title: Catalepsy induced by nitric oxide synthase inhibitors.
abstract: 1. Previous study showed that N(G)-nitro-L-arginine (L-NOARG), an inhibitor of nitric bxide synthase, induces catalepsy in a dose-dependent manner in male albino-Swiss mice. 2. The objective of the present work was to further investigate this effect, extending it to other NOS inhibitors. 3. Results showed that L-NOARG (40-80 mg/kg i.p.), N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methylester (L-NAME, 40-160 mg/kg i.p.) or N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA, 80 mg/kg i.p.) were able to induce catalepsy in mice. The effect of L-NOARG (40 mg/kg) was antagonized by pretreatment with L-arginine (300 mg/kg), but not by D-arginine (300 mg/kg). The catalepsy-inducing effect of L-NOARG suffered rapid tolerance, showing a significant decrease after two days of chronic treatment (40 mg/kg i.p., twice a day). 4. The results suggest that interference with the formation of nitric oxide induces significant motor effects in mice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Odontology, Campus USP, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Del Bel
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: F S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Guimarães
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002375:Catalepsy / Q000139:chemically induced*; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D019335:Nitroarginine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019323:omega-N-Methylarginine / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D019335:Nitroarginine; D019323:omega-N-Methylarginine; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester