title: Evidence for the involvement of nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase in the modulation of opioid-induced antinociception and the inhibitory effects of exposure to 60-Hz magnetic fields in the land snail.
abstract: The attenuation of opioid peptide-mediated antinociception is a well-established effect of extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields with alterations in calcium channel function and/or calcium ion flux and protein kinase C activity being implicated in the mediation of these effects. The present study was designed to examine the effects of nitric oxide (NO) and calcium ion/calmodulin-dependent nitric oxide synthase (NOS) on opioid-induced antinociception and their involvement in mediating the inhibitory effects of exposure to ELF magnetic fields. We observed that enkephalinase (SCH 34826)-induced, and likely enkephalin-mediated, antinociception in the land snail, Cepaea nemoralis, as measured by the enhanced latency of a foot withdrawal response to a thermal (40 degreesC) stimulus, was reduced by the NO releasing agent, S-nitro-N-acetylpenicillamide (SNP), and enhanced by the NO synthase inhibitor, NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME). Exposure of snails to an ELF magnetic field (15 min, 60 Hz, 141 microT peak) also reduced the enkephalinase-induced antinociception. The inhibitory effects of the 60-Hz magnetic field were significantly reduced by the NO synthase inhibitor, l-NAME, and significantly enhanced by the NO releasing agent, SNP, at dosages which by themselves had no evident effects on nociceptive sensitivity. These results suggest that: (1) NO and NO synthase have antagonistic effects on opioid-induced analgesia in the snail, Cepaea and (2) the inhibitory effects of ELF magnetic fields on opioid analgesia involve alteration in NO and NO synthase activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Social Sciences Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. kavalier@julian.uwo.ca
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kavaliers
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Choleris
authors.forename: F S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Prato
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ossenkopp
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004148:Dioxolanes / Q000494:pharmacology; D004151:Dipeptides / Q000494:pharmacology; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester / Q000494:pharmacology; D009420:Nervous System / Q000201:enzymology; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D009619:Nociceptors / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D010396:Penicillamine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D011480:Protease Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D026423:S-Nitroso-N-Acetylpenicillamine; D012908:Snails
chemical_list: D004148:Dioxolanes; D004151:Dipeptides; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D011480:Protease Inhibitors; C056319:Sch 34826; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D026423:S-Nitroso-N-Acetylpenicillamine; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D010396:Penicillamine; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester