PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

D Parolaro

Publications and source records attributed to D Parolaro.

66 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Involvement of periaqueductal gray matter in intestinal effect of centrally administered morphine.

Microinjections of morphine in the rat periaqueductal gray matter (PAG) inhibited intestinal transit in linear relation to the log of the dose administered (in the range from 5 to 20 micrograms/rat). This linear regression was parallel with that obtained on intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) or intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of morphine and the intracerebral (i.c.) route was calculated to be 4 times more potent than the i.c.v. route and 189 times more potent than the i.p. route. Monolateral electrolytic lesions into the PAG abolished the intestinal effect of i.c.v. morphine to a large extent. The relevance of other brain areas and the type of opiate receptors involved in this central effect of morphine are discussed.

Animals↗

Loperamide: evidence of interaction with mu and delta opioid receptors.

Loperamide was tested on electrically-evoked contractions using a series of "in vitro" isolated preparations, in comparison with morphine, met-enkephalin, beta-endorphin, ethylketocyclazocine used as representative agonists of mu, delta, epsilon, kappa receptors respectively. The IC50 of loperamide on myenteric plexus longitudinal muscle of guinea pig ileum was found to be 1.90 X 10(-7)M and equal to that of morphine. The IC50 on mouse vas deferens was found to be 13.02 X 10(-7)M. In this tissue, loperamide resulted as active as morphine, but 54 times less active than met-enkephalin (IC50 0.24 X 10(-7)M). On the rat vas deferens where, as expected, beta-endorphin was strongly active (IC50 1.38 X 10(-7)M), morphine exerted a stimulatory action within the range 10(-5)M-10(-4)M and loperamide was only poorly depressive. The Ke value of naloxone, a specific mu receptor antagonist, against loperamide in the guinea pig ileum was 3.83 nM, and in the mouse vas deferens was 82.87 nM indicating that loperamide in the guinea pig ileum acts on mu receptors while in the mouse vas deferens on another opiate receptor.

Animals↗

Effect on intestinal transit of neurotensin administered intracerebroventricularly to rats.

Neurotensin (NT) administered intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) to rats, blocks intestinal transit (tested by charcoal meal) in linear relation to the log of the doses within the range of 0.6-2.5 nmoles/rat. NT in this test is about 40 times more active than morphine (M) and 6 times less active than dermorphin (DM) on a molar basis. Within this dose range NT does not induce analgesia (tail-flick test) or hypothermia (tested at 22 degrees C). The intestinal effect can also be elicited by injecting the peptide into the periaqueductal gray matter (PAG). NT injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) is inactive up to doses 4 times the maximal active i.c.v. dose. Naloxone (Nx) and dynorphin 1-13 could not antagonize the intestinal effect of i.c.v. NT. The relationship between this central intestinal effect and many other central effects of NT is discussed.

Animals↗

Increase of plasma corticosterone induced by loperamide in rats.

Loperamide given intracerebroventricularly and intraperitoneally to rats provoked, like morphine, a plasma corticosterone increase 60 min after injection. Loperamide intracerebroventricularly was 3.73 times less active than morphine, while intraperitoneally it was 10.13 times more potent. This increase, associated with a significant elevation in the plasma ACTH concentration, was antagonized by naloxone (10 mg/kg i.p.) injected 30 min before loperamide. In hypophysectomized rats loperamide intraperitoneally did not affect the plasma corticosterone levels. We conclude that loperamide can stimulate corticosterone secretin from the adrenal gland via the opiate receptors and that this effect is mediated by a direct or indirect induction of ACTH release.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗

Effect of intracerebroventricular administration of morphine upon intestinal motility in rat and its antagonism with naloxone.

Morphine, intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) or intraperitoneally (i.p.) administered to rats, inhibited intestinal propulsion as tested by a charcoal meal. Such an inhibition was shown to be linearly related to the log of administered doses for both routes of administration and the two linear regressions are parallel, so that morphine was calculated to be 206 times more potent when administered i.c.v. than i.p. A dose of morphine fully active by the i.c.v. route was completely inactive when injected by the i.v., i.p., i.m. and s.c. routes. Naloxone, administered i.c.v., blocked the antipropulsive effect of morphine i.c.v. or i.p. The pA2 of naloxone versus morphine, both administered i.c.v. was determined and calculated to be 7.14 (6.76-7.62).

Animals↗

Serum corticosterone as a quantitative test of the phlogistic potency of various agents topically applied in the rat.

The application into the rat conjunctiva of various phlogistic agents, such as croton oil, mustard oil and formaldehyde, elicits an increase of serum corticosterone linearly related to the log of the applied concentrations, so that from their parallelized regression lines it is possible to calculate the phlogistic potency of each tested agent in reference to croton oil. The time kinetic of such an increase (elicited by croton oil) is compared with that of two other parameters previously adopted as indirect quantitative indices of the phlogosis: the adrenal ascorbic acid depletion and the liver tyrosine-alpha-ketoglutarate transaminase increase. Serum corticosterone is shown to be the quickest and the most sensitive of the adopted indices, even if the phlogistic potency of the tested agents and the precision of these evaluations substantially coincides whatsoever the index adopted. Finally the pathways of adrenocortical activation are investigated and it is shown that the activation may be peripherally blocked by topical application of corticosteroids (but not of local anesthetics) and centrally by hypophysectomy or parenteral administration of pentobarbital plus morphine.

Administration, Topical↗

Central and peripheral components of dermorphin's effect on rat intestinal propulsion in comparison to morphine.

Dermorphin, injected intracerebroventricularly (ICV) to rats, provokes, like to morphine, an inhibition of intestinal propulsion linearly related to the log of the administered doses (in the range from 0.06 to 0.56 micrograms/rat), but it is 143 times more active than morphine. Naloxone, ICV or IP, antagonizes dermorphin less effectively than morphine. Quaternary naloxone ICV administered antagonizes the intestinal effect of ICV dermorphin, while IP administered it is not effective until 8 mg/kg. The dose of dermorphin maximally active by the ICV route (0.56 micrograms/rat) is completely inactive when injected IP. Increasing doses of dermorphin IP (from 12 to 6400 micrograms/kg) inhibit intestinal propulsion to the same extent irrespectively of the doses employed, but never by more than 50%. Only a high dose of naloxone (30 mg/kg/IP) antagonizes this IP effect. The central and peripheral components of this intestinal effect of dermorphin are discussed.

Animals↗

Perinatal delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol exposure did not alter dopamine transporter and tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA levels in midbrain dopaminergic neurons of adult male and female rats.

We have recently demonstrated that the magnitude of L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) lowering effect caused by amphetamine in midbrain dopaminergic neurons of adult rats was lesser in animals that had been perinatally exposed to delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta9-THC) than controls. In the present study, we have examined whether this loss in the responsiveness to amphetamine might be due to changes at the level of dopamine transporter (DAT), the main molecular site for the action of amphetamine, following the perinatal exposure to delta9-THC. To this end, we have analyzed DAT mRNA levels, by using in situ hybridization, in the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area, the areas where cell bodies of DAT-containing midbrain neurons are located, of adult male and female rats that had been perinatally exposed to delta9-THC. In addition, we also analyzed mRNA levels of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme in DA synthesis. Results were as follows. Both adult male and female rats that had been perinatally exposed to delta9-THC exhibited similar mRNA levels to controls for both DAT and TH in the substantia nigra as well as in the ventral tegmental area. This observation makes it difficult to support the idea that the differences found in adulthood after pharmacological challenges were caused by irreversible changes at the level of gene expression for these two key proteins.

Animals↗