title: Treatment with L-dopa in early life restored pituitary-adrenocortical response to emotional stress in adult rats with inherited arterial hypertension.
abstract: This study investigates the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical system (HPAS) in adult rats with inherited stress-induced arterial hypertension (ISIAH rats) whose arterial blood pressure was lowered by the dopamine precursor L-DOPA treatment during early development (on days 21-25 of life). The response of the HPAS induced by emotional stress was significantly lower in intact ISIAH rats than in normotensive Wistar animals. Injections of L-DOPA on days 21-23 or 21-25 of postnatal life were followed by a long-lasting complete restoration of the emotional stress response in adult ISIAH rats. The restoring effect of L-DOPA was produced through enhancement of synthesis of the brain noradrenaline and, perhaps, adrenaline. The effect was associated with a normalization of the response of the brain adrenergic system to noradrenaline and did not relate to an increase of the plasma corticosterone level after L-DOPA administration in early ontogeny.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Department of the Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, U.S.S.R.
authors.forename: L N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Maslova
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Markel
authors.forename: E V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Naumenko
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001381:Azepines / Q000494:pharmacology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D006973:Hypertension / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D007980:Levodopa / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000097:blood; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D001381:Azepines; C015590:4-methyl-1-homopiperazinedithiocarboxylic acid; D007980:Levodopa; D003345:Corticosterone; D009638:Norepinephrine