Rationale: Recent evidence suggests a role for the dynorphin/kappa-opioid receptor (KOR) system in the expression of stress-induced behaviors. Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats exhibit increased depression-like and anxiety-like responses in behavioral tests compared to other strains and may be a model of comorbid depression and anxiety characterized by increased activity within the dynorphin/KOR system. Though KOR antagonists produce antidepressant-like effects in WKY rats, their effects in tests of anxiety-like behavior have not been examined in the WKY strain.
Objective: The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of the KOR antagonist 2-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-N-methyl-N-[(1S)-1-(3-isothiocyanatophenyl)-2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)ethyl]acetamide hydrochloride (DIPPA) on the behavior of WKY rats and Sprague Dawley (SD) rats in tests of anxiety-like behavior.
Methods: The novelty-induced hypophagia and defensive burying tests were used to measure anxiety-like behavior in WKY and SD rats and determine the effects of DIPPA on anxiety-like behavior in both strains.
Results: WKY rats displayed greater amounts of anxiety-like behavior compared to SD rats. DIPPA produced anxiolytic-like effects in both tests in both strains.
Conclusions: WKY rats display more anxiety-like behavior at baseline compared to SD rats, and DIPPA produced anxiolytic-like effects in both WKY and SD rats. These findings support previous research suggesting that KOR antagonists possess anxiolytic-like properties and may potentially represent a novel class of treatments for mood disorders.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00213-010-1832-9 | DOI Listing |
Receptors for the vasoactive adipokine apelin, termed APJ receptors, are G-protein-coupled receptors and are widely expressed throughout the cardiovascular system. APJ receptors can also signal via G-protein-independent pathways, including G-protein-coupled-receptor kinase 2 (GRK2), which inhibits nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity and nitric oxide (NO) production in endothelial cells. Apelin causes endothelium-dependent, NO-mediated relaxation of coronary arteries from normotensive animals, but the effects of activating APJ receptor signaling pathways in hypertensive coronary arteries are largely unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNan Fang Yi Ke Da Xue Xue Bao
January 2025
College of Integrative Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou 350122, China.
Objectives: To explore the mechanism of Granules (QDG) for alleviating brain damage in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs).
Methods: Twelve 5-week-old SHRs were randomized into SHR control group and SHR+QDG group treated with QDG by gavage at the daily dose of 0.9 g/kg for 12 weeks.
Background: Prostaglandin E (PGE) in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) has been recognized as a pivotal pressor substance in hypertension, yet understanding of its effects and origins in the RVLM remains largely elusive. This study aimed to elucidate the pivotal enzymes and molecular mechanisms underlying PGE synthesis induced by central Ang II (angiotensin II) and its implications in the heightened oxidative stress and sympathetic outflow in hypertension.
Methods And Results: RVLM microinjections of PGE and Tempol were administered in Wistar-Kyoto rats.
CNS Neurosci Ther
January 2025
Hypertension Center, The Second Hospital & Clinical Medical School, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Aims: We aimed to investigate the role of Rnf40 in hypertension-induced cerebrovascular endothelial barrier dysfunction and cognitive impairment.
Methods: We employed microarray data analysis and integrated bioinformatics databases to identify a novel E3 ligase, Rnf40, that targets Parkin. To understand the role of RNF40 in hypertension-induced cerebrovascular endothelial cell damage, we used pAAV-hFLT1-MCS-EGFP-3×Flag-mir30shRnf40 to establish an Rnf40-deficient model in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs).
Hypertension
January 2025
Cardiorenal Research Laboratory, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. (Xiaoyu Ma, J.C.M., D.G.M., Xiao Ma, Y.Z., S.P., Y.W., S.J.S., J.C.B.).
Background: Cardiomyocyte oxidative stress significantly contributes to the progression of hypertension-induced heart failure, highlighting the need for targeted therapies. We developed a novel peptide, NPA7, that coactivates the GC-A (guanylyl cyclase A)/cGMP and MasR (Mas receptor)/cAMP pathway. This study aimed to test NPA7's ability to inhibit oxidative stress by modulating the p62-KEAP1 (Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1)-NRF2 (nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2) pathway in human cardiomyocytes (HCMs) and a rat model of hypertension.
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