title: Effects of ethanol on basal and prostaglandin E1-induced increases in beta-endorphin release and intracellular cAMP levels in hypothalamic cells.
abstract: Our recent studies determining the effect of cAMP-elevating agents forskolin and dibutyryl cAMP on ethanol-induced immunoreactive beta-endorphin (IR-beta-EP) release from hypothalamic cells in primary cultures suggested the possibility that both stimulatory and adaptive secretory responses of beta-EP neurons after ethanol exposure may involve the cAMP system. To determine further the role of cAMP, the effects of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) on basal and ethanol-regulated IR-beta-EP secretion and cAMP productions were determined in primary cultures of hypothalamic cells. The results presented in this study show that a 50 mM dose of ethanol, which is within the EC50 dose of ethanol required to elevate IR-beta-EP release from hypothalamic cells, increased cellular levels of cAMP and elevated IR-beta-EP release simultaneously from the cultured neurons for a period of 6 hr. The cAMP and IR-beta-EP secretory responses developed desensitization to ethanol challenge after 24 hr of constant ethanol incubation. The cAMP-elevating agent PGE1 increased the cellular content of cAMP and IR-beta-EP release in a dose-dependent manner. The EC50 dose of PGE1 for elevation of IR-beta-EP and cAMP was approximately 0.5 microM. As with ethanol, chronic treatment with PGE1 desensitized the cAMP and IR-beta-EP responses of hypothalamic neurons to PGE1. Acute exposure to ethanol increased the PGE1-stimulated levels of cAMP and IR-beta-EP, whereas chronic exposure to ethanol resulted in diminished cAMP responses to PGE1. These data provide evidence that the cAMP system may be involved in controlling hypothalamic beta-EP secretion, as well in regulating the stimulatory and adaptive responses of beta-EP neurons to ethanol.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology, and Physiology, Washington State University, Pullman 99164-6520, USA.
authors.forename: N I
authors.initials: NI
authors.lastname: Boyadjieva
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Sarkar
mesh_terms: D000527:Alprostadil / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000187:drug effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D001615:beta-Endorphin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol; D001615:beta-Endorphin; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D000527:Alprostadil