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Biomedical subjects

B Kerdelhue

Publications and source records attributed to B Kerdelhue.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Ovarian steroid modulation of neurokinin contents in hypothalamus, pituitary, trigeminal nucleus, and cervical spinal cord of the ovariectomized female rat.

Ovariectomized rats were treated with estradiol benzoate (EB) and progesterone in conditions known to negatively and positively regulate gonadotropin secretion. Injection with EB decreased the plasma concentration of substance P at the time of the positive feed-back exerted by EB on gonadotropin secretion, while having no effect on the plasma concentration of neurokinin A. In the hypothalamus, EB injection enhanced the substance P and neurokinin A content, while progesterone reduced the substance P content. In the anterior pituitary, the substance P content was increased after progesterone, and this increase was blocked by EB. Conversely, in the posterior pituitary, the substance P content was reduced after progesterone, and this effect was enhanced by EB. In the trigeminal nucleus, the substance P content was increased after progesterone and EB, while only progesterone affected neurokinin A content. Finally, in the cervical spinal cord, the substance P and neurokinin A contents were reduced after EB. We conclude that neurokinin contents are controlled by ovarian steroids not only in the hypothalamo-pituitary complex but also in the trigeminal nucleus and the cervical spinal cord.

Animals↗

Multiple transcription start sites for the GnRH gene in rhesus and cynomolgus monkeys: a non-human primate model for studying GnRH gene regulation.

In humans, transcription of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) gene can be initiated at two transcription start sites to produce different GnRH mRNAs. The upstream transcription start site is used only in reproductive tissues and tumors. To determine if a similar pattern of GnRH gene expression exists in non-human primates, we cloned GnRH cDNA from rhesus monkey hypothalamic RNA using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and the 5' flanking region of the monkey GnRH gene by PCR. A 96% similarity between monkey and human GnRH cDNA was found with 94% similarity in the upstream promoter region. An upstream transcriptional start site, was identified in cynomolgus monkey testicular mRNA, 504 base pairs upstream from the hypothalamic site, which was different from that identified in the human GnRH gene. Various cynomolgus monkey reproductive tissues were found to utilize this upstream transcriptional start site. In contrast, no evidence was found for the use of upstream transcriptional start sites in rat testis or placenta, suggesting that the reproductive tissue specificity of the upstream transcription start site may be a primate specific feature.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Reduction of the amplitude of preovulatory LH and FSH surges and of the amplitude of the in vitro GnRH-induced LH release by substance P. Reversal of the effect by RP 67580.

The effects of Substance P (SP) and of a specific nonpeptide antagonist of the NK1 receptor (RP 67580) on preovulatory gonadotropin surges and on the in vitro GnRH induced LH surge were investigated in cycling female rats. A subcutaneous injection of SP (0.5 mg/kg body weight) at 12.00 h on the proestrous day significantly decreased the LH preovulatory surge. RP 67580 (1.5 mg/kg) significantly increased this LH surge. However, when SP and its antagonist were administered together, LH preovulatory surge was normal. The FSH preovulatory surge at 18.00 h and also at 19.00 h was significantly inhibited by SP administration. RP 67580 alone had no effect on the FSH preovulatory surge. When SP and RP 67580 were both administered, there was no diminution of FSH plasma levels at 18.00 h and 19.00 h. In vitro perifusions of anterior pituitaries showed that SP inhibits GnRH-induced LH release via a NK1 receptor. Thus, SP inhibits the LH preovulatory surge via NK1 receptors and SP modulation of gonadotropin surges is at least partly exerted at the pituitary.

Analysis of Variance↗

CGRP in the trigeminal nucleus, spinal cord and hypothalamus: effect of gonadal steroids.

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) contents were assayed in cervical spinal cord, trigeminal nucleus and hypothalamus throughout the estrous cycle and in male and ovariectomized rats. In the trigeminal nucleus, neither testosterone nor 17 beta-estradiol seem to affect CGRP accumulation, but progesterone seems to decrease it. In the cervical spinal cord, ovarian steroids seem to decrease CGRP while testosterone does not seem to influence it. In the hypothalamus, CGRP was only detectable in the male rat suggesting a positive effect of testosterone. It had marked circadian rhythm. In conclusion, CGRP content appears to be affected by gonadal steroids in the hypothalamus, the cervical spinal cord and the trigeminal nucleus in the rat.

Animals↗

Endogenous oploid peptides stimulate post-exercise insulin response to glucose in rats.

Exercise is associated with profound changes in glucose metabolism and insulin secretion. Endogenous opioid peptides may be involved in these metabolic adaptations. To gain insights into this hypothesis, we studied the effects of the opioid antagonist naloxone on the insulin response to glucose after a 2.5 h exercise bout, either by means of an intravascular glucose tolerance test in male Wistar rats or from rat islets of Langerhans isolated just after exercise. There was a tenfold increase in plasma beta-endorphin concentrations (9.8 +/- 2.1 vs. 114.2 +/- 22.0 fmol/ml, p < 0.001) in animals killed immediately after exercise. The in vivo post-exercise peak insulin response to glucose was markedly reduced compared to resting controls (p < 0.01). Interestingly, naloxone (10 mg/kg) still further decreased the insulin response compared to saline injected exercised rats (p < 0.05), but did not alter the response from resting animals. The post-exercise insulin response to 8.3 mM glucose was significantly reduced compared to resting rat islets (p < 0.05) and was further inhibited when naloxone (10 mu M) was added to the culture medium (p < 0.05). In another experiment, we also tested the effect of 10(-8) and 10(-6) M beta-endorphin on control islets. Both concentrations of beta-endorphin significantly increased the islet insulin response to 8.3 mM glucose (p < 0.05) and this effect was completely blocked by naloxone. These results suggest that endogenous opioid peptides participate in the physiological adaptation to exercise stress in maintaining post-exercise insulin response to glucose.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

[Androgens and feminine behavior].

Our actual knowledges of the relationships between androgens and various aspects of the female behaviour are coming from experimental studies performed in various animal species or from observations performed in the woman in situations such as puberty, menstrual cycle, menopause, congenital hyperplasia of the adrenal, polycystics ovaries clearly rising up testosterone levels. The role of androgens in the sexual differentiation, as well as in sexual, aggressive, artistic and cognitive behaviour is investigated in the present work. However, animal data must be modulated in view of specific psychosocial factors in the woman.

Androgens↗

Immunohistochemical distribution, biochemical characterization, and biological action of tachykinins in the frog adrenal gland.

The distribution of tachykinin-like immunoreactivity (LI) was studied in the adrenal gland of the frog Rana ridibunda using the immunofluorescence technique. A dense network of varicose fibers immunoreactive to both substance-P (SP) and neurokinin-A (NKA) was found in the adrenal tissue. In contrast, no positive fibers could be detected using antineurokinin-B (NKB) antibodies. At the electron microscope level, the immunogold technique revealed that tachykinin-LI was sequestered in dense core vesicles of 50-70 nm. Bilateral transection of either splanchnic or vagus nerves or total lesion of celiac sympathetic ganglion did not suppress tachykinin-LI. A combination of HPLC analysis and RIA detection was used to characterize tachykinin-LI in frog adrenal extracts. Two major peaks were resolved, which coeluted, respectively, with synthetic ranakinin, a novel tachykinin previously isolated from the frog brain, and [Leu3,Ile7]NKA previously isolated from the frog gut. No NKB could be detected in the extracts. The effects of various synthetic tachykinins on corticosteroid secretion were studied using perifused frog adrenal slices. For concentrations ranging from 10(-8)-10(-4) M, SP induced a dose-dependent stimulation of corticosterone and aldosterone release. A desensitization phenomenon was observed when iterative or prolonged infusions of SP were administered to the tissue. All mammalian or amphibian tachykinin-related peptides tested in our model also enhanced corticosteroid production. The effectiveness of the tachykinins tested was: [Pro7] NKB > NKA > ranakinin > [Pro9]SP > SP > kassinin > physalaemin > NKB > [Leu3,Ile7]NKA. SP also enhanced prostaglandin E2 and prostacyclin release in the effluent perifusate and the response preceded by 10-15 min the increase in corticosteroid output. Indomethacin (5 x 10(-6) M), a specific blocker of cyclooxygenase activity, totally suppressed SP-evoked steroid secretion. These data indicate that tachykinin-induced stimulation of steroidogenesis was mediated through activation of the arachidonic acid cascade. Taken together, our results show that the frog adrenal gland is innervated by a dense network of peptidergic fibers containing both ranakinin and [Leu3,Ile7]NKA, which, in vitro, stimulates corticosteroid secretion by adrenocortical cells through a prostaglandin-dependent mechanism. The present results support the view that tachykinins released by nerve fibers exert a neuroendocrine control on corticosteroid release in amphibians.

6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha↗

GnRH-associated peptide (GAP) is present in the rat striatum and affects the synthesis and release of dopamine.

A possible interference of the GnRH-associated peptide (GAP) with the metabolism of dopamine in the rat striatum was investigated. The presence of the precursor of the peptide in this central region of dopaminergic terminals was first evidenced using specific RIA. The action of GAP on dopamine release was investigated in the caudate nucleus using the local superfusion with a push-pull cannula supplied with an artificial CSF containing the tritiated precursor of dopamine [( 3H]tyrosine). Addition of GAP (1 microM) to the superfusing fluid resulted in an increase of the release of the newly synthesized dopamine without a significant modification of the total amine release. In situ neutralization of GAP by addition in the CSF of a rabbit serum containing antibodies directed against the GAP produced opposite effects evidencing a tonic function for this peptide. In addition to the increased specific activity of the dopamine released during GAP treatment, the alterations observed in the efflux (and the specific activity) of dihydroxyphenyl acetic acid and the activation of dopamine synthesis obtained in vitro in striatal slices in the presence of GAP led us to conclude that the GAP system could be considered as a positive control of dopamine synthesis.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗

Tachykinin receptor cross-talk. Immunological cross-reactivity between the external domains of the substance K and substance P receptors.

In the present study, we have chemically synthesized peptides which correspond to the four putative extracellular domains of the predicted substance K (SK) receptor protein and raised specific polyclonal antibodies against these peptides. These antibodies were then tested for both structural and functional recognition of epitopes on the substance P (SP) receptor on rat AR42J pancreatic cells and human IM9 lymphoblasts, which express the SP receptor, but not the SK receptor. Antibodies directed against the first, second, and fourth external domains of the predicted SK receptor recognized a 58-kDa protein on AR42J cells. This protein has a molecular weight similar to the previously demonstrated SP receptor on both AR42J cells and IM9 cells. Furthermore, antibodies against the second and fourth extracellular domains significantly inhibited specific 125I-SP binding on both AR42J and IM9 cells, and also significantly inhibited SP-induced mobilization of [Ca2+]i on AR42J cells. These data suggest that the second and fourth extracellular domains of the SK and SP receptors may share common structural motifs for ligand binding and signaling mechanism.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Testicular function in uremic rats: in vivo assessment of testosterone biogenesis.

The mechanism of testosterone (T) production defect in uremic rats has not yet been clearly defined and hypothalamo-hypophyseal impairment as well as primary testicular dysfunction have been suggested. In 42 rats followed monthly after subtotal nephrectomy up to 7.1 +/- 0.3 months, we observed a progressive significant decline of T and androstenedione (A) compared to control rats. Two months before the terminal phase of chronic renal failure (CRF), T/A ratio abruptly declined. T and its precursors on the 4-ene pathway, A, progesterone (P) and 17-hydroxyprogesterone were evaluated in pampiniform plexus testicular vein (PPTV) and in peripheral blood (PV) in end stage uremic rats (blood urea greater than 30 mmol/l, creatinine clearance less than 0.5 ml/min). Under basal conditions, all steroids but peripheral P were significantly lower in uremic rats than in controls as well as T/P and A/P ratios. After human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) stimulation, T concentration in PV and PPTV remained highly significantly lower than in controls whereas T precursor concentrations were partially corrected by hCG administration. T/P ratio remained lower than in controls whereas A/P ratio was not significantly lower than in controls. Those data show a decline in all the steps of T biogenesis in uremic rats in basal conditions. The defect in 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase evidenced by T/A decrease at the end stage of CRF seems of primary testicular origin as it is not corrected by hCG administration as shown by T/P and A/P ratios in PPTV and in PV.

17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone↗

The gonadotropin-releasing hormone associated peptide reduces calcium entry in prolactin-secreting cells.

The precursor molecule to the GnRH contains a peptide named GnRH-associated peptide (GAP) with PRL-inhibiting properties. In this work, we have studied the electrophysiological properties and responses to GAP of three different types of PRL-secreting cells: 1) the rat tumor cell line GH3, 2) normal rat pituitary cells in primary culture, and 3) human PRL-secreting adenoma cells. Using different but complementary techniques we show that GAP reduces intracellular Ca++ levels, [Ca++]i, and inhibits Ca++ transients in these cells. This reduction of [Ca++]i results from coordinate actions of GAP on K+ and Ca++ conductances and may explain the inhibitory effect of GAP on hormonal secretion by PRL-secreting cells.

Adenoma↗

Photosubstitution of cymantrenylalanine as a tool in peptide chemistry. Synthesis and biological activity of new GnRH analogs.

Beyond its aromatic character and important hydrophobicity, cymantrenylalanine, a metallocenic amino-acid, can be easily photosubstituted with phosphine and phosphite ligands to readily yield new analogs with different hydrophobicity and steric hindrance. The incorporation of phosphine and phosphite ligands is described. As an illustration of the offered possibilities, the synthesis and the biological activity of two new GnRH analogs modified in position 6 are reported.

Alanine↗

Changes in tuberoinfundibular dopaminergic neuron activity during the rat estrous cycle in relation to the prolactin surge: alteration by a mammary carcinogen.

An attempt was made to correlate the physiological or the dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-enhanced serum prolactin (PRL) surge, which occurs in the afternoon of proestrus in female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, with physiological or pathological changes in two biochemical estimates of the tuberoinfundibular dopaminergic (TIDA) neuron activity. Dopamine (DA) and dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) concentrations as well as tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity were measured in the median eminence (ME) of control or DMBA-pretreated SD rats throughout the estrous cycle in relation to PRL secretion. In both groups of females, while the DA content was fairly constant, the DOPAC content and TH activity in the ME fluctuated markedly throughout the estrous cycle. Thus, in control animals, the DOPAC content, DOPAC/DA ratio and TH activity which were stable on the days of diestrus and morning of proestrus were markedly decreased at noon and early afternoon when serum PRL levels began to rise. Later in the afternoon of proestrus, when serum PRL levels were maximal, there was a marked but transient increase in the DOPAC content and DOPAC/DA ratio as well as a brief surge in TH activity. In the evening of the same day, when serum PRL returned to basal levels, the DOPAC content, DOPAC/DA ratio and TH activity were low. Finally on estrus morning, the DOPAC content, DOPAC/DA ratio and TH activity increased again to reach the diestrus levels. In DMBA-pretreated females, similar fluctuations in TIDA neuronal activity occurred during the estrous cycle, but the dynamics of these changes was altered: the DOPAC/DA ratio and TH activity first showed a marked increase in the morning of proestrus day, before decreasing dramatically.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗

[Radioimmunoassay, in Ascidiella aspersa, of a gonadoliberin (GnRH)- like factor with an apparent molecular weight higher than that of the mammalian decapeptide].

A radiommunoassay (RIA) for mammalian gonadoliberin (mGnRH) showed the presence of a GnRH-like factor in the neural complex of a Protochordate, Ascidiella aspersa (about 0,6 pg eq mGnRH/complex). The slope of the displacement curves was slightly lower than with mGnRH indicating antigene differences. No cross reactive material was found in mantle and siphonal area. The KD on Sephadex G25 was 0.45 versus 0.90 with mGnRH. That suggests that the molecular weight of the Ascidian GnRH-like factor is higher than that of known Vertebrate GnRH's, possibly due to a different processing of the precursor.

Animals↗

Microinjection into the lateral ventricle: validation of the procedure in estrogen-treated ovariectomized cynomolgus monkey.

To demonstrate that microinjection into the lateral ventricle intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) of the brain of monkeys does not perturb normal function of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, ovariectomized cynomolgus monkeys were treated with a bolus of estradiol benzoate (E2beta) (To hours) and an i.c.v. injection of 100 microliters of saline solution at T-6 (group I: four monkeys) or at T+26 hours (group II: three monkeys). The lack of disturbance of the normal biphasic luteinizing hormone response to estrogen and low prolactin (PRL) concentrations allow us to conclude that this microinjection procedure did not disrupt normal endocrine events.

Animals↗

Stimulation of estradiol-17 beta secretion by 7,12-dimethylbenz (a) anthracene during mammary tumor induction in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Testosterone, androstenedione, progesterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, estrone and estradiol-17 beta serum levels were measured at given times after dimethylbenz (a) anthracene (DMBA) treatment of a sensitive rat strain Sprague-Dawley (S-D) and a resistant strain Wistar (W). Tumors appeared with a 100% incidence around the 14th to 15th estrous cycle after DMBA treatment in in Sprague-Dawley rats. Hormonal determinations were made, during the 5th or 6th estrous cycle after DMBA treatment, in groups of 4-day cycling rats of both strains which were given DMBA or the carrier solution (sesame oil) when they were about 55-days old. In Sprague-Dawley female rats, DMBA treatment significantly stimulated estradiol-17 beta and estrone preovulatory surge on proestrous days. No such stimulation was found for any other steroid at any time of the estrous cycle. On the other hand, the resistant Wistar rats did not show any disturbed preovulatory or basal steroid hormone release after the carcinogen treatment. These results complete and explain previous findings concerning the hypothalamo-pituitary activity after DMBA treatment of S-D rats: an early and persistent alteration in the centers involved in the hormonal cyclicity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-ovarian axis must be a result of the DMBA treatment. This deregulation could probably account for the distant and selective production of tumors in the mammary gland induced by a single gastric administration of DMBA.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗

Vasopressin and oxytocin reduce plasma prolactin levels of conscious rats in basal and stress conditions. Study of the characteristics of the receptor involved.

Subcutaneous administration of arginine vasopressin (AVP) to conscious rats induced a dose-dependent increase of plasma ACTH and beta-endorphin levels and decrease of plasma prolactin (PRL) levels 30 min later. AVP similarly reduced PRL increase induced by exposure to a novel environment stress. Oxytocin (OT) was also active but 5-fold less potent than AVP. The study of several analogs with specific agonistic and antagonistic activity on the oxytocic, vasopressor and antidiuretic receptors of OT and AVP suggests that the receptor involved in this effect does not fit into this classification.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗