Nicotine and fluoxetine alter adolescent dopamine-mediated behaviors via 5-HT receptor activation.

Introduction: Abuse or misuse of tobacco, e-cigarettes, or antidepressants may have serious clinical consequences during adolescence, a sensitive period during brain development when the distinct neurobiology of adolescent serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine (DA) systems create unique behavioral vulnerabilities to drugs of abuse.

Methods: Using a pharmacological approach, we modeled the behavioral and neurochemical effects of subchronic (4-day) nicotine (60µg/kg, i.v.

TRPC4 aggravates hypoxic pulmonary hypertension by promoting pulmonary endothelial cell apoptosis.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a devastating disease that lacks effective treatment options and is characterized by severe pulmonary vascular remodeling. Pulmonary arterial endothelial cell (PAEC) dysfunction drives the initiation and pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Canonical transient receptor potential (TRPC) channels, a family of Ca-permeable channels, play an important role in various diseases.

Association of rs1137101 with hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus of Mongolian and Han Chinese.

Background: Hypertension (HTN) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are often coincident, and each condition is considered a risk factor for the other. Both occur frequently in the Inner Mongolia region of China. The reasons for differences in risk between Han and Mongolian ethnic groups are not known.

[Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms of LEPR gene with essential hypertension among ethnic Mongolian and Han Chinese from Inner Mongolia region].

Objective: To assess the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of leptin receptor (LEPR) gene with essential hypertension (EH) and body mass index (BMI) among ethnic Mongolian and Han Chinese from Inner Mongolia region.

Methods: In total 411 Han Chinese patients with EH and 480 healthy controls, together with 658 Mongolian patients with EH and 403 healthy controls, were collected. The SNPs of the LEPR gene were determined with ligase detection reaction (LDR).

The α3β4 nAChR partial agonist AT-1001 attenuates stress-induced reinstatement of nicotine seeking in a rat model of relapse and induces minimal withdrawal in dependent rats.

The strong reinforcing effects of nicotine and the negative symptoms such as anxiety experienced during a quit attempt often lead to relapse and low success rates for smoking cessation. Treatments that not only block the reinforcing effects of nicotine but also attenuate the motivation to relapse are needed to improve cessation rates. Recent genetic and preclinical studies have highlighted the involvement of the α3, β4, and α5 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunits and the α3β4 nAChR subtype in nicotine dependence and withdrawal.

Nicotine and the adolescent brain.

Adolescence encompasses a sensitive developmental period of enhanced clinical vulnerability to nicotine, tobacco, and e-cigarettes. While there are sociocultural influences, data at preclinical and clinical levels indicate that this adolescent sensitivity has strong neurobiological underpinnings. Although definitions of adolescence vary, the hallmark of this period is a profound reorganization of brain regions necessary for mature cognitive and executive function, working memory, reward processing, emotional regulation, and motivated behavior.

Nicotine modulation of adolescent dopamine receptor signaling and hypothalamic peptide response.

Adolescence is a sensitive developmental period for limbic and dopamine systems that coincides with the typical age for onset of tobacco use. We have previously shown that a 4-day, low-dose nicotine (0.06 mg/kg) pretreatment enhances locomotor and penile response to the D2-like agonist, quinpirole (0.

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) antagonists attenuate cocaine priming- and cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking.

Accumulating evidence suggests that metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are involved in both cocaine reinforcement and the reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior. In the present experiments, rats were trained to self-administer cocaine under fixed ratio (for cocaine priming-induced reinstatement) or second-order (for cocaine cue-induced reinstatement) schedules of reinforcement. Lever pressing was then extinguished followed by a reinstatement phase where operant responding was promoted by either cocaine itself or cocaine-associated light cues.