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F R Patacchioli

Publications and source records attributed to F R Patacchioli.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Distribution of glucocorticoid receptor mRNA in the rat spinal cord.

Using in situ hybridization (ISH), we studied the distribution of rat glucocorticoid receptors (GR) mRNA in rat spinal cord. mRNA encoding for GR was abundant throughout the white matter and a clear pattern of distribution was detected within the grey matter. In the grey matter mRNA was primarily localized in the ventral horn, where motoneurones were strongly labelled. In the dorsal horn, the distribution appears more diffuse but the superficial layers (I and II) clearly exhibited a shigher signal. We conclude that, in rat spinal cord, GR are present in both glial and neuronal cells. In particular, both somatosensory and motor pathways contain GR.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Acetyl-L-carnitine in Alzheimer disease: a short-term study on CSF neurotransmitters and neuropeptides.

Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR) is a drug currently under investigation for Alzheimer disease (AD) therapy. ALCAR seems to exert a number of central nervous system (CNS)-related effects, even though a clear pharmacological action that could explain clinical results in AD has not been identified yet. The aim of this study was to determine cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma biological correlates of ALCAR effects in AD after a short-term, high-dose, intravenous, open treatment. Results show that ALCAR CSF levels achieved under treatment were significantly higher than the ones at baseline, reflecting a good penetration through the blood-brain barrier and thus a direct CNS challenge. ALCAR treatment produced no apparent change on CSF classic neurotransmitters and their metabolite levels (homovanillic acid, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, MHPG, dopamine, choline). Among CSF peptides, while corticotropin-releasing hormone and adrenocorticotropic hormone remained unchanged, beta-endorphins significantly decreased after treatment; plasma cortisol levels matched this reduction. Since both CSF beta-endorphins and plasma cortisol decreased, one possible explanation is that ALCAR reduced the AD-dependent hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis hyperactivity. At present, no clear explanation can be proposed for the specific mechanism of this action.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

A neurogenetic and morphogenetic approach to hippocampal functions based on individual differences and neurobehavioral covariations.

To investigate the neural substrate of information processing, the within group inter-individual behavioral differences were related to the fine variations in some components of the architecture of the intact hippocampus by multivariate analyses of variance and correlative analyses. For, the extent of the intra/infrapyramidal mossy fibers, covering the hippocampal CA3-regio inferior (IIP-MF, revealed by Timm-staining), and the individual high-affinity maximal glucocorticoid receptor binding (HCB, measured by in vitro cytosol preparations with [3H]corticosterone as ligand), were assessed in adult male albino rats of the Naples High-Excitability (NHE) and Naples Low-Excitability (NLE) psychogenetically selected lines, and of a Sprague-Dawley random-bred stock (NRB) as unselected controls. The IIP-MF and the HCB were assumed as hippocampal hardware and software traits, respectively, and entered in a matrix with activity and defecation scores in a Làt-maze as behavioral covariates. Two dimensions were identified by discriminant function analyses tentatively labelled as "spatial" and "non-spatial" by the nature of the variables contributing with a high loading to the dimension. The IIP-MF and HCB contributed mostly to spatial processes and to a lower extent to emotional processes. The neuro-behavioral covariations of IIP-MF with arousal (A) and long-term habituation (LTH), computed by correlative analyses on the overall population (all rats combined), turned out to be of inverted-U type (quadratic function), i.e. positive in NLE, negative in NHE with no correlation in NRB. For HCB receptors, the covariations were quadratic with A, and of the S-type (cubic function), i.e. positive in NLE, negative in NRB and positive in NHE with LTH. Since these rat lines are located along a "continuum" with NLE < RB < NHE, they are assumed to represent entirely this subpopulation. For, the non-linear neuro-behavioral relationships might reveal (i) constraints on the expression of arousal and habituation to novelty; and (ii) that the hippocampus appears to be one such device exerting a modulatory role in the processing of "spatial" and "non-spatial" behavioral components.

Adrenal Cortex↗
PubMed1993

Brain adrenocorticoid receptor binding capacity in the diabetes insipidus brattleboro rat is dependent on maternal genotype.

We examined whether a different maternal genotype might differentially affect the brain adrenocorticoid receptor in homozygous diabetes insipidus Brattleboro rats. Two distinct homozygous diabetic offsprings were studied in comparison with Long Evans (LE) rats: one born of a homozygous mother (DI/HOM MOTHER), and the other born of a heterozygous mother (DI/HET MOTHER). The number of type I adrenocorticoid receptors of DI/HET MOTHER rats was significantly lower than that of LE rats in the hippocampus and hypothalamus, while in the amygdala both type I and type II receptors decreased. Surprisingly, the binding capacity of DI/HOM MOTHER rats, notwithstanding the absence of vasopressin (VP), as in the DI/HET MOTHER, did not differ from that of LE. Superimposable results were obtained in all the brain regions examined. No differences in binding affinity values (Kd) were detected. It was hypothesized that an 'unknown factor' linked to the genotype of the homozygous diabetic mother might counterbalance the receptor deficit otherwise induced by the lack of VP. The existence of two subpopulations of diabetic Brattleboro rats, as used in this study, should prompt to reexamine the origins of some behavioral and endocrine discrepancies appearing in studies on the homozygous diabetes insipidus Brattleboro strain.

Amygdala↗
PubMed1992

Effects of acute and repeated exposure to stress on the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical activity in mice during postnatal development.

Hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) response to a mild stressful procedure was investigated in mice at Days 8, 10, 12, and 14 of postnatal development. Pups that were removed from the dam and exposed to a novel odor (clean bedding) for 15 min showed higher plasma corticosterone levels than pups whose mother was removed from the cage for 15 min or unhandled pups at all ages, although statistically significant differences were only evident at Days 12 and 14. Lower HPA axis responding in younger mice was not due to immaturity since 8-day-old mice showed a significant and larger increase of plasma corticosterone levels when separated from the mother and isolated from littermates in the absence of bedding. Mice daily exposed to clean bedding (15 min) for the first 13 days of life did not show reduced plasma corticosterone response when reexposed to the stressor at 14 days of age. Conversely, increased plasma corticosterone levels in dams in response to removal of pups was not detectable after repeated exposure to this manipulation (14 days) regardless of the procedure their pups were submitted to, thus ruling out a role of maternal corticosterone passing through the milk on which the pups were fed. These results demonstrate that 15 min exposure to clean bedding is a noninvasive procedure able to elicit HPA axis response in developing mice over a wide age range without producing habituation.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Maternal plasma and milk free cortisol during the first 3 days of breast-feeding following spontaneous delivery or elective cesarean section.

In a view of the increased clinical interest in the presence of hormones in human milk, the objective of this study was to evaluate maternal plasma and milk cortisol levels in early puerperium and their relationship in breast-feeding in women who underwent elective cesarean section or who delivered vaginally. During the first 3 days of breast-feeding, plasma and milk cortisol levels declined significantly both in women who underwent elective cesarean section and in women who had spontaneous deliveries. Moreover, the breast-feeding procedure did not affect maternal plasma and milk hormonal levels, since no differences between the cortisol levels measured immediately before and after morning daily breast-feeding were detected. Furthermore, a very high positive correlation (p < 0.001) was found between plasma and milk cortisol concentrations. Therefore, maternal plasma cortisol levels can be considered a very reliable measure to predict the hormonal concentration in breast milk.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor and behavior: a correlative study in rats and mice.

A correlation has been demonstrated between binding capacity for [3H]corticosterone in the hippocampus and the performance in passive and active avoidance in the rat, and impaired behavior in adrenalectomized rats by exogenous corticosterone is restored. On this basis we have studied the possible correlation between strain-dependent behavioral differences and the glucocorticoid binding capacity in the hippocampus in mice and rats. In Naples high- (NHE) and low-excitability (NLE) rat strains, genetically selected on the basis of divergent locomotor activity upon forced exposure to a spatial novelty situation, no differences were found in glucocorticoid maximal binding capacity while both strains had a lower capacity than Naples random-breed (NRB) control rats. However, the intra-strain correlative analysis of hippocampal glucocorticoid receptors number and behavioral scores demonstrated that motor and emotional indexes of arousal to novelty were positively correlated in NLE-and negatively in NHE- while no correlation was present in NRB rats. Using two inbred strains of mice, C57BL/6 and Balb/c, extensively investigated for learning abilities, the lower active avoidance score of C57BL/6 was associated with a lower binding capacity for [3H]corticosterone in the hippocampus. Altogether the above results support the involvement of the hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor in the modulation of some adaptive behavioral responses, while do not prove that genetic differences in behavior rest on parallel differences in binding capacity for glucocorticoid hormone.

Aging↗
PubMed1990

Strain-dependent differences in hippocampal glucocorticoid binding capacity and active avoidance in the mouse.

Maximal individual [3H]corticosterone binding capacity in the hippocampus was lower in C57BL/6 mice than in BALB/c mice, and positively correlated with active avoidance learning in the two strains. Moreover, a parallel difference in the activity of hypothalamo-pituitary adrenocortical axis (HPAA) was found, consisting in a level of plasma corticosterone in C57BL/6 higher than in BALB/c mice. These results confirm the genetically determined differences in behavior of C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice, and demonstrate their association with differences in hippocampal corticosterone binding capacity, pointing to a functional relationship between the behavioral and neuroendocrine parameters.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Adrenocorticoid receptor binding in the rat hippocampus: strain-dependent covariations with arousal and habituation to novelty.

In order to investigate whether the genotype-dependent behaviour of the Naples high-(NHE) and low-excitability (NLE) rat strains was modulated by differences in the capacity of hippocampal adrenocorticoid receptors, a correlative analysis was made among behavioural scores from exposure to a Làt-maze and in vitro [3H]corticosterone hippocampal binding capacity in these rats and in their random-bred controls (NRB). As previously shown, NHE/NLE-rats differed markedly upon forced exposure to the maze, with the NRB group occupying an intermediate position. No differences were found in maximal binding capacity (Bmax) and dissociation constant (Kd), nor in the individual maximal binding capacity (IMBC) between the two strains, while both showed lower IMBC than NRB-rats. These results tend to exclude that the genetic differences in the behaviour of NHE/NLE-rats are due to distinct patterns in the adrenocorticoid binding capacity in the hippocampus (HPC). Moreover, the intrastrain correlative analysis among IMBC (in the whole HPC and in its dorsal and ventral portion) and the behavioural scores showed that (1) motor and emotional correlates of 'arousal' to novelty were positively correlated in NLE and negatively in NHE-, but not in NRB-rats; (2) a consistent correlation was found with the intertrial activity decrement (long-term habituation), which was negative in both strains, and it was positive in NRB-rats. These complex co-variations are envisioned as possibly due to the differential modulatory components of the activation and inhibition of novelty-induced arousal response. However, our findings support the hypothesized involvement of the HPC, where adrenocorticoid receptors are selectively concentrated, in the modulation of some adaptive behavioural responses.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Acetyl-L-carnitine reduces the age-dependent loss of glucocorticoid receptors in the rat hippocampus: an autoradiographic study.

Brain autoradiography in adrenalectomized rats injected with 3H-corticosterone 2 hr before sacrifice was used to study the effect of aging and long-term acetyl-l-carnitine treatment on the hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor. Densitometric analysis of silver grains in individual nerve cells of the hippocampus showed that pyramidal neurones of the CA1 field and granular cells of the dentate gyrus are richest in 3H-corticosterone binding sites, whereas pyramidal neurons of the CA3 field have the lowest number of binding sites. There was a significant decline in the number of glucocorticoid receptors within the various hippocampal areas, both as the total number of 3H-corticosterone binding sites and as the number per single pyramidal or granule neuron associated with aging and perhaps due to loss of adrenocorticoid-competent neurons. The dentate gyrus and the CA1 region were mostly affected by the age-dependent decrease in glucocorticoid receptors of the hippocampus. Twenty-eight-month-old rats, treated with acetyl-l-carnitine for 7 months, showed a significantly higher number of 3H-corticosterone binding sites within the various hippocampal regions examined than did age-matched controls. The CA1 and the dentate gyrus were the regions most susceptible to amelioration by acetyl-l-carnitine treatment. These findings suggest a positive effect of acetyl-l-carnitine treatment on age-related changes which occur in the hippocampus.

Acetylcarnitine↗
PubMed1983

Perinatal mother-offspring pituitary-adrenal interrelationship in rats: corticosterone in milk may affect adult life.

The pituitary-adrenal interrelationships between the mother and offspring are apparently operating during postnatal life in the rat via the corticosterone present in milk and passing into the suckling. A mother-offspring pituitary-adrenal interrelationship is at play during postnatal life in the rat, by the way of corticosterone present in milk and passing into the suckling. Changes in the milk concentration of glucocorticoid hormone (adrenalectomy or corticosterone administration in the mother) in a physiological or physiopathological range, show some consequences in later life. These consist in apparently permanent changes in binding capacity of the glucocorticoid receptor in the hippocampus, as well as in related adaptive behavioral and endocrine activities. The sensitivity in the offspring to the effects of manipulations of the above interrelationship is, at least in part, sex dependent.

Adrenal Glands↗