title: Effect of vasoactive intestinal peptide on serotonin metabolism in the suprachiasmatic area of the rat: mechanism of action.
abstract: Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) inhibits serotonin (5-HT) uptake in the suprachiasmatic area (SCA) of the rat. The present study investigates the possibility of a functional relationship between 5-HT uptake mechanisms and 5-HT autoreceptor activity in this effect of VIP in the SCA. The hypothesis of a linkage between these two mechanisms of 5-HT regulation has been recently proposed. We investigated the possibility of the presence of 5-HT autoreceptors in the SCA. Using superfusion system, exogenous 5-HT (500 and 50 nM) increased the release of newly synthesized 3H-5-HT. In contrast, 5 nM of exogenous 5-HT inhibited this release. This latter effect was antagonized by methiothepin (10(-7) M). In contrast, the concentration of methiothepin required to inhibit the VIP effect was 10(-6) or 10(-5) M, the same molarity found to decrease the 5-HT uptake. On the other hand, the increase of the 3H-5-HT in the synaptic cleft, induced by VIP, did not modify the inhibition of 3H-5-HT release induced by 5 nM of exogenous 5-HT. We conclude that the effect of VIP on 5-HT metabolism in the SCA is linked to the 5-HT uptake mechanism but not to the activity of 5-HT presynaptic autoreceptors. In our experimental conditions, the activity of 5-HT autoreceptors is independent of the 5-HT uptake processes.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D013493:Suprachiasmatic Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D014316:Tritium; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D011985:Receptors, Serotonin; D014316:Tritium; D012701:Serotonin; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide