Evidence that 5 alpha-pregnan-3 alpha-ol-20-one is the metabolite responsible for progesterone anesthesia.
Tadpoles (Rana catesbeiana) were anesthetized with [3H]-progesterone (PG) in order to identify the steroid responsible for anesthesia. PG and its metabolites in brain were resolved (HPLC) and quantitated following sacrifice at different behavioral endpoints. The results support the hypothesis that 5 alpha-pregnan-3 alpha-ol-20-one mediates the loss and the return of the righting response. The observed levels for PG were not consistent with such a role. Neither PG nor 5 alpha-pregnan-3 alpha-ol-20-one produced analgesia.
Mok
W M
WM
Department of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115.
Krieger
N R
NR
D000700:Analgesics; D000777:Anesthetics; D000818:Animals; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects; D011280:Pregnanolone / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011374:Progesterone / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011892:Rana catesbeiana; D012018:Reflex / Q000187:drug effects
D000700:Analgesics; D000777:Anesthetics; D011374:Progesterone; D011280:Pregnanolone