title: Regulation of adrenomedullary preproenkephalin mRNA: effects of hypoglycemia during development.
abstract: To further evaluate whether transsynaptic mechanisms account for stress-induced changes in adrenomedullary preproenkephalin mRNA (ppEnk mRNA), neonatal rats were made hypoglycemic at a time when synapses are non-functional (less than 10 days postnatal age). While ppEnk mRNA in medullae from adult rats increased as much as 60-fold in this paradigm (insulin 10 U/kg), ppEnk mRNA levels in the newborn increased only 1.6-fold (insulin 20 U/kg). To evaluate whether postsynaptic cholinergic pathways of the neonatal adrenal medulla were functional, we treated 5-day-old pups with cholinergic agonists (nicotine [1 mg/kg, s.c., q 12 h] + carbachol [1.7 mumol/kg, s.c., q 12 h x 4 days]). Combined cholinergic agonist treatment augmented enkephalin prohormone and peptide levels up to 3-fold (P less than 0.05). To determine whether the blunted response to hypoglycemia in the newborn resulted from a deficiency in functional transsynaptic activity, synapses were matured using thyroid hormone pretreatment (postnatal days 2 and 3) before hypoglycemic stress. Hypoglycemia now caused a 40-fold increase in adrenomedullary ppEnk mRNA levels only in the T3/insulin treated group. To exclude other secondary effects of hypoglycemia (eg. hormonal, or insulin treatment-dependent), intracellular glycopenia was produced in the presence of secondary hyperglycemia by injecting adult rats or pups with 2-deoxyglucose (500 mg/kg). Similar to the insulin-hypoglycemia group, a large increase in adrenomedullary ppEnk mRNA resulted in the adult but not in the 5-day-old neonatal adrenal medullae. We conclude that enkephalin biosynthesis, like co-stored catecholamines, is induced by a transsynaptic process.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, SUNY, Stony Brook 11794-8111.
authors.forename: E F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: La Gamma
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: DeCristofaro
mesh_terms: D000313:Adrenal Medulla / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000378:metabolism; D002217:Carbachol / Q000494:pharmacology; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D003847:Deoxyglucose / Q000494:pharmacology; D004745:Enkephalins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007003:Hypoglycemia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism*; D007328:Insulin / Q000633:toxicity; D008297:Male; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D014284:Triiodothyronine / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D004745:Enkephalins; D007328:Insulin; D011498:Protein Precursors; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014284:Triiodothyronine; D009538:Nicotine; D002217:Carbachol; C033660:preproenkephalin; D003847:Deoxyglucose