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P Hantraye

Publications and source records attributed to P Hantraye.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

A primate model of Huntington's disease: functional neural transplantation and CT-guided stereotactic procedures.

In this article, we show that 1) computed tomographic (CT)-guided stereotactic infusion of an excitotoxin into the striatum of a nonhuman primate provides a useful neuropathologic and behavioral model for Huntington's disease. 2) High-resolution positron emission tomography (PET) can be used to image the decreased glucose utilization and the preservation of dopaminergic terminals in the lesioned striatum by using 2-fluoro-deoxy-D-glucose (2FDG) and N-(C-11)-methyl-2-beta-carbomethoxy-3-beta-phenyl tropane (CPT) as tracers. 3) Transplantation of cross-species striatal fetal tissue into the lesioned caudate-putamen reduces many of the abnormal motor movements and behavioral changes seen in the Huntington's disease primate model. 4) Graft rejection results in the return of the abnormal signs of the pregrafted state. These results indicate that treatment of the neuronal deficit in Huntington's disease can involve intervention at the local neuronal circuit level. CT-guided stereotactic implantation of cells that might protect or replace this defective circuitry may eventually provide an effective treatment for Huntington's disease.

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In vivo bidirectional modulatory effect of benzodiazepine receptor ligands on GABAergic transmission evaluated by positron emission tomography in non-human primates.

The central type benzodiazepine receptor (BDZr), an allosteric modulatory site of the GABAA receptor-anion channel, has been shown in vitro to respond to drugs with positive efficacy (agonists), zero efficacy (competitive antagonists) and drugs with negative efficacy (inverse agonists). However, this general concept of the function of BDZr drugs has rarely been assessed in intact living brain. We report here in on a non-invasive in vivo assessment of the intrinsic efficacies of BDZr drugs in the brain of non-human primates. We have performed an in vivo simultaneous determination of fractional BDZr occupancy and the resulting pharmacological efficacies of the full agonist diazepam, the partial agonist bretazenil, the antagonist flumazenil (Ro15-1788), the partial inverse agonist Ro15-4513 and the full inverse agonist methyl beta-carboline-3-carboxylate (beta-CCM). Positron emission tomography (PET) was used to estimate fractional BDZr occupancy measured as the in vivo displacement in the brain of the positron emitter radioligand, [11C]flumazenil. Simultaneously, the proconvulsant or anticonvulsant efficacies of the BDZr drugs were measured as their abilities to facilitate or counteract the central effects of an infusion of pentylenetetrazol, a non-competitive GABA antagonist acting on the picrotoxin site of the receptor complex. This was measured using electroencephalographic recording (EEG). Our results show that, in vivo, the fractional receptor occupancy by a given drug is perfectly correlated with its resulting graded pharmacological effects, as predicted from the competitive drug receptor interaction theory. Furthermore, the slope of the relationship between fractional receptor occupancies and the resulting pharmacological effects (an index of intrinsic efficacy) strictly depends on the BDZr ligand considered. Diazepam displayed a strong positive intrinsic efficacy, and, in contrast, beta-CCM a marked negative one. Between these two extremes, the partially active drugs bretazenil and Ro15-4513, which required a large fractional receptor occupancy to produce significant anti- or proconvulsant effects, respectively, displayed only a weak intrinsic efficacy. Flumazenil did not produce any significant pharmacological effect. We observed that the in vivo intrinsic efficacies of diazepam, flumazenil and beta-CCM correlate with their intrinsic efficacies as measured by their modulatory effects on the GABA-dependent membrane chloride conductance in vitro. Thus, the intrinsic efficacies measured using PET and EEG are likely to reflect the different in vivo abilities of BDZr drugs to induce or stabilize the GABAA-benzodiazepine chloride channel in a given conformation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

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In vivo benzodiazepine receptor occupancy by CL 218,872 visualized by positron emission tomography in the brain of the living baboon: modulation by GABAergic transmission and relation with anticonvulsant activity.

In vivo benzodiazepine receptor occupancy by increasing doses of CL 218,872 has been evaluated in the baboon Papio papio, using (11C) RO 15-1788 as specific radioligand and positron emission tomography as external detection system. Although BZR heterogeneity has been previously demonstrated in the brain of the living baboon using PET, we did not observe in our studies that CL 218,872 interacts preferentially with one of the BZR subtypes. The monophasic pattern of the dose dependent CL 218,872 displacement curve and the corresponding "in vivo Hill coefficient" near unity suggest that CL 218,872 binds in cerebral baboon cortex with a similar affinity with BZ1 as well as BZ2 subtypes. The anticonvulsant properties of CL 218,872 against bicuculline and allylglycine-induced seizures were correlated with benzodiazepine receptor occupancy by assessment of electroencephalographic activity during positron emission tomography studies. Our data confirmed in vivo the hypothesis of a partial agonist anticonvulsant activity of CL 218,872. At the same time, the use of a GABA-antagonist (bicuculline) or an inhibitor of the GABA synthesis (allylglycine) suggested the existence of an allosteric interaction between benzodiazepine receptors and GABA receptors.

Allylglycine↗

Kinetic analysis of central [76Br]bromolisuride binding to dopamine D2 receptors studied by PET.

The in vivo kinetic analysis of dopamine D2 receptors was obtained in baboon brain using positron emission tomography (PET) and [76Br]bromolisuride [( 76Br]BLIS) as radioligand. An injection of a trace amount of [76Br]BLIS was followed 3 h later by an injection of a mixture of [76Br]BLIS and BLIS in the same syringe (coinjection experiment). A third injection performed at 6 h was either an excess of unlabeled ligand (displacement experiment) or a second coinjection. This protocol allowed us to evaluate in the striatum of each animal and after a single experiment the quantity of available receptors (B'max) and the kinetic parameters including the association and dissociation rate constants (k + 1VR and k-1, respectively, where VR is the volume of reaction). The cerebellum data were fitted using a model without specific binding. All the parameters were estimated using nonlinear mathematical models of the ligand-receptor interactions including or not including nonspecific binding. The plasma time-concentration curve was used as an input function after correction for the metabolites. An estimate of standard errors was obtained for each PET study and for each identified parameter using the covariance matrix. The average values of B'max and KdVR were 73 +/- 11 pmol/ml tissue and 1.9 +/- 0.9 pmol/ml, respectively. The nonspecific binding was identifiable in the experiment where the last injection corresponded to a second coinjection. We found that approximately 6% of the striatal binding was nonspecific after a tracer injection of [76Br]BLIS. The nonspecific binding appeared to be reversible in the striatum but irreversible in the cerebellum.

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Interaction of suriclone with central type benzodiazepine receptors in living baboons.

The interaction of suriclone and two of its main metabolites with central type benzodiazepine receptors, which had been labeled in vivo with the radioligand [11C]RO 15-1788, was investigated in living baboons. The concentration of radioligand bound to the receptors, as measured in brain transverse sections by positron emission tomography, decreased rapidly after the i.v. administration of suriclone at doses known to induce pharmacological effects. The rate and extent to which [11C]RO 15-1788 binding was displaced increased with increasing doses of suriclone. The half-inhibitory dose (ID50) was determined to be 0.08 mg/kg in vivo. The rapid inhibitory effect of suriclone on the in vivo binding of [11C]RO 15-1788 in the brain seems to reflect its ability to act at the GABA-benzodiazepine receptor complex, at or near to the benzodiazepine binding site, to induce its pharmacological activity. The i.v. injection of the demethylated metabolite of suriclone, RP 35,489, only caused a slight displacement of [11C]RO 15-1788 binding even at a dose of 2 mg/kg. Thus, suriclone appears to be more potent than RP 35,489 to displace the benzodiazepine 11C antagonist in vivo. The sulfoxide metabolite, RP 46,166, did not significantly change the kinetics of [11C]RO 15-1788 binding in the brain. The slight effects produced by high doses of RP 35,489 and RP 46,166 on [11C]RO 15-1788 binding in the brain suggest that these metabolites are probably not responsible for the expression of biological activity of suriclone mediated by benzodiazepine receptors.

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A primate model of Huntington's disease: behavioral and anatomical studies of unilateral excitotoxic lesions of the caudate-putamen in the baboon.

Unilateral caudate-putamen (CP) lesions induced by the glutamate receptor agonist ibotenic acid in baboons produced a neuropathological and behavioral model of Huntington's disease (HD) in the nonhuman primate. Neuropathological evaluation of the lesioned caudate-putamen revealed a neurodegenerative pattern resembling HD. The ibotenic acid-infused CP areas showed a neuronal loss in Nissl-stained sections and a marked astrocytic gliosis by immunohistochemical staining for glial-fibrillary-acidic protein. Acetylcholinesterase fiber staining was severely reduced in the lesioned CP, while afferent dopaminergic fibers, as shown by tyrosine hydroxylase staining, were relatively spared. There was a moderate reduction of met-enkephalin staining in the globus pallidus-pars lateralis ipsilateral to the ibotenic acid lesion, indicating a partial denervation of this structure following the lesion. In the behavioral studies a dyskinetic syndrome with features in common with HD was provoked in the lesioned animals following dopamine receptor agonist administration (1-2 mg/kg apomorphine). The symptoms included hyperkinesia, chorea, dystonia, postural asymmetries, head, and orofacial dyskinesia. The apomorphine test was highly reproducible and individual animals responded with a similar set and incidence of dyskinesia in successive tests. Since the behavioral observations following excitotoxic caudate-putamen damage parallel symptoms in HD patients given dopamine stimulatory drugs, a hypothesis is presented for the observed abnormal movements suggesting that the CP lesions reduce movement thresholds while the activation of dopaminoceptive regions induces dyskinesias.

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Quantitative evaluation of benzodiazepine receptors in live Papio papio baboons using positron emission tomography.

The binding of the 11C-labeled benzodiazepine antagonist Ro 15-1788 (flumazenil) was measured in the neocortex of live Papio papio baboons by positron emission tomography. This allowed us to calculate in vivo (i.e., at physiological temperature, neurotransmitters concentrations, and ionic environment) the apparent density of available benzodiazepine receptors (B'max) and the dissociation constant of Ro 15-1788 (Kd). By coadministering increasing doses of unlabeled Ro 15-1788 with [11C]Ro 15-1788 and assuming that nonsaturable radioactivity indicated the free ligand concentration, we were able to obtain saturation isotherms. We showed that a state of quasiequilibrium was reached 50 min after the administration of the radioligand. Linear Scatchard plots allowed us to calculate B'max at 78 and 50 pmol/ml of cerebral tissue in the occipital and frontal cortices, respectively. In both these areas, Kd is on the order of 6 nM, with a Hill number very close to unity. This indicates that Ro 15-1788 binds in vivo with high affinity to an homogeneous population of saturable sites. A similar measurement was carried out on a naturally photosensitive P. papio baboon. Absolute values of B'max, Kd, and Hill number were similar to those of the control baboons. Although results concerning this baboon can only be considered as a case report, this similarity may suggest that its epileptic syndrome is not related to a large change in B'max or Kd, at least in occipital and frontal cortices. Our results showed that quantitative estimation by positron emission tomography of some characteristics of benzodiazepine receptors is possible in live baboons and may represent a supplementary tool for investigating further the molecular mechanisms of benzodiazepine receptor function in physiological and physiopathological conditions. We suggest that a similar method of quantification of classic in vivo [3H]Ro 15-1788 binding could be usefully adapted when studying rodent models of epilepsy, stress, and other neuropsychological disorders. On the other hand, the similarity between the B'max and Kd values we obtained in baboons and those recently reported in humans using similar methods emphasizes that most of the in vivo characteristics of the benzodiazepine receptors of baboons are very close to those of human benzodiazepine receptors. This confirms that P. papio baboons are a suitable animal model for studying the pharmacology of benzodiazepine receptor ligands before clinical applications in humans.

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A primate model of Huntington's disease: cross-species implantation of striatal precursor cells to the excitotoxically lesioned baboon caudate-putamen.

Ibotenic acid was injected unilaterally into the baboon caudate-putamen (CP) to achieve a neural degeneration model in the primate, with a neuropathology similar to Huntington's disease. Four to six weeks later injections of cell suspensions of striatal precursor cells, obtained by dissection of the fetal rat striatal region (13-15 days gestational age), were made into the excitotoxically lesioned CP of 3 baboons immunosuppressed by Cyclosporin A. Morphological analysis indicated that in one of the baboons, which had the largest lesion of the CP and the shortest survival time (6 weeks after implantation), there was a surviving striatal implant. The implanted neurons grew in high densities in cellular aggregates within the host gliotic CP. These neurons had a neuronal size phenotypical for rat striatum, i.e. on average about a 25% smaller neuronal cell diameter than a similar population in the baboon caudate-putamen. Glial-fibrillary-acid-protein immunoreactivity was present on large astrocytes within the striatal implant, with a distinct border towards the lesion-induced astrogliosis of the host. Neuronal markers for acetylcholinesterase and Leu-enkephalin were distributed in a typical patchy manner in the striatal implants along with fiber staining for tyrosine-hydroxylase-like immunoreactivity (TH) possibly derived from afferent host dopaminergic axons. Some of these fibers in the implants came from intrinsic TH-positive neuronal somata, probably of neocortical fetal origin and transiently expressing the enzyme. In conclusion, the results indicate that neuronal replacement can be achieved by cross-species implantation of fetal striatal precursor cells to the previously neuron depleted primate CP under immunosuppression but that the survival and growth of such implants may be variable and subject to unfavourable trophic conditions.

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Anticonvulsant activity of the diaryltriazine, LY81067: studies using electroencephalographic recording and positron emission tomography.

It is reported that LY81067, a new diaryltriazine, possesses anticonvulsant properties against grand mal status epilepticus induced by intravenous administration of picrotoxin binding site ligands (Ro 5-4864 and pentylenetetrazole) in the baboon. Intravenous administration of LY81067 during the seizures blocked grand mal type electroencephalographic (EEG) paroxysmal discharges and led to a long electrical silence, progressively replaced by spike-and-wave discharges of low frequency (2 c/sec). A transient blocking effect was also observed when LY81067 was injected during grand mal status epilepticus induced by the benzodiazepine inverse agonist methyl beta-carboline-3-carboxylate; however, the long electrical silence observed after administration of LY81067 was rapidly followed by grand mal type paroxysmal discharges in the EEG, which could be stopped by a subsequent injection of Ro 15-1788. However, LY81067 also displayed intrinsic epileptogenic properties. Administration of this drug alone led to the appearance of rhythmic EEG (2-3 c/sec) associated with myoclonia. Concomitantly with the EEG studies, interactions of all these drugs with benzodiazepine receptors were observed in vivo using [11C]Ro 15-1788 as radioligand and positron emission tomography (PET) as a non-invasive technique to measure the binding of the [11C]benzodiazepine antagonist in brain, in vivo. The [11C]Ro 15-1788 bound in the brain could not be displaced by the administration of LY81067 but rather, the [11C]antagonist binding in the brain was somewhat enhanced. Administration of pentylenetetrazole or Ro 5-4864 decreased the rate of wash-out of the radioligand. This fast effect of these two convulsant drugs was partially inhibited by the subsequent administration of LY81067. The concomitant blocking of the grand mal status epilepticus was also observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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Benzodiazepine receptors studied in living primates by positron emission tomography: antagonist interactions.

After labelling the brain benzodiazepine receptors of sub-human primates with [11C]RO15-1788, the interactions of different benzodiazepine receptor antagonist ligands were studied by positron emission tomography (PET). Various doses of either RO15-1788, RO15-3505 or propyl beta-carboline-3-carboxylate were injected intravenously 20 min after the radiotracer, and induced an immediate and specific dose-dependent displacement of the brain radioactivity. However, a comparison of the dose-receptor occupancy patterns of these three antagonists established from the displacement experiments revealed that only propyl beta-carboline-3-carboxylate displayed clear biphasic dose-receptor occupancy curves. This indicates that, in the living primate brain, there are two different benzodiazepine receptor subpopulations (which can be either different benzodiazepine receptor subtypes or distinct conformational states of a single receptor).

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Status epilepticus induced by pentylenetetrazole modulates in vivo [11C]Ro 15-1788 binding to benzodiazepine receptors. Effects of ligands acting at the supramolecular receptor complex.

Positron emission tomography (PET) was used to investigate, in the living baboon, the in vivo modulation of [11C]Ro 15-1788 binding to benzodiazepine receptors in brain and the changes with ligands acting at the supramolecular complex during status epilepticus induced by pentylenetetrazole. The central type benzodiazepine receptors were labelled in vivo by intravenous injection of [11C]Ro 15-1788. Simultaneous positron emission tomography and electroencephalographic activity recording evidenced a modulation of the brain binding of [11C]Ro 15-1788 during pentylenetetrazole-induced status epilepticus. We investigated the changes in the modulation of radioligand kinetics and in seizure activity after intravenous administration of a benzodiazepine agonist (diazepam, 1.5 mg/kg), a benzodiazepine antagonist (Ro 15-1788, 2 mg/kg), a GABA agonist (progabide, 50 mg/kg) and a ligand of the picrotoxin/barbiturate binding sites (LY81067, 3.5 mg/kg). The results showed that there is an in vivo competitive interaction of pentylenetetrazole with the benzodiazepine receptors, as reflected by the low displacement of [11C]Ro 15-1788 in the first 10 min of the status epilepticus. However, in contrast to diazepam, progabide and LY81067, a dose (2 mg/kg) of Ro 15-1788 that saturates the benzodiazepine receptors was unable to block the seizures induced by pentylenetetrazole. This indicates that the benzodiazepine receptors play only a minor role in the status epilepticus induced by pentylenetetrazole. The contribution of other binding sites within the supramolecular complex is assessed.

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Anatomical atlas of the baboon's brain in the orbito-meatal plane used in experimental positron emission tomography.

An anatomical atlas has been constructed of the brain of the baboon (Papio papio) in the orbito-meatal plane (OM-plane) which is frequently used in experimental positron emission tomography (PET) investigations. The atlas comprises 12 photographic reproductions of histological brain sections separated by 2.5 mm intervals, and covers telencephalic to pontine brain stem levels. The anatomical atlas was used in analysis of some PET scan images obtained after administration of either a benzodiazepine (BZ) antagonist, (11C)-Ro 15-1788, or a dopamine D2 receptor antagonist, (76Br)-bromospiperone. Since PET camera detects radiation emitted from a slice of tissue of 15 mm thickness, each PET image corresponds to the tissue represented on six levels of the anatomical atlas. In optimal conditions, the PET image shows a pattern of receptor labelling reminiscent of anatomical structures in the atlas. Sometimes, however, the superimposition of different labelled structures yields a PET image which lacks any apparent resemblance with individual anatomical structures. In these cases, the analysis of the PET scan must rely on the anatomical atlas, as well as available data on the distribution of specific binding sites.

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Benzodiazepine receptors studied in living primates by positron emission tomography: inverse agonist interactions.

The convulsant actions of methyl 6,7-dimethoxy-4-ethyl-beta-carboline-3-carboxylate (DMCM) and of methyl beta-carboline-3-carboxylate (beta-CCM) were evaluated in the baboon (Papio papio). DMCM, 0.6-4 mg/kg, induced epileptic seizures with short latency. DMCM convulsive seizures could be blocked by i.v. administration of the benzodiazepine agonist diazepam (10 mg). Similarly, beta-CCM, 0.3-3 mg/kg i.v., provoked generalized seizures in the baboons. These seizures were also reversed by the administration of propyl beta-carboline-3-carboxylate (3 mg/kg) or of diazepam (5 mg/kg). Combining the results from Positron Emission Tomography and the EEG assessments, benzodiazepine receptor occupancy by beta-CCM and DMCM was directly correlated with their convulsant actions in the living baboon. beta-CCM exerted its convulsant action in the living baboon at 76 and 74% benzodiazepine receptor occupancy in, respectively, occipital and temporal cortices whereas DMCM displayed a similar convulsive activity when only 58 and 65% of these receptors in the above regions were occupied.

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Pentylenetetrazol-induced seizure is not mediated by benzodiazepine receptors in vivo.

The selective benzodiazepine antagonist RO 15-1788, labelled with carbon 11 [11C] RO 15-1788, as a specific marker, together with positron emission tomography, allows the in vivo study of benzodiazepine receptors in primates. In addition, when coupled with recordings of electroencephalographic activity, this method offers the feasibility of studying the correlation between occupancy of benzodiazepine receptors and the convulsant action of drugs acting at the benzodiazepine-GABA receptor complex in vivo. The present study showed that convulsant doses of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) could affect the binding of [11C] RO 15-1788 in vivo in two ways, depending on the doses tested: at concentrations of 20 and 30 mg/kg, pentylenetetrazol increased the binding of [11C] RO 15-1788 whereas larger concentrations displaced the binding of [11C] RO 15-1788. The direct correlation between the occupancy of respective benzodiazepine receptors, afforded by increasing convulsant doses of pentylenetetrazol, revealed that competitive interaction with benzodiazepine receptors was not necessary for pentylenetetrazol to induce the appearance of seizures in vivo.

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"In vivo" visualization by positron emission tomography of the progressive striatal dopamine receptor damage occurring in MPTP-intoxicated non-human primates.

Intravenous administration of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6,-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) leads to the progressive development of a model of Parkinson's disease in the primate. The development of damage occurring in the striatal area during MPTP-treatment was followed "in vivo" in a baboon by positron emission tomography (PET). Spiperone labelled with a positron emitter 76Br (76Br-BSP) was used for the quantitative "in vivo" imaging of D2 dopamine receptors. The decrease in the striatal binding of 76Br-BSP measured "in vivo", after three series of MPTP injections, paralleled the increase in the severity of behavioral symptoms seen immediately after administration of the neurotoxin. At the end of the MPTP-treatment when neurological symptoms were the most important, a 36% decrease in the 76Br-BSP specific binding was measured. Between the series of MPTP injections a partial recovery in the quantitative measurement of the 76Br-BSP specific binding occurring in the striatum was well correlated with the disappearance of the neurological syndrome. Post-mortem histological and biochemical studies in nigro-striatal anatomical structures of MPTP-intoxicated primates compared with control animals showed a 80% loss of neuronal cell bodies in the substantia nigra compacta and a 42% decrease in the density (Bmax) of D2 receptors (in vitro 3H-spiperone binding). All these results showed that the use of PET and 76Br-BSP allow to follow in a noninvasive way both the degenerative processes and the subsequent partial recovery which occur in dopaminergic striatal receptor function during MPTP-treatment.

1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine↗