No abstract

Based on the hypothesis that condensation products of neurotransmitters with aldehydes are involved in the pathogenesis of alcoholism, aromatic beta-carbolines (norharman and harman) were measured in the blood plasma of alcoholics and nonalcoholics. The identity of the extracted compounds was confirmed by various elution conditions of the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), newly developed radioreceptor assays, and the mass spectrum of norharman. The levels of norharman and harman in nonalcoholics were unchanged after a load with ethanol (1 g/kg body weight). The norharman levels of the alcoholics were significantly higher than that of the nonalcoholic controls (99.5 +/- 26.6 pg/ml vs. 26.9 +/- 10.7 pg/ml; p less than 0.001) and did not change significantly during a 3-week detoxication period. In the subgroup of alcoholics with delirium or hallucinosis, a slight increase of norharman during detoxication could be detected while in alcoholics with vegetative withdrawal symptoms norharman levels dropped slightly over time (p = 0.07). No difference was found with respect to harman between nonalcoholics and alcoholics. These results suggest disturbed regulatory processes in the formation and/or metabolism of norharman in alcoholics. Further investigations are needed to reveal a possible marker function of norharman in alcoholic patients.

beta-Carbolines occur in man and rat. The concentration in various tissues is about 100 to 1000 times lower than that of classical neurotransmitters. Administration of beta-carbolines in animals induces overlapping but not identical activity profiles. The molecular modes of action differ. For example, harman (1-methyl-beta-carboline) acts as an endogenous inhibitor of monoamine oxidase [E.C. 1.4.3.4.], subtype A, whereas norharman (beta-carboline) probably acts by stimulation of a specific beta-carboline receptor which is different from the benzodiazepine-GABA receptor complex. There is substantial evidence that tetrahydroisoquinolines occur under physiological conditions as well. Whether tetrahydropapaveroline serves as a precursor of morphinanes in mammals, as has been found in opium poppies, remains to be elucidated.

Long-term intake of a psychoactive drug alters brain signal transduction, emotional and motivational factors and behavioral parameters. Some effects that outlast long periods of abstinence are due to the long-term presence of the drug in the organism (tolerance, physical dependence). Withdrawal symptoms, as a consequence of physical dependence, can be protracted, i.e. they persist after long periods of drug deprivation (e.g. a desensitization of the production of cAMP). Further persisting effects include experience-based learning. At least three distinct processes can be differentiated: a memory of drug effects (reflected by a sensitization to drug effects etc.), a memory of drug use (reflected by controlled drug consumption), and a memory of addiction (reflected by a persisting loss of control over drug intake and correlating changes in striatal dopaminergic neurotransmission). The latter probably consists of two components: a general memory of loss of control and a specific memory of the addictive drug (general principles for the development of addiction, specific of the urge for the addictive drug).

Harman (1-methyl-beta-carboline) is an endogenous compound with neurotropic properties in rats and humans. In a novel in vitro binding assay, the binding site of [3H]harman has been characterized in the rat crude mitochondrial (P2) fraction. The binding was saturable and reversible. Only a single high-affinity binding site was detected by kinetic, saturation, and displacement analyses in the cerebral cortex of the rat. The linear Scatchard plots revealed equilibrium dissociation constant (KD) values of approximately 2.5 nM at 0 degrees C, approximately 9 nM at 23 degrees C, and approximately 30 nM at 37 degrees C. Among six CNS regions (hypothalamus, hippocampus, cerebral cortex, striatum, cerebellum, and spinal cord), the highest density of binding sites (Bmax) was determined in the hypothalamus (approximately 5.5 pmol/mg of protein) and the lowest in the spinal cord (approximately 2.0 pmol/mg of protein). Several drugs known to affect serotonergic, adrenergic, dopaminergic, cholinergic, or GABAergic neurotransmission inhibited specific binding at best in the micromolar range. In contrast, potent and selective inhibitors of monoamine oxidase subtype A were active in the lower and middle nanomolar range. The displacing potency (apparent Ki) of substrates and inhibitors of monoamine oxidase correlated positively and highly significantly with the corresponding values of the inhibition of monoamine oxidase activity of subtype A (r = 0.92, p less than 0.001, n = 17) but not of subtype B (r = -0.47, p greater than 0.05, n = 15). In conclusion, [3H]harman was identified as a specific ligand of the active site of the A subtype of monoamine oxidase in rat brain.

Aims/hypothesis Insulin action is purportedly modulated by Drosophila tribbles homologue 3 (TRIB3), which in vitro prevents thymoma viral proto-oncogene (AKT) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ activation. However, the physiological impact of TRIB3 action in vivo remains controversial. Methods We investigated the role of TRIB3 in rats treated with either a control or Trib3 antisense oligonucleotide (ASO). Tissue-specific insulin sensitivity was assessed in vivo using a euglycaemic–hyperinsulinaemic clamp. A separate group was treated with the PPAR-γ antagonist, bisphenol-A-diglycidyl ether (BADGE) to assess the role of PPAR-γ in mediating the response to Trib3 ASO. Results Trib3 ASO treatment specifically reduced Trib3 expression by 70 to 80% in liver and white adipose tissue. Fasting plasma glucose, insulin concentrations and basal rate of endogenous glucose production were unchanged. However, Trib3 ASO increased insulin-stimulated whole-body glucose uptake by ~50% during the euglycaemic–hyperinsulinaemic clamp. This was attributable to improved skeletal muscle glucose uptake. Despite the reduction of Trib3 expression, AKT2 activity was not increased. Trib3 ASO increased white adipose tissue mass by 70%, and expression of Ppar-γ and its key target genes, raising the possibility that Trib3 ASO improves insulin sensitivity primarily in a PPAR-γ-dependent manner. Co-treatment with BADGE blunted the expansion of white adipose tissue and abrogated the insulin-sensitising effects of Trib3 ASO. Finally, Trib3 ASO also increased plasma HDL-cholesterol, a change that persisted with BADGE co-treatment. Conclusions/interpretation These data suggest that TRIB3 inhibition improves insulin sensitivity in vivo primarily in a PPAR-γ-dependent manner and without any change in AKT2 activity.

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We investigated possible interaction of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25-(OH)2D3] and PTH on: 1) proliferation (monolayer culture) and colony formation (agarose stabilized suspension cultures); 2) expression of 1,25-(OH)2D3 receptor (VDR); and 3) cAMP response to PTH, using primary cultures of chondrocytes from rat tibia proximal epiphysis. 1 alpha,25-(OH)2D3 stereospecifically stimulated DNA synthesis, cell counts, and colony formation at low concentration (10(-12) M). Within 6 h bovine PTH (bPTH)(1-34), human PTH (hPTH)(28-48) (10(-10) M), (Bu)2cAMP (1-2 mM), and 12-O-tetradecanoyl-13-acetate (10(-8) M) increased [3H]thymidine incorporation in the absence and presence of 1,25-(OH)2D3. Both PTH fragments also stimulated chondrocyte growth and colony formation in a Ca-dependent fashion. Prolonged exposure to bPTH(1-34) or hPTH(28-48) did not affect baseline DNA synthesis but increased the stimulatory effect of 1,25-(OH)2D3. This increase was inhibited in the presence of H7 (inhibition of PKC) or the monoclonal hPTH(1-38) antibody A1-70. In subconfluent chondrocyte cultures VDR was up-regulated by bPTH(1-34) and hPTH(28-48) (10(-10) M) or activators of protein kinase C (PKC), but not by (Bu)2cAMP. It was blocked by cycloheximide and actinomycin D and persisted in the presence of Ca-channel blockers. Inhibition of PKC by H7 also blocked the effect of bPTH(1-34) on VDR. The cAMP response to bPTH(1-34) was not affected by 1,25-(OH)2D3. We conclude that: 1) DNA synthesis, cell proliferation, and colony formation in chondrocyte monolayer or suspension cultures is increased by aminoterminal and midregional PTH fragments and by cAMP analogs in a Ca- dependent fashion; 2) bPTH(1-34) and hPTH(28-48) up-regulate VDR by cAMP-independent, PKC-dependent steps requiring transcriptional and translational processes; both PTH fragments also amplify the effect of 1,25-(OH)2D3 on DNA synthesis; and 3) no difference is found between the bPTH(1-34) and hPTH(28-48) fragments with respect to chondrocyte proliferation and VDR up-regulation, although the two differ with respect to stimulation of cAMP production.