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Pharmacological approach to the mechanisms of transcranial DC-stimulation-induced after-effects of human motor cortex excitability.

Weak transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) induces persisting excitability changes in the human motor cortex. These plastic excitability changes are selectively controlled by the polarity, duration and current strength of stimulation. To reveal the underlying mechanisms of direct current (DC)-induced neuroplasticity, we combined tDCS of the motor cortex with the application of Na(+)-channel-blocking carbamazepine (CBZ) and the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-receptor antagonist dextromethorphan (DMO). Monitored by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), motor cortical excitability changes of up to 40% were achieved in the drug-free condition. Increase of cortical excitability could be selected by anodal stimulation, and decrease by cathodal stimulation. Both types of excitability change lasted several minutes after cessation of current stimulation. DMO suppressed the post-stimulation effects of both anodal and cathodal DC stimulation, strongly suggesting the involvement of NMDA receptors in both types of DC-induced neuroplasticity. In contrast, CBZ selectively eliminated anodal effects. Since CBZ stabilizes the membrane potential voltage-dependently, the results reveal that after-effects of anodal tDCS require a depolarization of membrane potentials. Similar to the induction of established types of short- or long-term neuroplasticity, a combination of glutamatergic and membrane mechanisms is necessary to induce the after-effects of tDCS. On the basis of these results, we suggest that polarity-driven alterations of resting membrane potentials represent the crucial mechanisms of the DC-induced after-effects, leading to both an alteration of spontaneous discharge rates and to a change in NMDA-receptor activation.

Adult↗

3-hydroxymorphinan is neurotrophic to dopaminergic neurons and is also neuroprotective against LPS-induced neurotoxicity.

The purpose of this study was to develop a novel therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD). We recently reported that dextromethorphan (DM), an active ingredient in a variety of widely used anticough remedies, protected dopaminergic neurons in rat primary mesencephalic neuron-glia cultures against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated degeneration and provided potent protection for dopaminergic neurons in a MPTP mouse model. The underlying mechanism for the protective effect of DM was attributed to its anti-inflammatory activity through inhibition of microglia activation. In an effort to develop more potent compounds for the treatment of PD, we have screened a series of analogs of DM, and 3-hydroxymorphinan (3-HM) emerged as a promising candidate for this purpose. Our study using primary mesencephalic neuron-glia cultures showed that 3-HM provided more potent neuroprotection against LPS-induced dopaminergic neurotoxicity than its parent compound. The higher potency of 3-HM was attributed to its neurotrophic effect in addition to the anti-inflammatory effect shared by both DM and 3-HM. First, we showed that 3-HM exerted potent neuroprotective and neurotrophic effects on dopaminergic neurons in rat primary mesencephalic neuron-glia cultures treated with LPS. The neurotrophic effect of 3-HM was glia-dependent since 3-HM failed to show any protective effect in the neuron-enriched cultures. We subsequently demonstrated that it was the astroglia, not the microglia, that contributed to the neurotrophic effect of 3-HM. This conclusion was based on the reconstitution studies, in which we added different percentages of microglia (10-20%) or astroglia (40-50%) back to the neuron-enriched cultures and found that 3-HM was neurotrophic after the addition of astroglia, but not microglia. Furthermore, 3-HM-treated astroglia-derived conditioned media exerted a significant neurotrophic effect on dopaminergic neurons. It appeared likely that 3-HM caused the release of neurotrophic factor(s) from astroglia, which in turn was responsible for the neurotrophic effect. Second, the anti-inflammatory mechanism was also important for the neuroprotective activity of 3-HM because the more microglia were added back to the neuron-enriched cultures, the more significant neuroprotective effect was observed. The anti-inflammatory mechanism of 3-HM was attributed to its inhibition of LPS-induced production of an array of pro-inflammatory and neurotoxic factors, including nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). In conclusion, this study showed that 3-HM exerted potent neuroprotection by acting on two different targets: a neurotrophic effect mediated by astroglia and an anti-inflammatory effect mediated by the inhibition of microglial activation. 3-HM thus possesses these two important features necessary for an effective neuroprotective agent. In view of the well-documented very low toxicity of DM and its analogs, this report may provide an important new direction for the development of therapeutic interventions for inflammation-related diseases such as PD.

Animals↗

A monoclonal antibody inhibitory to human P450 2D6: a paradigm for use in combinatorial determination of individual P450 role in specific drug tissue metabolism.

Human cytochrome P450 2D6 metabolizes more than 50 common drugs and is polymorphically expressed, with 5-10% of the population lacking expression caused by mutant genes. This may result in a defective and toxic response in deficient individuals treated with 2D6 drug substrates. Baculovirus-expressed 2D6 was used to immunize mice for hybridoma production and two clones yielded monoclonal antibodies, that were positive against 2D6 by ELISA and inhibited 2D6 catalysed metabolism of bufuralol, dextromethorphan and phenanthrene by more than 90%. The inhibitory activity was highly specific to 2D6 and the monoclonal antibodies did not bind to 11 other P450s, nor inhibit seven human P450s tested. Analysis of eight human liver microsome samples showed that their basal bufuralol 1'-hydroxylase activity varied from 6.7-83.5 pmol min-1 nmol-1 P450. The monoclonal antibody 512-1-8 inhibited 2D6-dependent bufuralol 1'-hydroxylase in these samples by 10-70% indicating a widely variable role for 2D6 in human liver bufuralol 1'-hydroxylase activity and a role for other P450s in bufuralol metabolism. Independent analysis of several recombinant human P450s showed that 2D6, 2C8, 2C9, 2C19 and 1A2 exhibited bufuralol 1'-hydroxylase activity with 2D6 and 2C19 being the most active. Further analysis of three liver samples was made with individual inhibitory monoclonal antibodies. Inhibitory antibodies to 2D6, 2B6, 2E1, 2C8/9/19, 3A4 and 1A2 were added to the microsomes either singly or additively. Inhibitory activity of bufuralol 1'-hydroxylase was observed with antibodies to 2D6 (14-76%), 2C8/9/19 (24-69%) and 1A2 (2-25%) indicating a variable and different role for each of these P450s in the bufuralol 1'-hydroxylase of human liver. The monoclonal antibodies to 2B6, 2E1 and 3A4 were not inhibitory, indicating that these enzymes play no role in bufuralol 1'-hydroxylase metabolism. When the three antibodies to 2D6, 2C8/9/19 and 1A2, respectively, were all added, the total bufuralol 1'-hydroxylase of the liver samples was inhibited by more than 90%, indicating that the latter P450s catalyse all of liver bufuralol 1'-hydroxylase metabolism. These studies demonstrate that inhibitory monoclonal antibodies offer a simple and precise method for assessing the quantitative role of each P450 in the metabolism of a P450 substrate in a tissue, which include drugs, carcinogens, mutagens, toxic chemicals and endobiotics.

Animals↗

In-vivo indices of enzyme activity: the effect of renal impairment on the assessment of CYP2D6 activity.

Urinary drug:metabolite ratios and urinary recoveries of metabolites, have been used to assess specific enzyme activity non-invasively in vivo. These indices are potentially confounded by the effect of renal function. A recent study of the effects of renal impairment has found discrepancies between different indices used to mark CYP2D6 activity based on sparteine and dextromethorphan urinary recoveries. We have re-examined these experimental data from a theoretical viewpoint. The results suggest that the dependence of fractional urinary recovery of metabolites on renal function varies with the importance of different elimination routes. Therefore, no consistent behaviour of this index is expected when markers with different pharmacokinetics are used. However, when collecting the urine until full recovery of drug and metabolite, drug:metabolite ratios show the same degree of dependence on renal function regardless of the marker. The application of the analysis to the experimental data indicates that CYP2D6 activity is compromised in parallel with deterioration of renal function.

Area Under Curve↗

Analysis of the CYP2D6 gene polymorphism and enzyme activity in African-Americans in southern California.

Despite its importance in drug metabolism and disease susceptibility, CYP2D6 activity and genetic polymorphism have rarely been investigated in African-American populations. In order to bridge this gap, we examined the genotype and phenotype of the enzyme in 154 African-American (AA) and 143 Caucasian (C) normal volunteers. AAs are significantly more likely to possess *17 and *5, but less likely to have *4. Overall, the two groups were similar in their CYP2D6 activity as measured with dextromethorphan as the probe (metabolic ratio 2.21 +/- 0.78 for AAs; 2.11 +/- 0.86 for Cs; t = 1.02, NS). Two of four AAs and six of seven Cs were classified as poor metabolizers and have two nonfunctioning alleles. CYP2D6 activity is determined by *17, *4, *5 and age in AAs (r2 = 0.33, f = 18.8, P < 0.001) and by *4 and *XN in Cs (r2 = 0.14, f = 10.8, P < 0.001). These results support previous findings demonstrating the importance of *17 in determining CYP2D6 activity in AAs.

Adult↗

Comparative bioavailability of the microemulsion formulation of cyclosporine (Neoral) with a generic dispersion formulation (Cicloral) in young healthy male volunteers.

The aim of this study was to compare the bioavailability of cyclosporine (CyA) from the generic dispersion formulation Cicloral (CIC) with the microemulsion formulation Neoral (NEO) and the original Sandimmune (SIM) capsules after single doses of 100, 300, or 600 mg of drug, respectively. The study was performed according to an open 3-period cross-over design with 12 young healthy male volunteers for each dosage. The concentrations of CyA and its main metabolites were determined by high performance liquid chromatography in whole blood and urine up to 48 hours postdosing. Peak concentrations and area under the time-concentration curve were greater for the NEO and CIC formulations compared with SIM, and the mean bioavailability of CIC was significantly (P<0.05) lower compared with NEO. The bioavailability of SIM compared with NEO was 54% to 71%, in agreement with previous results. Bioequivalence was not demonstrated between CIC (test) and NEO (reference) as the 90% confidence intervals were outside the 80% to 125% guidelines based on log-transformed AUCs, and were 75.2% to 87.7% at 100 mg, 79.2% to 91.8% at 300 mg, and 76.6% to 94.5% at 600 mg doses. The respective values for Cmax were 78.9% to 94.6%, 80.7% to 95.0%, and 71.4% to 84.1%. A good correlation was demonstrated between the urinary recovery of CyA and the AUC4. Therefore, the urinary recovery of CyA may be helpful as a surrogate parameter for the systemic exposure of patients to CyA. Whereas the relative amount of hydroxylated metabolites (AM1, AM9, AM1c) was similar for all formulations and doses, the urinary recovery of the N-demethylated metabolite AM4N decreased with increasing dose indicating saturable metabolism. No relationship could be demonstrated between CYP3A activity using dextromethorphan as a probe for the metabolic clearance of CyA.

Adult↗

Efficacy, abuse, and toxicity of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines in the pediatric population.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Over-the-counter cough and cold medicines are widely prescribed by general pediatricians in order to relieve cough and other symptoms in the setting of upper respiratory infections. This article will review the pharmacologic components found in over-the-counter cough medicines, the data concerning their use and efficacy in children, the increasing trend of abuse of these medications, and their potential toxicity. RECENT FINDINGS: There is an overall paucity of data evaluating the use of over-the-counter cough medicines in children as well as a lack of evidence for their efficacy. The articles cited will review the efficacy of over-the-counter cough medicines, the emerging trend of abuse of certain preparations such as dextromethorphan, and specific cases of morbidity and even mortality. SUMMARY: According to the limited data that exist, there is not any evidence that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines are effective in children. In otherwise healthy children without chronic complicating factors such as asthma, the symptoms of acute upper respiratory infections are generally mild and self-limited. Pediatricians must weigh the benefits against the potential risks of recommending over-the-counter cough medicines and should be prepared to educate parents about the expected natural course of their child's illness and the likelihood that these medications will be minimally effective in relieving symptoms, if at all.

Antitussive Agents↗

Influence of gender and oral contraceptives on CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 activity in healthy volunteers.

AIMS: The study was carried out in order to assess the effects of gender and the use of oral contraceptives (OCs) on CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 activities in healthy volunteers. METHODS: Six hundred and eleven Caucasian volunteers (330 males and 281 females; age range 18-49 years) were phenotyped with respect to CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 by means of the probe drugs dextromethorphan and mephenytoin, respectively. Extensive metabolisers were selected for this study. RESULTS: The median dextromethorphan/dextrorphan metabolic ratio in non-OC using females was significantly lower than in males (0.067 vs 0.080; P = 0.033) (mean difference in ln dextromethorphan/dextrorphan metabolic ratio 0.023, 95% CI 0.03-0.43). For the mephenytoin S/R ratio, no such difference was observed. However, OC using females had a significantly higher median mephenytoin S/R ratio than non-OC using females (0.230 vs 0.090; P < 0.001) (mean difference in ln mephenytoin S/R ratio 0.082, 95% CI 0.60-1.04). Moreover, females using combined OCs had a significantly higher median ratio than females using OCs with progestins only (median 0.258 vs 0.135; P = 0.008) (mean difference in ln mephenytoin S/R ratio 0.82, 95% CI 0.21-1.34). CONCLUSIONS: Given certain assumptions, the study indicates that females in the fertile age have a slightly higher CYP2D6 activity compared with males. There was no evidence of a gender difference in CYP2C19 activity. The use of combined OCs reduces the activity of CYP2C19, an effect that seems to be related to the ethinyloestradiol component.

Adolescent↗

Bullous mastocytosis in an infant associated with the use of a nonprescription cough suppressant.

Bullous mastocytosis is an unusual expression of mastocytosis typically seen in young children, and many causes of the acute mast cell degranulation with bulla formation have been identified. We report a 6-month-old boy with urticaria pigmentosa and an extensive bullous eruption associated with the ingestion of a nonprescription cough suppressant containing dextromethorphan. The pathogenesis of mastocytosis and the care of patients with this disease are discussed.

Antitussive Agents↗

Polymorphism of debrisoquine and mephenytoin hydroxylation among Estonians.

Debrisoquine and S-mephenytoin hydroxylation polymorphisms were studied in 156 unrelated native Estonians. The hydroxylation phenotypes were assessed by coadministration of mephenytoin with debrisoquine or dextromethorphan. The frequency of the poor metaboliser phenotype of debrisoquine/dextromethorphan was 4.5% (95% confidence interval 1.2-7.8%), and that of mephenytoin was 3.9% (95% confidence interval 0.9-6.9%) among Estonians, which is very similar to what has been reported in other Caucasian populations.

Adult↗

Modulation of human corticomotor excitability by somatosensory input.

In humans, somatosensory stimulation results in increased corticomotoneuronal excitability to the stimulated body parts. The purpose of this study was to investigate the underlying mechanisms. We recorded motor evoked potentials (MEPs) to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) from abductor pollicis brevis (APB), first dorsal interosseous (FDI), and abductor digiti minimi (ADM) muscles. MEP amplitudes, recruitment curves (RC), intracortical inhibition (ICI), intracortical facilitation (ICF), resting (rMT) and active motor thresholds (aMT) were recorded before and after a 2-h period of ulnar nerve electrical stimulation at the wrist. Somatosensory input was monitored by recording somatosensory evoked potentials. To differentiate excitability changes at cortical vs. subcortical sites, we recorded supramaximal peripheral M-responses and MEPs to brainstem electrical stimulation (BES). In order to investigate the involvement of GABAergic mechanisms, we studied the influence of lorazepam (LZ) (a GABA(A) receptor agonist) relative to that of dextromethorphan (DM) (an NMDA receptor antagonist) and placebo in a double-blind design. We found that somatosensory stimulation increased MEP amplitudes to TMS only in the ADM, confirming a previous report. This effect was blocked by LZ but not by either DM or placebo and lasted between 8 and 20 min in the absence of (i) changes in MEPs elicited by BES, (ii) amplitudes of early somatosensory-evoked potentials or (iii) M-responses. We conclude that somatosensory stimulation elicited a focal increase in corticomotoneuronal excitability that outlasts the stimulation period and probably occurs at cortical sites. The antagonistic effect of LZ supports the hypothesis of GABAergic involvement as an operating mechanism.

Adolescent↗

Mechanisms of enhancement of human motor cortex excitability induced by interventional paired associative stimulation.

Associative stimulation has been shown to enhance excitability in the human motor cortex (Stefan et al. 2000); however, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. An interventional paired associative stimulation (IPAS) was employed consisting of repetitive application of single afferent electric stimuli, delivered to the right median nerve, paired with single pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the optimal site for activation of the abductor pollicis brevis muscle (APB) to generate approximately synchronous events in the primary motor cortex. Compared to baseline, motor evoked potentials (MEPs) induced by unconditioned, single TMS pulses increased after IPAS. By contrast, intracortical inhibition, assessed using (i) a suprathreshold test TMS pulse conditioned by a subthreshold TMS pulse delivered 3 ms before the test pulse, and (ii) a suprathreshold test TMS pulse conditioned by afferent median nerve stimulation delivered 25 ms before the TMS pulse, remained unchanged when assessed with appropriately matching test stimulus intensities. The increase of single-pulse TMS-evoked MEP amplitudes was blocked when IPAS was performed under the influence of dextromethorphan, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist known to block long-term potentiation (LTP). Further experiments employing the double-shock TMS protocol suggested that the afferent pulse, as one component of the IPAS protocol, induced disinhibition of the primary motor cortex at the time when the TMS pulse, as the other component of IPAS, was delivered. Together, these findings support the view that LTP-like mechanisms may underlie the cortical plasticity induced by IPAS.

Adult↗

Pharmacological modulation of cortical excitability shifts induced by transcranial direct current stimulation in humans.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the human motor cortex results in polarity-specific shifts of cortical excitability during and after stimulation. Anodal tDCS enhances and cathodal stimulation reduces excitability. Animal experiments have demonstrated that the effect of anodal tDCS is caused by neuronal depolarisation, while cathodal tDCS hyperpolarises cortical neurones. However, not much is known about the ion channels and receptors involved in these effects. Thus, the impact of the sodium channel blocker carbamazepine, the calcium channel blocker flunarizine and the NMDA receptor antagonist dextromethorphane on tDCS-elicited motor cortical excitability changes of healthy human subjects were tested. tDCS-protocols inducing excitability alterations (1) only during tDCS and (2) eliciting long-lasting after-effects were applied after drug administration. Carbamazepine selectively eliminated the excitability enhancement induced by anodal stimulation during and after tDCS. Flunarizine resulted in similar changes. Antagonising NMDA receptors did not alter current-generated excitability changes during a short stimulation, which elicits no after-effects, but prevented the induction of long-lasting after-effects independent of their direction. These results suggest that, like in other animals, cortical excitability shifts induced during tDCS in humans also depend on membrane polarisation, thus modulating the conductance of sodium and calcium channels. Moreover, they suggest that the after-effects may be NMDA receptor dependent. Since NMDA receptors are involved in neuroplastic changes, the results suggest a possible application of tDCS in the modulation or induction of these processes in a clinical setting. The selective elimination of tDCS-driven excitability enhancements by carbamazepine proposes a role for this drug in focussing the effects of cathodal tDCS, which may have important future clinical applications.

Adult↗

Effects of G169R and P34S substitutions produced by mutations of CYP2D6*14 on the functional properties of CYP2D6 expressed in V79 cells.

CYP2D6 is a polymorphic enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of various drugs. At least 40-mutant alleles of CYP2D6 have been reported. CYP2D6*14, which is one of them found in Asian populations, causes deficient activity of CYP2D6. Four amino acid substitutions, P34S, G169R, R296C, and S486T, are present in the protein encoded by CYP2D6*14 (CYP2D6 14). Among them, G169R is thought to be a definitive substitution because it is unique to CYP2D6 14. However, a previous study showed that the activity of G169R-substituted CYP2D6 was about 40% of wild-type CYP2D6, suggesting that a combination of G169R and other substitutions may be required to abolish the activity of CYP2D6. In the present study, we examined the effects of combined substitutions of G169R and P34S on the functional properties of CYP2D6 and compared them with those of a single substitution of G169R or P34S using a cDNA expression system of V79 cells. The results showed that a combined substitution of G169R and P34S reduced the activities of CYP2D6 to less than the detection limit of our analytical method for bufuralol 1'-hydroxylation and dextromethorphan O-demethylation. However, these activities were not completely abolished by a single substitution of P34S or G169R. The findings suggest that simultaneous substitution of G169R and P34S is crucial for almost completely abolishing the activity of CYP2D6 at least in V79 cells, although whether the absence of metabolism is due to the absence of functional protein or catalytic incompetency remains unclear because the levels of CYP2D6 protein expressed in V79 cells were too low to be determined by difference CO-reduced spectra.

Alleles↗

Inhibition kinetics of monoclonal antibodies against cytochromes P450.

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) inhibitory to individual cytochromes P450 (P450s) are of tremendous utility in identification of P450s responsible for the metabolism of a given drug or drug candidate in pharmaceuticals. In the present study, two inhibitory MAbs against CYP2D6 (MAb(2D6-50,) IgG(2b) and MAb(2D6-184), IgG(2a)) were developed by hybridoma technology to exhibit their high specificity and potency. The MAbs were further employed to assess the quantitative role (47-93%) of CYP2D6 to the metabolism of bufuralol in human liver microsomes from seven donors. Together with the MAb inhibitory to CYP3A4 as previously reported (Mei et al., 1999), the MAbs were used to study the inhibition kinetics of dextromethorphan O-demethylation (CYP2D6), testosterone 6beta-hydroxylation (CYP3A4) and aflatoxin B1 3-hydroxylation (CYP3A4), respectively, with an adequate size of sample measurement. A kinetic model was proposed to fit the experimental observations with three-dimensional nonlinear regression, thereby resulting in a solution of kinetic parameters, i.e., K(I), K(S), V(max), alpha, and beta (changes in K(I) or K(S) and V(max) in the presence of the MAb). As a result, dissociation constants (K(I)) of the MAbs for the enzymes and the maximal inhibition (beta) values for the P450-catalyzed reactions were predicted to have 0.04 to 0.25 microM and > or =94%, respectively. The results have demonstrated that the model can accurately predict the kinetic parameters and provide some insights into the understanding of the mechanism of MAb interaction with P450 enzyme in nature and the applications of the MAbs in qualitative and quantitative identification of P450s involved in drug metabolism.

Aflatoxins↗

Only truncated, not complete cytochrome p450 2D6 RNA transcript and no detectable enzyme activity are expressed in human lymphocytes.

Genotyping of the highly polymorphic cytochrome p450 2D6 (CYP2D6) permits a gross classification of individual phenotype (viz. ultra-rapid, extensive, and poor metabolizers). It does not, however, provide a precise prediction of CYP2D6 activity, particularly in an individual possessing at least one functional CYP2D6 allele. It has been suggested that the level of mRNA expression or enzyme activity in lymphocytes, isolated from blood, could potentially provide a better quantitative estimate of in vivo hepatic enzymatic activity in human subjects. Although short sequences of CYP2D6 mRNA have been detected in human lymphocytes by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) that suggests the potential use of lymphocyte RNA as a readily accessible biomarker, it is not known whether a functional enzyme is expressed in human lymphocytes. In this study, human lymphocyte activity was assessed with a CYP2D6-specific, high-turnover probe substrate that is severalfold more sensitive than traditional markers of CYP2D6 (e.g., dextromethorphan). CYP2D6 catalytic activity could not be detected in homogenates of human lymphocytes, even at high protein concentrations and with supplementation of enzyme cofactors. Further RT-PCR analysis of lymphocytes collected from eight human donors revealed the presence of only a fragment, but not the complete transcript, of CYP2D6 mRNA. Northern blot RNA transcript analysis also failed to indicate the presence of the full-length transcript in lymphocytes. Collectively, these data indicate that human lymphocytes express neither the full-length CYP2D6 mRNA transcript nor functional enzyme activity. Therefore, the utility of lymphocytes as a functional biomarker for CYP2D6 enzyme activity is not clear at present.

Blotting, Northern↗

Effects of the competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, LY235959 [(-)-6-phosphonomethyl-deca-hydroisoquinoline-3-carboxylic acid], on responding for cocaine under both fixed and progressive ratio schedules of reinforcement.

It is difficult to determine the precise role of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor system in the reinforcing effects of cocaine since uncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonists alter cocaine self-administration in different ways, depending on the antagonist examined and the behavior being measured. To increase understanding of the role of the NMDA system in cocaine's reinforcing effects, this study measured the effects of the competitive NMDA receptor antagonist, LY235959 [(-)-6-phosphonomethyl-deca-hydroisoquinoline-3-carboxylic acid], in rats that self-administered cocaine under both fixed ratio (FR) 1 and progressive ratio (PR) schedules of reinforcement. Rats were trained to self-administer cocaine (0.33 mg/infusion) under an FR1 schedule of reinforcement. Thereafter, the effects of pretreatment with LY235959, or the uncompetitive antagonists dextromethorphan and dizocilpine, were examined. The number of infusions earned during the first 10 min of responding under the FR1 schedule was analyzed separately. When rats responded for 0.33 mg/infusion cocaine under an FR1 schedule of reinforcement, 3 mg/kg LY235959 decreased cocaine self-administration only during the first 10 min of the responding. This effect was dose and time dependent and blocked by the competitive NMDA receptor agonist, NMDA. LY235959 (3 mg/kg) decreased total responding for cocaine only when the self-administered dose of cocaine was small (0.02-0.04 mg/infusion) or when responding was reinforced under the PR schedule. In contrast, dizocilpine decreased responding under the FR1 schedule but increased responding under the PR schedule. These data suggest that LY235959 decreased the reinforcing effectiveness of cocaine, a finding reported with systemically administered NMDA receptor antagonists other than dizocilpine.

Animals↗

Characterization of [3H]desmethylimipramine binding in bovine adrenal medulla: interactions with sigma- and (or) phencyclidine-receptor ligands.

High-affinity binding sites (apparent KD 2.87 nM) for [3H]desmethylimipramine ([3H]DMI), have been demonstrated and characterized in membrane preparations of bovine adrenal medulla. The binding of [3H]DMI improved upon pretreatment of the membrane with KCl and was saturable, sodium dependent, and potently inhibited by nisoxetine and imipramine. [3H]DMI binding was also inhibited by various phencyclidine (PCP)- and (or) sigma-receptor ligands, with the following order of potency: haloperidol > rimcazole > (-)-butaclamol > dextromethorphan > MK-801 > (+)-3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-N-(1-propyl)piperidine ((+)-3-PPP) > PCP > N-(2-thienyl)cyclohexyl-3,4-piperidine (TCP) > (+)-SKF-10047 > (-)-SKF-10047. The inhibition produced by sigma ligands was not attributed to stimulation of either sigma 1- or sigma 2-receptors, owing to inactivity of the selective sigma-receptor ligands (+)-pentazocine and 1,3-di(2-tolyl)guanidine (DTG). The inhibition of [3H]DMI binding by sigma- and PCP-receptor ligands was not attributed to PCP1- or PCP2-receptor stimulation, owing to the decreased potency (100-fold) of these ligands in [3H]DMI assays compared with the affinity for brain PCP1 sites, and the ineffectiveness of the PCP2-ligand N-(1-(2-benzo(b)thiophenyl)cyclohexyl)piperidine (BTCP). Scatchard analysis of the inhibition by the sigma-ligands haloperidol and (+)-3-PPP, as well as the PCP1 receptor ligand MK-801, demonstrated noncompetitive interaction with the site bound by [3H]DMI. These studies indicate that bovine adrenomedullary membranes possess a specific receptor for the noradrenaline uptake inhibitor [3H]DMI, which is sensitive to allosteric modulation produced by PCP and sigma-ligands.

Adrenal Medulla↗