Increased brain content of the endogenous benzodiazepine receptor ligand, octadecaneuropeptide (ODN), following portacaval anastomosis in the rat.

Evidence suggests that endogenous benzodiazepine receptor ligands such as diazepam binding inhibitor (DBI) and its metabolite octadecaneuropeptide (ODN) may be implicated in the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy. Using an immunocytochemical technique and an antibody of high specific activity to synthetic ODN, we studied the effects of portacaval anastomosis (PCA) on ODN distribution in rat brain. Four weeks after PCA, ODN immunolabeling was increased in several brain regions including cerebral cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus and thalamus. Increased ODN immunolabeling was confined to nonneuronal elements such as astrocytes and ependymal cells. Neuropathological evaluation of brain following PCA reveals astrocytic rather than neuronal changes. These results are consistent with a role for endogenous neuropeptide ligands for astrocytic benzodiazepine receptors in the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy.     

Increased levels of pregnenolone and its neuroactive metabolite allopregnanolone in autopsied brain tissue from cirrhotic patients who died in hepatic coma

It has been suggested that neurosteroids with agonist properties at the central GABA-A receptor are implicated in the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in chronic liver disease. In order to address this issue, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry was used to measure the neurosteroids pregnenolone, allopregnanolone, and tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone (THDOC) in postmortem brain tissue from controls, cirrhotic patients who died without HE, a patient who died in uremic coma, and cirrhotic patients who died in hepatic coma. Exposure of rat cerebral cortical membranes to brain extracts from hepatic coma patients resulted in a 53% (p < 0.001) increase in binding of [3H]muscimol, a GABA-A receptor ligand. Subsequent GC/MS analysis showed that concentrations of the GABA-A receptor agonist neurosteroid allopregnanolone were significantly increased in brain tissue from hepatic coma patients compared to patients without HE or controls (p < 0.001). Brain allopregnanolone concentrations were significantly correlated with the magnitude of induction of [3H]muscimol binding (r2 = 0.82, p < 0.0001). Concentrations of allopregnanolone comparable to those observed in hepatic coma brains are pathophysiologically relevant. Concentrations of the neurosteroid precursor pregnenolone were also increased in brain tissue from hepatic coma patients, while those of a second neurosteroid THDOC were below the levels of detection in all groups. Brain concentrations of benzodiazepine receptor ligands estimated by radioreceptor assay were not significantly increased in cirrhotic patients with or without hepatic coma. These findings suggest that increased levels of allopregnanolone rather than "endogenous benzodiazepines" offer a cogent explanation for the phenomenon of "increased GABAergic tone" previously proposed in HE.     

GABAA Receptor Complex in an Experimental Model of Hepatic Encephalopathy: Evidence for Elevated Levels of an Endogenous Benzodiazepine Receptor Ligand

The involvement of the gamma-aminobutyric acidA (GABAA) receptor complex in the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy was examined in thioacetamide-treated rats with fulminant hepatic failure. Partially purified extracts from encephalopathic rat brain were approximately three times more potent in inhibiting [3H]Ro 15-1788 binding to benzodiazepine receptors than identically prepared extracts from control rats. High levels of inhibitory activity were also found in extracts of plasma, heart, and liver from thioacetamide-treated rats. The inhibition of [3H]Ro 15-1788 binding by brain extracts appeared to be competitive and reversible and was unaffected by treatment with either proteolytic enzymes or boiling. Further, GABA significantly enhanced the potency of these extracts in inhibiting [3H]flunitrazepam binding. In contrast, no differences were found in radioligand binding to the constituent recognition sites of the GABAA receptor complex in well-washed brain membranes prepared from control and encephalopathic animals. These findings suggest that the recognition-site qualities of the constituent proteins of the GABAA receptor complex are unchanged in an experimental model of hepatic encephalopathy. However, significant elevations in the level of a substance or substances with neurochemical properties characteristic of a benzodiazepine receptor agonist may contribute to the electrophysiological and behavioral manifestations of hepatic encephalopathy.     

The Relationship Between Plasma and Brain Quinolinic Acid Levels and the Severity of Hepatic Encephalopathy in Animal Models of Fulminant Hepatic Failure

Abstract: Quinolinic acid is an excitatory, neurotoxic tryptophan metabolite proposed to play a role in the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy. This involvement was investigated in rat and rabbit models of fulminant hepatic failure at different stages of hepatic encephalopathy. Although plasma and brain tryptophan levels were significantly increased in all stages of hepatic encephalopathy, quinolinic acid levels increased three- to sevenfold only in the plasma, CSF, and brain regions of animals in stage IV hepatic encephalopathy. Plasma-CSF and plasma-brain quinolinic acid levels in rats and rabbits with fulminant hepatic failure were strongly correlated, with CSF and brain concentrations ∼10% those of plasma levels. Moreover, there was no significant regional difference in brain quinolinic acid concentrations in either model. Extrahepatic indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase activity was not altered in rats in stage IV hepatic encephalopathy, but hepatic l -tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase activity was increased. These results suggest that quinolinic acid synthesized in the liver enters the plasma and then accumulates in the CNS after crossing a permeabilized blood-brain barrier in the end stages of liver failure. Furthermore, the observation of low brain concentrations of quinolinic acid only in stage IV encephalopathy suggests that the contribution of quinolinic acid to the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy in these animal models is minor.     

Portacaval anastomosis causes selective alterations of peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptor expression in rat brain and peripheral tissues.

There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptors (PTBRs) and their endogenous ligands are implicated in the pathogenesis of end-organ failure in chronic liver disease. Portal-systemic encephalopathy, a major neuropsychiatric complication associated with chronic liver disease, results in activation of brain PTBR and probably in peripheral organs. In order to address these issues, PTBR mRNA was measured using semi-quantitative RT-PCR in extracts of cerebral cortex, kidney and testis of rats four weeks after end-to-side portacaval anastomosis and sham-operation (controls). Densities of PTBR sites were measured concomitantly by in vitro receptor binding using the selective PTBR ligand [3H]PK11195. Portacaval shunting resulted in a 2 to 3-fold increase in expression of PTBR in brain and kidney and a 37% reduction in expression in testis. Densities of [3H]PK11195 sites changed in parallel with the alterations of gene expression. These findings suggest that selective alterations of PTBR expression are implicated in the pathogenesis of peripheral tissue hypertrophy (kidney) and/or atrophy (testis) which accompanies portal-systemic shunting in chronic liver failure. In brain, activation of PTBR could result in an increase in the production of neurosteroids with potent inhibitory action in the CNS, which could contribute to the pathogenesis of portal-systemic encephalopathy.     

Endogenous GABAergic modulators in the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy

Theories on the neurochemical etiology for hepatic encephalopathy have recently focussed on activation of inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA systems. Modulators of the GABA_A receptor complex, including diazepam binding inhibitor, are significantly and selectively altered in hepatic encephalopathy. In animals and humans, benzodiazepine receptor antagonists rapidly ameliorate this syndrome suggesting the possible existence of an endogenous benzodiazepine-like substance. Endogenous GABAergic modulators may contribute to the neurochemical pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy.Special issue dedicated to Dr. Erminio Costa     

Differential effects of ammonia on the benzodiazepine modulatory site on the GABA-A receptor complex of human brain

Ammonia is a key factor in the pathogenesis of encephalopathies associated with liver failure. A direct effect of ammonia on GABAergic neurotransmission was proposed as a mechanism that may explain its neurotoxic effect on the basis of electrophysiological and biochemical studies performed in animal models of liver failure. In the present study, we investigated using a radiometric assay the effect of ammonia on the binding of GABA-A receptor ligands to membranes from normal human brains. Ammonium tartrate significantly decreased the maximal binding of [3H]flunitrazepam to well-washed frontal cortical membranes (366+/-63 fmol/mg protein in absence of ammonia versus 294.1+/-51 fmol/mg protein in presence of 2 mM ammonia; p<0.05). The efficacy of the effects of ammonia was within the millimolar range (IC50=4.8 mM). This effect was not seen in cerebellum or hippocampus. Ammonia exposure decreased the maximal binding of [3H]flumazenil (284.9+/-24.2 fmol/mg protein in absence of ammonia versus 146.4+/-15.6 fmol/mg protein in presence of 2 mM ammonia; p<0.01). This effect was seen with a greater potency (Imax=32.4%) and a lower IC50 (0.1 mM). Inhibition of [3H]flumazenil binding was significant in all brain regions. The apparent ammonia-induced decrease of [3H]flunitrazepam and [3H]flumazenil binding was due to a decrease in the binding affinities of these ligands for the benzodiazepine site. In contrast, ammonium tartrate exposure did not cause significant changes to the binding of [3H]muscimol in any brain region. These findings demonstrate that ammonia interacts negatively with components of the benzodiazepine-associated site at the GABA-A receptor complex in human brain in contrast to previous reports in the rat, and thus, does not support the notion that ammonia directly activates the GABA-A receptor complex resulting in increased GABAergic neurotransmission in human hepatic encephalopathy. These findings also suggest that positron emission tomography studies in cirrhotic patients using [11C]flumazenil may be underestimating GABA-A receptor sites depending upon the degree of hyperammonemia of the patient.     

Normal coupling of brain benzodiazepine and neurosteroid modulatory sites on the GABA-A receptor complex in human hepatic encephalopathy

To assess the possible implication of the allosteric coupling of different modulatory sites at the GABA-A receptor complex in hepatic encephalopathy (HE), we investigated in autopsied frontal cortex of six cirrhotic patients and six appropriately-matched controls, the modulatory effects of the benzodiazepine site agonist flunitrazepam on the binding of [3H]muscimol and the effect of the neurosteroid site agonist allopregnanolone (5alpha-pregnan-3alpha-ol-20-one) on the binding of [3H]muscimol and [3H]flunitrazepam. There were no significant differences in either the magnitude E(max): 11.5+/-1.1% (controls) versus 10.2+/-2.2% (HE patients) or the efficacy EC(50): 20.2+/-5.5 nM (controls) versus 17.7+/-6.2 nM (HE patients) of flunitrazepam modulation of [3H]muscimol binding. Allopregnanolone also showed modulation of both sites to a comparable extent in brain tissue from cirrhotic patients and controls E(max): [3H]muscimol, 15.1+/-2.8% (controls) versus 13.8+/-1.9% (HE patients); [3H]flunitrazepam, 17.9+/-2.3% (controls) versus 19.1+/-2.3% (HE patients), EC(50): [3H]muscimol, 386.5+/-25.8 nM (controls) versus 373.8+/-13.1 nM (HE patients); [3H]flunitrazepam, 49.8+/-22.9 nM (controls) versus 55.5+/-14.0 nM (HE patients). These findings demonstrate unequivocally that the GABA-A sites and their benzodiazepine and neurosteroid modulatory sites manifest normal allosteric coupling in brain in human HE. Therefore, if increased "GABAergic tone" is implicated in the pathophysiology of HE, this must be the consequence of increased brain concentrations of endogenous benzodiazepine and/or neurosteroid ligands for components of the GABA-A receptor complex rather than alterations of the receptor proteins themselves.     

Selective Loss of N-Methyl-d-Aspartate-Sensitive l-[3H]Glutamate Binding Sites in Rat Brain Following Portacaval Anastomosis

Excitatory amino acids have been implicated in the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy. In the present study, kainate, quisqualate and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) subclasses of L-glutamate receptors were measured in adult rat brain by quantitative receptor autoradiography following surgical construction of an end-to-side portacaval anastomosis (PCA). PCA resulted in sustained hyperammonemia and decreased binding of L-glutamate to the NMDA receptor when compared to sham-operated controls. Decreases in binding ranged from 17 to 39% in several regions of cerebral cortex, hippocampus, striatum, and thalamus. Binding to quisqualate and kainate receptor subtypes was not altered. PCA leads to astrocytic changes in brain but does not result in any measurable loss of neuronal integrity. It is therefore proposed that decreased glutamate binding to the NMDA receptor following PCA results from increased extracellular glutamate caused by decreased reuptake into perineuronal astrocytes and a compensatory down-regulation of these receptors. Such changes could be of pathophysiological significance in hepatic encephalopathy.     

[3H]Propyl β-Carboline-3-Carboxylate Binds Specifically to Brain Benzodiazepine Receptors

Ethyl beta-carboline-3-carboxylate has recently been isolated from human urine and it was proposed that derivatives of this compound might be related to an endogenous ligand for benzodiazepine receptors. In the present study we investigated high-affinity binding of [3H]propyl beta-carboline-3-carboxylate ([3H]PrCC) to rat brain membranes. [3H]PrCC binds specifically and with high affinity (half-maximal binding at ca. 1nM) to rat brain membranes. The regional and subcellular distributions of specific [3H]PrCC binding are similar, but not identical, to the distributions of [3H]flunitrazepam or [3H]-diazepam binding. The total numbers of binding sites labelled by [3H]PrCC and [3H]flunitrazepam in rat cerebellum are closely similar, and both ligands bind to cerebellar membranes in a mutually exclusive way. The pharmacological selectivity of [3H]PrCC and [3H]diazepam binding is almost identical. Binding of [3H]PrCC like binding of [3H]diazepam, can be increased in vitro by muscimol, GABA and SQ 20.009. Although subtle differences in binding characteristics were observed, these results indicate that [3H]PrCC and benzodiazepines bind to a common recognition site on benzodiazepine receptors.     

Ivermectin Interactions with Benzodiazepine Receptors in Rat Cortex and Cerebellum In Vitro

Abstract: The anthelmintic macrolide, ivermectin, enhances the binding of benzodiazepine agonist ([³H]-diazepam) and antagonist ([³H]β-carboline ethyl ester) ligands to rat cortical and cerebellar membrane preparations. Enhancement of benzodiazepine agonist binding is partially additive with that of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and is inhibited by etazolate, bicuculline, and the steroid GABA antagonist R5135. Ivermectin-stimulated benzodiazepine antagonist binding is enhanced by bicuculline and inhibited by GABA and etazolate. The modulatory effects of bicuculline are chloride-dependent. The stimulatory effects of ivermectin, while quantitatively different in cortex and cerebellum, are qualitatively similar in both brain regions and are reduced in the presence of chloride. Ivermectin effects on benzodiazepine ligand binding to the benzodiazepine receptor complex and the differences in the effects of GABA, bicuculline, and R5135 on ivermectin-stimulated agonist and antagonist binding may provide evidence for distinct differences in the recognition sites for the two classes of benzodiazepine receptor ligand and their interactions with other components of the receptor complex.     

Effect of RO 15-1788 and RO 5-4684 on the evoked activity of neurons in hippocampal sections

The action of specific benzodiazepine (BD) antagonist R015-1788 and peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (BDR) ligand R05-4864 on the evoked activity of hippocampal neurons was studied using brain slice method. The extracellular activity was registered in CAI area upon single and paired pulse stimulation of Schaffer collaterals. R015-1788 application (5 microM, for 3-6 min) reduced paired pulse inhibition (PPI). More prolonged application produced a depression of the population spike (PS). R015-1788 (5 microM) blocked diazepam (2 microM), hexobarbital (10 microM) and GABA (40 microM) potentiation of PPI. Interaction of R015-1788 with endogenous BD-like ligand as a possible explanation for the effects under study is discussed. R05-4864 (10 microM) reduced PPI and decreased PS evoked by single pulse stimulation. Frequency stimulation revealed the generation of additional PS after drug application. The data presented suggest that suppression of hippocampal inhibitory circuits may be a general feature of anxiogenic BDR ligands.     

Purification and characterization of a benzodiazepine-like substance from mammalian brain

An endogenous brain ligand which competes with [³H]-flunitrazepam for the binding to benzodiazepine receptor has been isolated and purified to homogeneity. The purification procedures involve the extraction of the endogenous ligand by homogenizing the brain tissue in water containing various protease inhibitors followed by filtration through a PM 10 membrane (exclusion limit: 10,000-dalton), column chromatographies on Sephadex G-50, Bio-Rad P2 and a series of C₁₈ reverse phase HPLC columns. The purified endogenous ligand was eluted as a single and symmetrical peak monitored at either 220 or 280 nm. Furthermore, the ligand activity coincided with the absorption peak. The purified endogenous ligand is thermostable, insensitive to various peptidases and proteolytic enzymes, resistant to DNAse, RNAse, and carbohydrate enzyme e.g. neuraminidase (EC 3.2.1.18) and acid treatment. It has a major absorption peak at 220 nm and a minor one at 313 nm. The endogenous ligand appears to be quite specific since it only inhibits the binding of ligand to the central type benzodiazepine receptor but not to other receptors, e.g. peripheral type benzodiazepine receptor, ₁-adrenoceptor, ₂-adrenoceptor, -adrenoceptor and muscarinic cholinergic receptor. Furthermore, the inhibition of the receptor binding by the endogenous ligand is enhanced by GABA suggesting that the endogenous ligand is a benzodiazepine receptor agonist. The structure of the endogenous ligand is unknown.Special issue dedicated to Dr. Elling Kvamme     

Differential Binding Properties of the Peripheral-Type Benzodiazepine Ligands [3H]PK 11195 and [3H]Ro 5-4864 in Trout and Mouse Brain Membranes

High-affinity binding sites for [3H]PK 11195 have been detected in brain membranes of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) and mouse forebrain, where the densities of receptors were 1,030 and 445 fmol/mg of protein, respectively. Ro 5-4864 (4'-chlorodiazepam) was 2,200-fold less potent as a competitor of [3H]PK 11195 binding in the piscine than the murine membranes. Investigation of the regional distribution of these sites in trout yielded a rank order of density of spinal cord greater than olfactory bulb = optic tectum = rhombencephalon greater than cerebellum greater than telencephalon. This site in trout shared some of the characteristics of the peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptor (PTBR) (also known as the mitochondrial benzodiazepine receptor) in rodents, i.e., high affinity for PK 11195 and the endogenous ligand protoporphyrin IX, but was unique in the low affinity of Ro 5-4864 (41 microM) and diazepam and the relatively high affinity of the calcium channel ligand diltiazem and two central benzodiazepine ligands, CGS 8216 and CGS 9896. The differential affinity for the two prototypic PTBR ligands in trout is similar to that previously observed in calf and human brain membranes. Structural differences for the trout sites are indicated by the relative inability of diethyl pyrocarbonate to modify histidine residues of the binding site in trout as compared with mouse membranes. Heterogeneity of binding of the two prototypic PTBR ligands in mouse brain membranes was indicated by additivity studies, equilibrium competition experiments, and saturation isotherms, which together support the hypothesis that Ro 5-4864 discriminates between two [3H]PK 11195 binding sites having high (nanomolar) and low (micromolar) affinity, respectively.     

The human "peripheral-type" benzodiazepine receptor: regional mapping of the gene and characterization of the receptor expressed from cDNA.

A cDNA for the human "peripheral-type" benzodiazepine receptor (PBR) was isolated from a liver cDNA library. The 851-nucleotide probe hybridized with a approximately 1 kb mRNA in Northern blots of RNA extracted from various human tissues and cell lines. The human PBR probe was hybridized to DNA from a somatic cell hybrid mapping panel to determine that the gene maps to chromosome 22. With a regional mapping panel for chromosome 22, we localized the gene within band 22q13.31. The ligand-binding properties of the receptor expressed from the cDNA were examined in transient expression experiments and compared to the endogenous human PBR. The PBR ligand [3H]PK 11195 had high affinity for the expressed receptor in COS-1 cells, but the affinities of a pair of isoquinoline propanamide enantiomers differed remarkably in expressed and endogenous human PBR. These findings reveal that the host cell and/or post-translational modification may have an important influence on PBR function.     

Effects of diazepam and muscimol on GABA-mediated neurotransmission: interactions with inosine and nicotinamide.

Inosine and nicotinamide have been proposed as endogenous ligands for the brain benzodiazepine receptor. An $\text{in vivo}$ method for detecting drugs with GABA-mimetic properties was used to examine the effects of inosine, nicotinamide and diazepam in the rat globus pallidus. Inosine and nicotinamide completely prevented the GABA-mimetic action of diazepam but neither compound alone had any GABA-like activity. These findings suggest that inosine and nicotinamide are able to antagonize but are not able to mimic the GABA-like actions of diazepam at the benzodiazepine receptor.     

Cannabinoid receptors and their endogenous ligands

Delta9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, a major psychoactive component of marijuana, has been shown to interact with specific cannabinoid receptors, thereby eliciting a variety of pharmacological responses in experimental animals and human. In 1990, the gene encoding a cannabinoid receptor (CB1) was cloned. This prompted the search for endogenous ligands. In 1992, N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide) was isolated from pig brain as an endogenous ligand, and in 1995, 2-arachidonoylglycerol was isolated from rat brain and canine gut as another endogenous ligand. Both anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol exhibit various cannabimimetic activities. The results of structure-activity relationship experiments, however, revealed that 2-arachidonoylglycerol, but not anandamide, is the intrinsic natural ligand for the cannabinoid receptor. 2-Arachidonoylglycerol is a degradation product of inositol phospholipids that links the function of cannabinoid receptors with the enhanced inositol phospholipid turnover in stimulated tissues and cells. The possible physiological roles of cannabinoid receptors and 2-arachidonoylglycerol in various mammalian tissues such as those of the nervous system are discussed.     

Comparative Thermodynamics of Benzodiazepine Receptor Ligand Interactions in Rat Neuronal Membranes

The effects of temperature on the interaction of various ligands with the benzodiazepine receptor were studied in rat brain membrane preparations. The affinities of all ligands studied were reduced on raising the temperature from 4 to 37 degrees C. The variation of affinity constant with temperature deviated from the classical relationship for both the anticonvulsant ligand [3H]flunitrazepam and the proconvulsant ligand [3H]ethyl beta-carboline-3-carboxylate. This implies a variation of observed enthalpy change of binding with temperature. Possible reasons for this are discussed. Gamma-Aminobutyric acid and sodium chloride both enhance the binding of [3H]flunitrazepam--the former by an increase in the entropic component of the binding energy, and the latter by an increase in the enthalpic component. In a series of ligands of different biological activities, no simple correlation was observed between biological activity and temperature dependence of binding.     

Kinetics of [3H]Ro 15–1788 Binding to Membrane-Bound Rat Brain Benzodiazepine Receptors

Abstract: Ro 15–1788 is thought to interact specifically with the benzodiazepine receptor population in the mammalian CNS as an antagonist. We have compared the kinetics of interaction of this ligand with the benzodiazepine agonist flunitrazepam in the rat cerebellum. The association of [³H]Ro 15–1788 with the benzodiazepine receptor in this brain region is monoexponential, and the dissociation, initiated either by dilution or by displacement with a number of different ligands, also obeys simple monoexponential kinetics. There is no evidence of cooperative interactions with this ligand, and its dissociation is unaffected by the presence of 100 μ M γ-aminobutyric acid and/or 150 m M sodium chloride. In contrast, the dissociation of the agonist [³H]flunitrazepam is biphasic, and the possible interpretation of this data in terms of agonist-induced conformational change is discussed. Evidence is also presented that the mechanism of interaction of Ro 15–1788 with the benzodiazepine receptor population in hippocampal membranes is distinct from that found in the cerebellum.     

Nootropic and anxiolytic properties of endogenous ligands of benzodiazepine receptors and their structural analogs

Experiments on mice and rats were made to study the nootropic and anxiolytic properties of endogenous ligands of benzodiazepine receptors of nicotinamide and inosin and of their new structural analogs--NMF and AZN. They were shown to have overt antihypoxic and anxiolytic effects. NMF and AZN given in 10-fold lower doses than endogenous benzodiazepine ligands appeared more active than these compounds and almost similar to diazepam as regards the activity. The data obtained point to the possibility of a purposeful search for new efficacious psychotropic and nootropic substances in the series of compounds structurally related to endogenous ligand of benzodiazepine receptors.