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M Faudon

Publications and source records attributed to M Faudon.

46 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Endogenous levels of tryptophan, serotonin and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid in the developing brain of the cat.

Using spectrofluorimetric methods, endogenous levels of tryptophan (TRP), serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA) were determined in various structures of the growing brain of cats. After one month, 5-HT metabolism is comparable to that observed in adult cats. The third week after birth is marked by increasing levels of TRP and 5-HIAA and seems to be a critical period for the maturation of serotoninergic neurons.

Age Factors↗

Release of endogenous serotonin from "encéphale isolé" cats. I - Technical aspects.

Ventricular perfusion, push-pull cannulae at the caudate level and cortical superfusion were used in "encéphale isolé" cats in order to estimate endogenous 5-HT release. The amine was measured using the radioenzymatic assay. These different methods are described and compared. Technical aspects and advantages of cortical superfusion under physiological conditions are discussed.

Animals↗

Circadian rhythm of luteinizing hormone secretion in the ovariectomized rat implanted with oestradiol.

Implantation of a solid source of oestradiol into ovariectomized rats produced constant plasma concentrations of the hormone over a long period of time. Under these conditions, LH is released in a circadian pattern with a very marked peak in the afternoon. This circadian rhythm is synchronized to the light--darkness cycle, since it follows exactly a shift in the nycthemeral cycle. The first peak appeared on day 3 after placement of the oestrogen implant; its amplitude was constant from days 3 to 9 after implantation, and decreased gradually during prolonged implantation. The afternoon peak was not correlated with changes in the pituitary sensitivity to exogenous LH releasing hormone (LH-RH), since the LH response to increasing doses of the peptide could be superimposed in the morning and in the afternoon. However, the decreased amplitude of the rhythm observed after more than 9 days of implantation seemed to depend upon a progressive desensitization of the pituitary gland to LH-RH. Pituitary LH content also decreased as a function of implantation time. It is concluded that, under conditions of constant plasma oestradiol concentrations and of constant pituitary sensitivity to LH-RH, a daily activation of the neural trigger releasing pituitary gonadotrophins occurs.

Animals↗

Brain serotonin and estradiol retention in the hypothalamus and pituitary of the rat.

In order to investigate whether the capacity of hypothalamic and anterior pituitary tissue to concentrate and retain estradiol is affected by serotonin (5-HT), 3H-estradiol (3HE2) retention in these structures was measured after 5-HT synthesis inhibition by either parachlorophenylalanine (PCPA) or 6-fluoro-tryptophane (6 FTrp), or after destruction of midbrain raphe nuclei containing 5-HT cell bodies, as well as after administration of the 5-HT precursor 5-hydroxytryptophane (5-HTP). No modification in 3HE2 retention was observed after tryptophane hydroxylase inhibitors of raphe lesions; administration of the precursor only increased the steroid retention at very high, nonphysiological dose levels. It is concluded that the interaction of 5-HT with gonadotropic release cannot be accounted for by a direct effect on specific estrogenic receptors, but occurs at a different level of gonadotropic release regulating structures or directly on LH-RH neurons.

5-Hydroxytryptophan↗

Effects of two estradiol antagonists upon the estradiol uptake in the rat brain and peripheral tissues.

Two estradiol antagonists, Parke-Davis CI 628 and CI 680, were studied for their inhibitory potency against labeled estradiol uptake within the hypothalamus, cerebral cortex, pituitary and uterus of the ovariectomized rat. Both drugs, tested from 15 min to 24 h prior to estradiol, induced a fast and long-lasting decrease of the hormone uptake. Three degrees of inhibition were observed depending on the tissue studied: (a) the most important inhibition concerned uterus and pituitary, where the estradiol uptake was prevented by up to 90% by the largest doses of antagonists used (6.3 and 6.1 mg, respectively, for CI 268 and CI 680); (b) in the hypothalamus, the estradiol uptake was counteracted to a lower degree; the inhibition being 39% for anterior hypothalamus and 22% for medial posterior hypothalamus; (c) cerebral cortex uptake was completely unaffected by pretreatments with the antagonists. After subcellular fractionation it was observed that the nuclear uptake of estradiol was completely abolished in both hypophyseal and hypothalamic tissues if the hormonal injection was preceded by the administration of 6.3 mg of CI 628.

Animals↗

Effect of vasoactive intestinal peptide on serotonin release in the suprachiasmatic area of the rat. Modulation by oestradiol.

The effect of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) on spontaneous and induced release of newly synthesized 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) was studied in the suprachiasmatic area (SCA) using a superfusion system. To test the possible modulation by E2 on the interaction VIP-5-HT, the experiments were conducted on male, ovariectomized (OVX) and ovariectomized oestradiol implanted rats (OVX-E2). VIP (10(-7)M) infused for 15 min caused an increase of 5-HT release from SCA of male and OVX. The positive effect of VIP on 5-HT release results partially from an inhibition of the reuptake of 5-HT: in male and OVX SCA, VIP inhibited the 3H-5-HT uptake by 40 to 50%. The infusion of VIP before a pulse of K+ (10-20-30-56 mM) leads to a potentialisation of the evoked release suggesting that VIP sensitized the presynaptic membrane to the process linking depolarization and release. When SCA taken from OVX-E2 were exposed to VIP, 5-HT uptake and consequently 5-HT release were unchanged. The present results suggest that the metabolism of 5-HT in the SCA is influenced by VIP and that this regulation may be modulated by E2. This interaction between E2, VIP and 5-HT at the SCA level may be involved in the regulation of phasic LH and prolactin surge.

Animals↗

Effect of vasoactive intestinal peptide on serotonin metabolism in the suprachiasmatic area of the rat: mechanism of action.

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) inhibits serotonin (5-HT) uptake in the suprachiasmatic area (SCA) of the rat. The present study investigates the possibility of a functional relationship between 5-HT uptake mechanisms and 5-HT autoreceptor activity in this effect of VIP in the SCA. The hypothesis of a linkage between these two mechanisms of 5-HT regulation has been recently proposed. We investigated the possibility of the presence of 5-HT autoreceptors in the SCA. Using superfusion system, exogenous 5-HT (500 and 50 nM) increased the release of newly synthesized 3H-5-HT. In contrast, 5 nM of exogenous 5-HT inhibited this release. This latter effect was antagonized by methiothepin (10(-7) M). In contrast, the concentration of methiothepin required to inhibit the VIP effect was 10(-6) or 10(-5) M, the same molarity found to decrease the 5-HT uptake. On the other hand, the increase of the 3H-5-HT in the synaptic cleft, induced by VIP, did not modify the inhibition of 3H-5-HT release induced by 5 nM of exogenous 5-HT. We conclude that the effect of VIP on 5-HT metabolism in the SCA is linked to the 5-HT uptake mechanism but not to the activity of 5-HT presynaptic autoreceptors. In our experimental conditions, the activity of 5-HT autoreceptors is independent of the 5-HT uptake processes.

Animals↗

Developmental variations of brain serotonin, tryptophan, 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid, and noradrenaline and dopamine content in two inbred strains of mice.

Endogenous levels of tryptophan (TRP), serotonin (5-HT), 5-hydroxyindol acetic acid (5-HIAA), noradrenaline (NA) and dopamine (DA), were measured in the brain-stem and anterior regions of C57BL and BALBc mice whose ages ranged from 1 day postnatal to 12 weeks. In C57BL mice levels of NA were found to be higher in the brainstem from week 1 onwards (except at week 3), and in the anterior region from week 6 onwards than in BALBc mice. 5-HT levels were found to be higher in C57BL mice from day 1 to week 2 in the brain-stem, and in the anterior region at week 1 and from week 5 onwards, compared to BALBc. The evolution of DA levels in the anterior region shows opposite differences before and after week 3-4. Before week 3 lower levels of DA were found in C57BL mice and the reverse is observed from week 5 onwards. Moreover during the postnatal development, the variation of the different components of the serotoninergic metabolism (TRP, 5-HT, 5-HIAA) is similar to that observed in other species.

Aging↗