Anxiolytic-like effect of losartan injected into amygdala of the acutely stressed rats.
Journal Title: Pharmacological Reports - Year 2012, Vol 64, Issue 1
Abstract
It has been recognized that the stress-related peptides are involved in anxiety states. Angiotensin II receptor blockade by systemic administration of the AT(1) receptor antagonists has been proposed as a new treatment possibility for anxiety disorders. For better understanding of the related mechanisms, in this study we evaluated effects of bilateral intraamygdaloid injections of 2 (LOS 2) and 4 (LOS 4) μg of losartan (LOS), a selective AT(1) receptor antagonist, on the behavior of the not stressed and acutely stressed rats in an elevated "plus" maze. Under non-stress conditions, LOS 4 increased time spent in the open arms (p < 0.01), number of extreme open arm arrivals (p < 0.05), time per entry (p < 0.01), and the number of total arm entries (p < 0.05) showing thus considerable anxiolytic activity. The open arm extreme arrivals were increased by LOS 4 in both not stressed (p < 0.05) and stressed (p < 0.05) rats. When no stressed and stressed LOS 4 animals were compared, time per entry and the number of closed arm entries (p < 0.05, both) were decreased in the latter group. Moreover, the LOS 4 stressed rats had significantly increased open/closed arm quotient (p < 0.05) as compared to the both control and LOS 4 non-stress group (p < 0.05, both). These findings suggest that the AT(1) receptor blockade in amygdala is important for the anxiolytic action of LOS (and probably other AT(1) receptor blockers) under both non-stress and stress conditions.
Authors and Affiliations
Luis López, Fernando Caif, Sebastián García, Miriam Fraile, Adriana Landa, Gustavo Baiardi, José Lafuente, Jan Braszko, Claudia Bregonzio, Pascual Gargiulo
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP135172
- DOI -
- Views 115
- Downloads 0
New derivative of staphylokinase SAK-RGD-K2-Hirul exerts thrombolytic effects in the arterial thrombosis model in rats.
SAK-RGD-K2-Hir and SAK-RGD-K2-Hirul are recombinant proteins that are derivatives of r-SAK (recombinant staphylokinase). They are characterized by their fibrin-specific plasminogen activation properties and their antithr...
Short review on dopamine agonists: insight into clinical and research studies relevant to Parkinson's disease.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic and progressive neurological disorder characterized by selective degeneration of dopaminergic neurons (DAergic) in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and subsequent decrease i...
Prodrugs: A challenge for the drug development.
It is estimated that about 10% of the drugs approved worldwide can be classified as prodrugs. Prodrugs, which have no or poor biological activity, are chemically modified versions of a pharmacologically active agent, whi...
Effects of two isomers of DDT and their metabolite DDE on CYP1A1 and AhR function in human placental cells.
The aim of this study was to investigate the actions of two isomers of DDT (p,p'-DDT, o,p'-DDT) and DDE (p,p'-DDE, o,p'-DDE) on the human placenta. We studied the effects of DDT and its metabolite DDE on CYP1A1 activity...
Hormonal supplementation in endocrine dysfunction in critically ill patients.
One of the greatest challenges for a physician is a critically ill patient. Regardless of the reason for an admission to the Intensive Care Units (ICU) (e.g. myocardial infarction, severe pneumonia, trauma or many others...