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Nicotinic Regulation of Energy Homeostasis
No full textIntroduction:
The ability of nicotine, the primary psychoactive substance in tobacco smoke, to regulate appetite and body weight is one of the factors cited by smokers that prevents them from quitting and is the primary reason for smoking initiation in teenage girls. The regulation of feeding and metabolism by nicotine is complex, and recent studies have begun to identify nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subtypes and circuits or cell types involved in this regulation.
Discussion:
We will briefly describe the primary anatomical and functional features of the input, output, and central integration structures of the neuroendocrine systems that regulate energy homeostasis. Then, we will describe the nAChR subtypes expressed in these structures in mammals to identify the possible molecular targets for nicotine. Finally, we will review the effects of nicotine and its withdrawal on feeding and energy metabolism and attribute them to potential central and peripheral cellular targets
INCREASED NEURODEGENERATION DURING AGEING IN MICE LACKING HIGH-AFFINITY NICOTINE RECEPTORS
No full textIMMUNOCHEMICAL LOCALIZATION OF CALCIUM CALMODULIN-DEPENDENT PROTEIN-KINASE-I
No full textCa2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase I (CaM kinase I) was originally identified in rat brain based on its ability to phosphorylate site 1 of synapsin I. Recently a cDNA for the rat brain enzyme has been cloned and the primary structure elucidated [Picciotto et al. (1993), J. Biol. Chem., 268:26512-26521]. The rat cDNA encoded a protein of 374 amino acids with a calculated M(r) of 41,636. Antibodies have now been raised against the recombinant kinase expressed in E. coli as a glutathione-S-transferase fusion protein. Immunoblot analysis of rat cortex lysates revealed two major immunoreactive bands of similar to M(r) 38,000 and 42,000. Minor immunoreactive species of slightly lower M(r) were also detected. Two distinct CaM kinase I activities were partially purified from rat brain and shown to correspond to the two major immunoreactive species. A variety of immunoreactive species of M(r) 35-43,000 were detected in ́ ́brain ́ ́ tissue from cow, zebra finch, goldfish, Xenopus, lamprey, and Drosophila. In rat brain, immunocytochemistry revealed strong staining in cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, brain stem, and choroid plexus. The labelling was mainly observed in neuropil but clusters of intensely labelled neuronal cell bodies were also detected all along the neuraxis. Neuronal nuclei and glial cells did not appear to be stained. Subcellular fractionation studies confirmed the cytosolic localization of the kinase in the brain. In various rat non-neuronal tissues and in a number of cell lines, immunoreactive species of similar to M(r) 38,000 and similar to 42,000 were detected at lower levels than that detected in brain. The M(r) 38,000 and 42,000 species were also found in different ratios and at different levels in the non-neuronal tissues. These results support a role for CaM kinase I in the regulation of multiple neuronal processes. Furthermore, the widespread cell and tissue distribution suggests that CaM kinase I may function as a ubiquitous multi-functional protein kinase. Finally, the multiple immunoreactive species may represent isoforms of CaM kinase I
Role of calcineurin in nicotine-mediated locomotor sensitization
No full textCalcineurin is a serine/threonine phosphatase that contributes to the effects of nicotine on calcium signaling in cultured cortical neurons; however, the role of calcineurin in behavioral responses to nicotine in vivo has not been examined. We therefore determined whether calcineurin blockade could alter nicotine-mediated locomotor sensitization in Sprague Dawley rats using systemic or brain regionspecific administration of the calcineurin inhibitors cyclosporine or FK506. Systemic cyclosporine administration decreased calcineurin activity in the brain, attenuated nicotine-mediated locomotor sensitization, and blocked the effects of nicotine on DARPP32 (dopamineand cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein-32) activation in the striatum. Direct infusion of calcineurin inhibitors cyclosporine or FK506 into the ventral tegmental area (VTA) also attenuated nicotine-mediated locomotor sensitization, whereas infusion of rapamycin, which binds to FK-binding protein but does not inhibit calcineurin, did not affect sensitization. Together, the data suggest that activation of calcineurin, particularly in the VTA, is a novel signaling event important for nicotine-mediated behavior and intracellular signaling
Contribution of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors containing the beta 2-subunit to the behavioural effects of nicotine
No full textInhibition of both alpha7* and beta2* nicotinic acetylcholine receptors is necessary to prevent development of sensitization to cocaine-elicited increases in extracellular dopamine levels in the ventral striatum
No full textInvolvement of alpha 6 nicotinic receptor subunit in nicotine-elicited locomotion, demonstrated by in vivo antisense oligonucleotide infusion
No full textENHANCED locomotion in a habituated environment is a well documented effect of nicotine mediated by the mesotelencephalic dopaminergic system. The nicotinic receptor subunit alpha 6 is, among other subunits, strongly expressed in the dopaminergic neurons of the mesencephalon. To examine the functional role of this subunit, we inhibited its expression in vivo using antisense oligonucleotides. lit vitro treatments of embryonic mesencephalic neuron cultures demonstrated that the alpha 6 antisense oligonucleotides caused a marked decrease in the level of alpha 6 subunit protein. In vivo, 1 week infusion of alpha 6 antisense oligonucleotides by osmotic mini-pump reduced the effect of nicotine on locomotor activity in habituated environment by 70%. These data support the notion that the effects of nicotine on the dopaminergic system involve alpha 6 subunit containing nAChRs
Differential effects of nicotinic antagonists perfused into the nucleus accumbens or the ventral tegmental area on cocaine-induced dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens of mice
No full textRationale The mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system is considered a principal site for nicotine-cocaine interactions. Objectives and methods The aim of this paper is to study the effects of local perfusions (through the microdialysis cannula) of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) antagonists in the ventral tegmental area (VTA, where mesolimbic DA cell bodies are located) or nucleus accumbens (nAc, where mesolimbic DA nerve terminals project) on cocaine-elicited increase in DA levels in the nAc of mice using intracerebral microdialysis. Results Intra-nAc perfusion of mecamylamine (a nonselective central nicotinic antagonist) or coperfusion of methyllycaconitine (MLA, 10 nM) and dihydro-beta-erythroidine (DH beta E, 10-100 mu M) decreased cocaine-elicited increase in DA perfusate levels. In contrast, intra-nAc perfusion of MLA alone (a relatively selective antagonist of alpha 7 subunit-containing nAChRs) increased, while DH beta E (a relatively selective antagonist of heteromeric nAChR subtypes) did not alter, cocaine-elicited increase in DA perfusate levels. Intra-VTA perfusion of MLA (100 nM) or DH beta E (100 mu M) significantly increased the cocaine-elicited increase of DA levels in the nAc or VTA, whereas DH beta E and MLA coperfusion or mecamylamine perfusion had no significant effect. Conclusions These results show that intra-nAc and intra-VTA perfusion of nAChR antagonists differentially affect cocaine-elicited increase in DA levels in a region and subtype-specific manner. This suggests that multiple cholinergic/nicotinic pathways influence the effects of cocaine on mesolimbic DA neurons in complex, and sometimes opposing, patterns
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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