The effects of water deprivation and hydration on plasma corticosterone concentration and the activity of tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH), the rate-limiting enzyme in serotonin (5-HT) biosynthesis, in the hypothalamus of vasopressin- (AVP-) deficient homozygous Brattleboro and normal Wistar rats were studied. In the Wistar rats, water deprivation caused an increase in the TPH activity in the anterior and middle (infundibular) parts of the hypothalamus, while hydration did not affect the activity of the enzyme in the anterior hypothalamus but produced an increase in its middle part. In contrast, in the Brattleboro rats, water deprivation had no effect on TPH activity in the anterior and middle parts of the hypothalamus but hydration produced a decrease in TPH activity in the anterior hypothalamus. After 48 h of water deprivation, the plasma corticosterone concentration significantly increased in water-deprived and decreased in hydrated Wistar rats. Under water deprivation, the rise in corticosterone concentration in the homozygous Brattleboro rats was significantly greater than that in the Wistar rats. The data provide evidence that the CRH-like activity of AVP is not necessary for activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system induced by water deprivation. The observations show that AVP is involved in the activation of TPH induced by water deprivation. This suggests that AVP modulates the metabolism of 5-HT and the response of the 5-HT-ergic system to water deprivation.
The involvement of enzymes catabolizing hyaluronic acid (hyaluronidase, beta-glucuronidase, N-acetyl-beta-D-hexosaminidase) in the hydroosmotic effect of vasopressin in the frog (Rana ridibunda) urinary bladder was studied. It was observed that vasopressin (50 nM), an agonist of V2 receptors, L-desamino-8-D-arginine-vasopressin (dDAVP, 1.5 microM) and forskolin (30 microM) activated the enzymes and caused their release into Ringer solution at the mucosal side, together with an increase in osmotic water flow. The effect of AVP on enzyme activity developed 10 min after the hydroosmotic response. Cytochalasin B (a specific inhibitor of actin filament elongation, 50 nM) blocked the hydroosmotic response to AVP; hyaluronate hydrolase activity increased in the bladder tissue but not in Ringer solution. It is suggested that the involvement of hyaluronate hydrolases in AVP's effect is mediated by a cAMP-dependent mechanism and provides favorable conditions for an increase in the permeability of glycosaminoglycan structures adjacent to the apical cell surface.
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