Systemic application of the muscarinic agonist, pilocarpine, is commonly utilized to induce an acute status epilepticus that evolves into a chronic epileptic condition characterized by spontaneous seizures. Recent findings suggest that the status epilepticus induced by pilocarpine may be triggered by changes in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability. We tested the role of the BBB in an acute pilocarpine model by using the in vitro model brain preparation and compared our finding with in vivo data. Arterial perfusion of the in vitro isolated guinea-pig brain with <1 mM pilocarpine did not cause epileptiform activity, but rather reduced synaptic transmission and induced steady fast (20-25 Hz) oscillatory activity in limbic cortices. These effects were reversibly blocked by co-perfusion of the muscarinic antagonist atropine sulfate (5 μM). Brain pilocarpine measurements in vivo and in vitro suggested modest BBB penetration. Pilocarpine induced epileptiform discharges only when perfused with compounds that enhance BBB permeability, such as bradykinin (n=2) or histamine (n=10). This pro-epileptic effect was abolished when the BBB-impermeable muscarinic antagonist atropine methyl bromide (5 μM) was co-perfused with histamine and pilocarpine. In the absence of BBB permeability enhancing drugs, pilocarpine induced epileptiform activity only after arterial perfusion at concentrations >10 mM. Ictal discharges correlated with a high intracerebral pilocarpine concentration measured by high pressure liquid chromatography.We propose that acute epileptiform discharges induced by pilocarpine treatment in the in vitro isolated brain preparation are mediated by a dose-dependent, atropine-sensitive muscarinic effect promoted by an increase in BBB permeability. Pilocarpine accumulation secondary to BBB permeability changes may contribute to in vivo ictogenesis in the pilocarpine epilepsy model. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptNeuroscience. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 November 9. Published in final edited form as:Neuroscience. Pilocarpine is a non-selective muscarinic agonist (Maslanski et al., 1994) with a relatively high affinity for CNS muscarinic receptors (Hedlund and Bartfai, 1981) commonly utilized to develop an experimental model of temporal lobe epilepsy (Turski et al., 1989;Cavalheiro et al., 2006; but see Sloviter, 2005). In different animal species, i.p. injection of pilocarpine induces a convulsive status epilepticus (SE; i.e. sub-continuous generalized seizures that recur for several hours), followed within 2 weeks by a chronic epileptic condition that mimics human temporal lobe epilepsy (Cavalheiro et al., 2006). The initial SE is thought to be triggered by a cholinergic activation of excitatory neurons in specific brain regions that include limbic cortices. Such an effect is supposedly mediated by micro-molar concentrations of pilocarpine, since this drug shows a relatively poor brain penetration (Omori et al., 2004). Although studies directly assessing pilocarpine penetration across the ...
Aim: Co-metabolism between a human host and the gastrointestinal microbiota generates many small phenolic molecules such as 3-hydroxy-3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)propanoic acid (3,3-HPHPA), which are reported to be elevated in schizophrenia and autism. Characterization of these chemicals, however, has been limited by analytic challenges. Methodology/results: We applied HPLC to separate and quantify over 50 analytes, including multiple structural isomers of 3,3-HPHPA in human cerebrospinal fluid, serum and urine. Confirmation of identity was provided by NMR, by MS and other detection methods. The highly selective methods support rapid quantification of multiple metabolites and exhibit superior chromatographic behavior. Conclusion: An improved ultra-HPLC–MS/MS and structural approaches can accurately quantify 3,3-HPHPA and related analytes in human biological matrices.
Tyrosine uptake has been reported to differ across brain regions. However, such studies have typically been conducted over brief intervals and in anesthetized rats; anesthesia itself affects amino acid transport across the blood-brain barrier. To address these concerns, serum, brain tissue and in vivo microdialysate tyrosine levels were compared for 0-3 h after administration of tyrosine [0.138-1.10 mmol/kg intraperitoneally (i.p.)] to groups of awake rats. Serum and brain tissue tyrosine levels increased linearly with respect to dose. Basal tissue tyrosine levels varied significantly across brain regions [medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), striatum, hypothalamus, and cerebellum], but the rate of tyrosine uptake was similar for hypothalamus, striatum and MPFC. For brain regions in which tyrosine levels in both microdialysate and tissue were assayed, namely MPFC and striatum, there was a high degree of correlation between tyrosine levels in tissue and in microdialysate. Increasing brain tyrosine levels had no effect on DA levels in MPFC microdialysate. We conclude that (i) regional differences in the response of dopamine neurons to systemic tyrosine administration cannot be attributed to pharmacokinetic factors; (ii) in vivo microdialysate provides an excellent index over time and across a wide range of tyrosine doses, of brain tissue tyrosine levels; and (iii) increases in brain tyrosine levels do not affect basal DA release in the MPFC. Keywords: amino acids, large neutral amino acids, medial prefrontal cortex, microdialysis, striatum, tyrosine. Under certain conditions, medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) dopamine (DA) synthesis and release show precursor dependence (Bradberry et al. 1989;Tam et al. 1990;Jaskiw et al. 2001). The latter has been attributed to the higher electrophysiological activity and DA turnover rate in MPFC relative to mesolimbic or nigrostriatal DA neurons (Cooper et al. 1996). However, other explanations must also be considered. In particular, several groups report that systemically administered tyrosine is differentially distributed across brain regions (Hawkins et al. 1982;Miller et al. 1985;Colombo et al. 1996;Reichel et al. 1996). Accordingly, pharmacokinetic rather than pharmacodynamic factors may determine the brain regional DA response to tyrosine administration. Unfortunately, inferences from several pharmacokinetic studies are limited by two factors. First, tyrosine uptake was assayed within a relatively short time period (5 s)3 min) after a bolus injection of tyrosine (Hawkins et al. 1982;Miller et al. 1985;Reichel et al. 1996); for studies of DA synthesis and release, tyrosine changes of longer duration are of greater relevance. Second, tyrosine uptake studies were conducted in anesthetized rats (Hawkins et al. 1982;Miller et al. 1985;Reichel et al. 1996); anesthesia per se can influence transport of amino acids across the blood-brain barrier (BBB;Miller et al. 1985). While one report mentions that tissue tyrosine levels, as assayed in awake rats 45-60 min after systemic tyro...
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