NMDA receptors are involved in dithiothreitol-induced hypothermia.
Sulfhydryl-reducing agents, such as dithiothreitol, modulate glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Since these receptors are involved in thermoregulatory processes, we studied the effects of their positive modulation, through a dithiothreitol-induced reduction of the receptor redox site, on thermoregulation in rats maintained at an ambient temperature of 20-22 degrees C. Given intraperitoneally at the dose of 25 and 50 mg x kg(-1), dithiothreitol induced dose-dependent hypothermia. The prior administration of 0.5 mg x kg(-1) of (+/-)-dizocilpine maleate (MK801), a non-competitive glutamate NMDA receptor antagonist, blocked most of the dithiothreitol-induced hypothermia. MK801 given alone was followed by slight transient hyperthermia. This confirms the involvement of NMDA receptors in thermoregulation and suggests that they might be under redox modulation.
Canini
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Centre de Recherches du Service de Santé des Armées, Département des Facteurs Humains, 24 Avenue des Maquis du Grésivaudan, BP 87, F-38702 La Tronche Cedex, France. caninif@compuserve.com
Bréjot
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T
d'Aléo
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P
Mercier
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Bourdon
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L
D000818:Animals; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000187:drug effects*; D004229:Dithiothreitol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors
D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate; D004229:Dithiothreitol