A reduction of the tone of 5-hydroxytryptamine neurons decreases utilization rates of striatal and hypothalamic enkephalins.
The administration of drugs such as fenfluramine, p-chlorophenylalanine or 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine, which lower brain 5-hydroxytryptamine content, increases the enkephalin content of hypothalamus and striatum. None of these treatments changes proenkephalin mRNA content. On the basis of these results, we propose that 5-hydroxytryptamine does not increase the biosynthesis of enkephalin, but might increase the content of the neuropeptide by reducing peptide utilization.
D015116:5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism*; D004744:Enkephalin, Methionine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D004745:Enkephalins / Q000378:metabolism*; D010134:Fenclonine / Q000494:pharmacology; D005277:Fenfluramine / Q000494:pharmacology; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012701:Serotonin / Q000502:physiology*
D004745:Enkephalins; D005277:Fenfluramine; D015116:5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine; D012701:Serotonin; D004744:Enkephalin, Methionine; C027511:enkephalin-Met, Arg(6)-Phe(7)-; D010134:Fenclonine