title: Lithium treatment of affective disorders: effects of lithium on the inositol phospholipid and cyclic AMP signalling pathways.
abstract: The effects of lithium (Li+) on the adenylyl cyclase and inositol phospholipid receptor signalling pathways were compared directly in noradrenergic and carbachol stimulated rat brain cortical tissue slices. Li+ was a comparatively weak inhibitor of noradrenaline-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation with an IC50 of approx. 20 mM. By contrast, half-maximal effects of Li+ on inositol monophosphate (InsP) accumulation in [3H]inositol labelled tissue slices occurred at about 1 mM. A similar IC50 for Li+ of about 1 mM was also obtained for noradrenaline-stimulated accumulation of CMP-phosphatidate (CMPPA), a sensitive indicator of intracellular inositol depletion, in tissue slices that had been prelabelled with [3H]cytidine. The effect of myo-inositol (inositol) depletion on the prolonged activity of phosphoinositidase C (PIC) was examined in carbachol-stimulated cortical slices using a novel mass assay for InsP. Exposure to a maximal dose of carbachol for 30 min in the presence of 5 mM Li+ caused a 10-fold increase in the level of radioactivity associated with the InsP fraction, but only a 2-fold increase in InsP mass. During prolonged incubations in the presence of both carbachol and Li+ the accumulation of InsP mass was enhanced if 30 mM inositol was included in the medium. The results are compatible with the inositol depletion hypothesis of Li+ action but do not support the concept that adenylyl cyclase or guanine nucleotide dependent proteins represent therapeutically relevant targets of this drug.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Dundee Medical Sciences Institute, U.K.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Sillence
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Downes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002217:Carbachol / Q000494:pharmacology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism*; D003563:Cyclic CMP / Q000378:metabolism; D007295:Inositol Phosphates / Q000378:metabolism*; D008094:Lithium / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000494:pharmacology; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000378:metabolism*; D010727:Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D007295:Inositol Phosphates; D010743:Phospholipids; D003563:Cyclic CMP; D002217:Carbachol; D008094:Lithium; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D010727:Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases; C021491:glycerophosphoinositol glycerophosphodiesterase; D009638:Norepinephrine