title: Investigation of extracellular L-citrulline concentration in the striatum during alcohol withdrawal in rats.
abstract: In this study, changes in striatal extracellular L-citrulline concentrations were investigated hourly for 5 h following alcohol withdrawal in chronic alcohol feeding Wistar rats. Alcohol (7.2% ethyl alcohol, v/v) was given to rats as modified liquid diet for 20 days. Signs of alcohol withdrawal appeared from the 1st h of alcohol withdrawal and the total alcohol withdrawal scores remained higher during the course of experiments. The mean of basal levels of L-citrulline in the microdialysis samples collected in conscious rat model from the striatum of control and alcoholized rats were found to be 1.28 +/- 0.48 microM and 0.35 +/- 0.08 microM, respectively. L-citrulline levels in the striatum of alcoholized rats increased by 4 folds significantly within 1 h following alcohol withdrawal. The increased striatal L-citrulline concentration was blocked by NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 60 mg/kg), a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, pretreatment. Our results indicate an increased L-citrulline level in the rat striatum during early alcohol withdrawal and this situation may be related to an increased nitric oxide production.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Pharmacology, Gülhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: M Z
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Gören
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Aricioglu-Kartal
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yurdun
authors.forename: I T
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Uzbay
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002956:Citrulline / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism*; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005110:Extracellular Space / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester / Q000494:pharmacology; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012016:Reference Values; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D002956:Citrulline; D000431:Ethanol; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester