked by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) from superfused rat hippocampus synaptosomes was monitored during aging. The maximal effects of NMDA decreased with age from 50% (1.5 months) to 10% enhancement (24 months). Quisqualic acid (100 microM) also enhanced [3H]NA release. Its effect decreased with age with a pattern partly different from that of NMDA. Glycine (1 microM) potentiated the [3H]NA releasing effect of 100 microM NMDA. Unexpectedly, the potentiation which amounted to 50% at 1.5 months, reached almost 200% and 300% in the 18- and 24-month-old rats, respectively, thus compensating in part for the age-related loss of the NMDA-induced effect. Concentration-response relationships for glycine at 3 vs. 24 months suggest that the glycine receptor is superresponsive in the aged brain. This may be due to more efficient glycine removal or/and to impaired release since uptake of the amino acid was increased by 350% in 24- vs. 3-month-old rats, while the K(+)-evoked tritium release from synaptosomes prelabeled with [3H]glycine was decreased. D-Cycloserine, although about 10 times less potent than glycine, strongly enhanced the NMDA-evoked [3H]NA release and may prove useful in cognitive deficits associated with aging and dementia.

Aging↗
PubMed1993

Inhibition by 5-HT3 receptor antagonists of release of cholecystokinin-like immunoreactivity from the frontal cortex of freely moving rats.

Effects of the 5-HT3 receptor antagonists, ondansetron and tropisetron, on the release of cholecystokinin-like immunoreactivity (CCK-LI) in rat frontal cortex were investigated in conscious, unrestrained rats using intracerebral microdialysis. The release of CCK-LI was augmented by perfusion with 100 micrograms/ml veratrine and was fully Ca(2+)-dependent and tetrodotoxin-sensitive. Ondansetron and tropisetron, each at 0.1-1 mumol/l, decreased concentration-dependently the veratrine-evoked efflux of CCK-LI. The reduction of CCK-LI output was approximately 30% when the antagonists were infused at 0.1 mumol/l. The data suggest that 5-HT3 receptor antagonists prevent the release of CCK evoked by endogenous 5-hydroxytryptamine. These drugs may thus represent a novel therapeutic approach in disease states, like anxiety, in which an inappropriately high release of brain CCK or 5-hydroxytryptamine seems to be involved.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Serotonergic inhibition of the mossy fibre--granule cell glutamate transmission in rat cerebellar slices.

The glutamatergic mossy fibre-->granule cell pathway has been investigated in rat cerebellar slices. Exposure to 35 mM KCl, a concentration of K+ known to elicit Ca(2+)-dependent releases of excitatory amino acids from cerebellar slices, raised cGMP levels. The cGMP response was decreased in a concentration-dependent manner by D-(-)-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (D-AP5) and by 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX) indicating the involvement of ionotropic glutamate receptors of both the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and the non-NMDA type. The K(+)-evoked production of cGMP was potently inhibited (EC50 = 1.21 nM) by 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-amino-propane (DOI), a selective 5-HT2 receptor agonist. The effect of DOI (0.01 microM) was antagonized by 0.03 microM of the 5-HT2 receptor antagonists ketanserin and methiothepin. At concentrations higher than 0.1 microM, both antagonists increased on their own the cGMP response elicited by high-K+. This effect was insensitive to tetrodotoxin. It had been previously shown that rat mossy fibre endings release glutamate upon depolarization and that such release can be inhibited by activation of 5-HT2 receptors sited on the mossy fibre endings. Altogether the available data suggest the following conclusions: a) the glutamate/aspartate endogenously released in cerebellar slices during K+ depolarization increase cGMP synthesis through the activation of both NMDA and non-NMDA receptors; b) a portion of the cGMP response can be prevented by 5-HT2 receptor activation and may reflect the activity of the mossy fibre--granule cell pathway.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate↗
PubMed1993

Relationship between mevalonate pathway and arterial myocyte proliferation: in vitro studies with inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase.

The role of mevalonate and its products (isoprenoids) in the control of cellular proliferation was examined by investigating the effect of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors (vastatins) on growth and on cholesterol biosynthesis of cultured arterial myocytes (SMC). Simvastatin (S) and fluvastatin (F), but not pravastatin (P), decreased the rate of growth of rat vascular SMC. The inhibition, evaluated as cell number, was dose-dependent with IC50 values of 2.8 and 2.2 microM for S and F, respectively; P (1-500 microM) was inactive. The inhibition of cell growth induced by 3.5 microM S (70% decrease) was prevented completely by the addition of 100 microM mevalonate, partially (70-85%) by the addition of 10 microM geraniol, 10 microM farnesol and 5 microM geranylgeraniol, but not by the addition of squalene, confirming the specific role of isoprenoid metabolites in regulating cell proliferation. All the tested vastatins inhibited the incorporation of [14C]acetate into cholesterol but P had 800 times lower potency than S and F. Similar results were obtained in SMC from human femoral artery. At least 80% inhibition of cholesterol synthesis was necessary to induce a decrease in SMC proliferation. To further investigate the relationship between cholesterol synthesis and cell growth, two enantiomers of F were investigated. The enantiomer more active on HMG-CoA reductase was 70- and 1.6-fold more potent on arterial myocyte proliferation than its antipode and the racemic mixture, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acyclic Monoterpenes↗
PubMed1993

Carrier-mediated release of neurotransmitters.

There is growing evidence that neurotransmitters can be released not only by exocytosis but also through the membrane carriers responsible for transmitter reuptake. Giulio Levi and Maurizio Raiteri review the in vitro and in vivo evidence supporting the existence of a carrier-mediated release for different classes of transmitters. While the physiological significance of carrier-mediated release remains speculative, widely used drugs such as sympathomimetic amines, the anorectic drug fenfluramine and some drugs of abuse act in part by stimulating monoamine carrier-mediated release. Moreover, antidepressants known to inhibit monoamine reuptake, can block carrier-mediated release. This mechanism may also come into play in pathological conditions such as ischaemia.

Amines↗
PubMed1993

Release of cholecystokinin in the central nervous system.

The octapeptide cholecystokinin (CCK) is one of the most abundant neuropeptides of the central nervous system. A number of features (for instance heterogeneity of the regional distribution, subcellular localization at the nerve terminal level, calcium-dependent release upon nervous tissue depolarization) support the candidacy of CCK as a neurotransmitter. The reported co-existence of CCK and dopamine in some meso-limbic neurons has led to speculation that the neuropeptide may interact with the catecholamine in neuropsychopathologies linked to dopamine dysfunctions, like schizophrenia. Data from the experimental animals have so far generated conflicting results. It should be noted that the interactions between CCK and dopamine, and, in particular, the effects of CCK and dopamine on each other release, both in vitro and in vivo, have been poorly investigated and would require special attention. Evidence is accumulating that CCK may participate in the expression of anxiety. Indeed antagonists at the central CCK receptors exhibit anxiolytic activity in the laboratory animal. An interesting linkage appears to exist in the brain between 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and CCK. Activation of 5-HT3 receptors was found to increase CCK release from rat cortical or nucleus accumbens synaptosomes. Interestingly, antagonists at 5-HT3 receptors appear to possess anxiolytic activity. Recent studies carried out in conscious unrestrained rats show that the calcium-dependent, tetrodotoxin-sensitive release of CCK-like immunoreactivity evoked in the rat frontal cortex by veratrine infusion can be inhibited by submicromolar concentrations of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Monitoring of cyclic GMP during cerebellar microdialysis in freely-moving rats as an index of nitric oxide synthase activity.

The nitric oxide synthase/cyclic GMP pathway has been studied in vivo in the adult rat cerebellum by monitoring the levels of extracellular cyclic GMP during microdialysis in conscious unrestrained animals. The basal cyclic GMP efflux was concentration-dependently reduced upon local infusion of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine (10 microM-1 mM). The nitric oxide donor S-nitroso-N-penicillamine, perfused through the dialysis probe at 1 mM, increased by about 200% the extracellular levels of cyclic GMP. The glutamate receptor agonist N-methyl-D-aspartate (500 microM) produced a cyclic GMP response which was abolished by the selective receptor antagonist D-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (500 microM) or by NG-nitro-L-arginine (10 microM). The elevation of cyclic GMP levels caused by local infusion of 500 microM N-methyl-D-aspartate was also abolished by parenteral administration of the N-methyl-D-aspartate channel blocker dizocilpine (0.4 mg/kg, i.p.). Local perfusion of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (1 mM) increased by about 150% the extracellular levels of cyclic GMP. It is concluded that cyclic GMP collected during in vivo microdialysis reflects nitric oxide synthase activity in the rat cerebellum. The technique may be utilized to investigate the pathophysiology and the pharmacology of the nitric oxide/cyclic GMP pathway in the cerebellum of living animals.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗