title: Regulation of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone release from superfused slices of rat hypothalamus by serotonin and the interaction of serotonin with the dopaminergic system inhibiting peptide release.
abstract: Release of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) from frontal slices of rat hypothalamus superfused with oxygenated artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF) was quantified by radioimmunoassay. Control depolarisations with 50 mM KCl-containing ACSF produced significant increases in alpha-MSH release which were partially blocked by 10(-6) M cinanserin, a serotonin (5-HT) receptor antagonist. Superfusion of the tissues with varying concentrations of 5-HT (10(-7) M to 10(-4) M) resulted in an inverted U-shaped dose-response curve, maximum alpha-MSH release being obtained with 10(-6) M 5-HT. Addition of 10(-6) M cinanserin shifted the 5-HT dose-response curve to the right whilst the presence of 10(-8) M flupenthixol, a dopamine receptor antagonist, resulted in a sigmoidal 5-HT dose-response curve. Superfusion with ACSF containing either 10(-7) M fluoxetine, a 5-HT re-uptake inhibitor, or 10(-7) M p-chloroamphetamine, an agent releasing 5-HT, induced significant increases in alpha-MSH release which were abolished in the presence of 10(-6) M cinanserin. These data demonstrate the presence of an endogenous 5-HT system that exerts a biphasic effect on alpha-MSH release. A stimulatory effect caused by lower 5-HT concentrations appears to be a direct action whilst an inhibitory effect at higher concentrations is mediated through an inhibitory endogenous dopaminergic system. A significant proportion of K+-stimulated peptide release is 5-HT-mediated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff, U.K.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tiligada
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology*; D005475:Flupenthixol / Q000494:pharmacology; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011954:Receptors, Dopamine / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D012701:Serotonin / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000502:physiology; D000521:alpha-MSH / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011954:Receptors, Dopamine; D012701:Serotonin; D000521:alpha-MSH; D005475:Flupenthixol; D004298:Dopamine