David D. Gillespie

Norepinephrine-independent regulation of GRII mRNA in vivo by a tricyclic antidepressant

Desipramine (DMI), a tricyclic antidepressant drug used in the treatment of depression, has been shown to increase steady-state levels of glucocorticoid receptor type II (GRII) mRNA in vitro and in vivo. To determine whether this effect is secondary to norepinephrine (NE) reuptake inhibition i.e., increases in synaptic NE induced by DMI, GRII mRNA levels were assayed in rat hippocampus following neurotoxic lesioning of NE neurons with DSP4. Chronic DMI treatment significantly increased GRII mRNA levels to the same degree in lesioned and non-lesioned animals. In contrast to DMI, the non-tricyclic antidepressant fluoxetine had no effect on GRII mRNA. These results provide evidence which demonstrates that a tricyclic antidepressant can regulate steady-state mRNA levels in vivo by a mechanism which is independent of its effects on synaptic monoamine levels.

Role of Neuronal Signal Input in the Down-Regulation of Central Noradrenergic Receptor Function by Antidepressant Drugs

Abstract: Rats with unilateral lesions of the locus coeruleus were used to study the role of norepinephrine (NE) signal input in the down‐regulation by antidepressants of the noradrenergic cyclic AMP‐generating system in the cortex. Chronic administration of both desipramine (blockade of NE reuptake) and iprindole (no blockade of NE reuptake) reduced the cyclic AMP response to NE on the nonlesioned side, but had little or no effect on the lesioned side. The results indicate that NE signal input and thus the formation of the NE‐receptor complex are prerequisites for inducing noradrenergic subsensitivity.

A pivotal role for serotonin (5HT) in the regulation of beta adrenoceptors by antidepressants: reversibility of the action of parachlorophenylalanine by 5-hydroxytroptophan

An acute reduction in the synaptic availability of serotonin (5HT) by p-chlorophenlalanine (PCPA) nullifies the decrease in the density of cortical beta adrenoceptors caused by desipramine (DMI) but does not appreciably alter the attenuation of the norepinephrine (NE) sensitive adenylate cyclase. The analysis of competition-binding curves of [3H]-dihydroalprenolol shows that the affinity of the agonist (−)-isoproterenol for cortical beta adrenoceptors is profoundly reduced following PCPA. This reduction in agonist affinity is enhanced by DMI. Resupplying 5HT by by-passing trptophan hydroxylase inhibition, by administering 5-hydroxytryptophan, converts a DMI non-responsive to a DMI responsive beta adrenoceptor population and shifts the markedly decreased agonist affinity towards the affinity values found in control preparations. The results demonstrate the pivotal role of 5HT in the regulation of the density and agonist affinity characteristics of cortical beta adrenoceptors and contribute to the scientific basis of the ‘serotonin-norepinephrine link hypothesis’ of affective disorders.

Oxaprotiline: Induction of central noradrenergic subsensitivity by its (+)-enantiomer

The effects of the tetracyclic antidepressant oxaprotiline and its two optically active enantiomers on the norepinephrine (NE) receptor coupled adenylate cyclase system were determined in slices of the rat cerebral cortex. While oxaprotiline does not change the response of the cyclic AMP generating system to NE after a single dose, chronic administration of the drug for 3 to 14 days down-regulates the receptor system. The noradrenergic subsensitivity is linked to a reduction in the Bmax value of beta-adrenergic receptors as assessed by (3H)-dihydroalprenolol binding without changes in the Kd value. The action of oxaprotiline on the NE receptor coupled adenylate cyclase system resides entirely in the (+)-enantiomer which is a potent inhibitor of the neuronal uptake of NE. The (-)-enantiomer of oxaprotiline which is a weak inhibitor of NE reuptake, failed, even in high doses, to modify the noradrenergic receptor system. Though not excluding co-regulatory factors in addition to NE, the studies support the view that an enhanced and persistent NE receptor interaction is one of the prerequisites for the in vivo down-regulation of central noradrenergic receptor function. The results also suggest that the therapeutic activity of oxaprotiline may reside in its (+)-enantiomer.

5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine-induced lesions of serotonergic neurons and desipramine-induced down-regulation of cortical beta adrenoceptors: A re-evaluation

Studies on mechanisms of desipramine (DMI) induced desensitization of the norepinephrine (NE) receptor coupled adenylate cyclase system in brain have shown that the endogenous agonist NE plays a pivotal role for both the development of subsensitivity and the down-regulation of beta adrenoceptors [l-4]. Moreover, an intact serotonergic neuronal input is co-required for the down-regulation of central beta adrenoceptors by tricyclic antidepressants [5-71, monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors, and electroconvulsive treatment [8]. In animals with a reduced synaptic availability of serotonin (WIT), cortical beta adrenoceptors display a marked decrease in agonist affinity as determined in competition-binding studies [9, lo], with no significant changes occurring in the Kd values of antagonist binding. Since the previously reported lcso values for isoproterenol were derived from rather shallow displacement curves [9] and the density of beta adrenoceptors was determined by Scatchard analysis of antagonist binding, information on high and low agonist affinity of beta adrenoceptors is desirable but not available. Consequently, we have re-evaluated the effect of chronic treatment with DMI and of specific lesions of serotonergic neurons with 5,7dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT) on beta adrenoceptors in rat cortex by using non-linear regression analysis of competition-binding curves.

Ethidium bromide fluorescence of 28S ribosomal RNA can be used to normalize samples in Northern or dot blots when analyzing small drug-induced changes in specific mRNA

Quantitative analysis of Northern blots is frequently accomplished with the aid of an internal standard. Most common is probing for an additional message the steady-state levels of which do not change in response to the experimental conditions and the signal of which is sufficiently removed from that of the target gene after gel electrophoresis. However, this strategy is not always feasible. When total RNA is immobilized on nylon, 28S ribosomal RNA on the blot can be used as an internal standard and quantitated by scanning the negative photograph of the blotted RNA stained with ethidium bromide. This procedure can also be used for RNA dot blots. The method is quick, reliable, will work with laser or white-light densitometers, and can serve as a universal internal standard, eliminating the need for additional probes.

The serotonin/noradrenaline-link in brain

SummaryThe present studies were undertaken to assess the role of noradrenaline (NA) and serotonin (5HT) in the regulation of the NA receptor coupled adenylate cyclase system and its alteration by desipramine (DMI) in brain structures with or without noradrenergic neuronal projections. In contrast to cortex and limbic forebrain, where chronic DMI administration caused subsensitivity of the NA sensitive adenylate cyclase linked to a down-regulation of beta adrenoceptors, the drug failed to alter the NA receptor coupled adenylate cyclase system in the striatum. Selective lesions of serotonergic axons with 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine caused a significant increase in the density of beta adrenoceptors in cortex, limbic forebrain and striatum and prevented the down-regulation by DMI of beta adrenoceptors in cortex and limbic forebrain while the responsiveness of the NA sensitive adenylate cyclase was reduced to the same extent as in sham-lesioned control animals. The discrepancy between beta adrenoceptor number and NA responsiveness following lesions of 5HT axons was particularly profound in the striatum. The analysis of highand low-affinity components of agonist binding demonstrated that the increase in striatal beta adrenoceptors is due to a marked increase in receptors with low affinity while the number of receptors with high affinity is unchanged. The results lend further support to the view that the synaptic availability of NA is a prerequisite for the induction of subsensitivity of the NA sensitive adenylate cyclase and for the down-regulation of its beta adrenoceptor population by DMI and that 5HT plays a pivotal role in both the regulation of the number and the function of central beta adrenoceptors.

Effect of selective monoamine oxidase inhibition by clorgyline and deprenyl on the norepinephrine receptor-coupled adenylate cyclase system in rat cortex

The consequences of selective monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibition on the norepinephrine(NE)-sensitive adenylate cyclase system were determined in slices of rat cerebral cortex. The chronic administration of clorgyline, which selectively inhibited the activity of MAO-A, caused a significant decrease in the responsiveness of the noradrenergic cyclic AMP-generating system. The noradrenergic subsensitivity was accompanied by a significant decrease in the density of β-adrenoceptors, as measured by 3H-dihydroalprenolol (DHA) binding, without altering the Kd value. However, selective inhibition of MAO-B by deprenyl did not alter the sensitivity of the cyclic AMP-generating system to NE or the specific DHA binding. The basal levels of cyclic AMP in the cortex were unaltered by the drugs. Since inhibition of MAO-A, but not MAO-B, increases the availability of NE, the results support the hypothesis that a persistent NE-receptor interaction is one of the prerequisites for the in vivo densitization of the NE-sensitive adenylate cyclase and the concomitant down-regulation of the number of β-adrenoceptors in brain.

Development of and recovery from subsensitivity of the noradrenergic cyclic AMP generating system in brain

SummaryAmphetamine given intraperitoneally (10 mg/kg b.i.d.) for 2 days did not alter either the basal level of cyclic AMP or the neurohormonal response of the cyclic AMP generating system to noradrenaline (NA). The same doses of amphetamine caused a significant reduction in the responsiveness to NA and the β-adrenergic agonist isoprenaline following the inhibition of the aromatic hydroxylation by iprindole. The EC50 values (concentration of NA which causes half maximal cyclic AMP stimulation) were not significantly changed: 9.5 μM (controls) and 11 μM (iprindole + amphetamine). Following discontinuation of the drugs, the recovery from adrenergic subsensitivity to NA was complete within 1 week in the limbic forebrain while the adrenergic responsiveness in the cortex was still only 65% of its control value 3 weeks following discontinuation of the drugs. The subsensitivity in both limbic forebrain and cortex was linked to a decreased Bmax value of specific 3H-dihydroalprenolol binding without changes in the Kd values. The different rates of recovery from noradrenergic subsensitivity in limbic forebrain and cortex following withdrawal of the drugs were reflected in the density of β-adrenergic receptors in the two brain regions. Since inhibition of the aromatic hydroxylation of amphetamine markedly prolongs the half life of the drug and prevents the accumulation of p-hydroxynorephedrine (a potential NA antagonist), the results support the view that homospecific down-regulation of the NA receptor coupled adenylate cyclase system in brain depends on a sustained and unhindered NA receptor interaction.

Dose-dependent down-regulation of ß-adrenoceptors by isoproterenol in rat C6 glioma cells

Nano- and micromolar isoproterenol concentrations were compared by studying cyclic AMP, beta-adrenoceptor density and beta 1-adrenoceptor mRNA in rat C6 glioma cells. 1 microM isoproterenol significantly changed all parameters at 15-30 min. The beta 1-antagonist metoprolol attenuated the response. No effects of nanomolar isoproterenol on these early changes were observed, although the density of beta-adrenoceptors was significantly reduced beginning at 12 h. The results indicate a different process for beta-adrenoceptor desensitization in C6 cells following physiologically low agonist concentrations.