title: Systemic adrenocorticotropic hormone administration down-regulates the expression of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and CRH-binding protein in infant rat hippocampus.
abstract: Systemic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) administration is a first-line therapy for the treatment of infantile spasms, an age-specific seizure disorder of infancy. It is proposed that exogenous ACTH acts via negative feedback to suppress the synthesis of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), a possible endogenous convulsant in infant brain tissue. The aim of this study was to determine whether systemic ACTH treatment in infant rats down-regulates the hippocampal CRH system, including CRH, CRH-binding protein (CRH-BP), and CRH receptors (CRH-R1 and CRH-R2). Daily i.p. injection of ACTH for 7 consecutive days (postnatal days 3-9) elevated serum corticosterone levels 20-fold measured on postnatal day 10, indicating systemic absorption and circulation of the ACTH. Semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR demonstrated that both CRH and CRH-BP mRNA obtained from the hippocampi of ACTH-injected infant rats was significantly depressed relative to saline-injected animals. Comparable reductions in both CRH and CRH-BP synthesis were further demonstrated with radioimmunoassay. In contrast, neither CRH-R1 nor CRH-R2 mRNA was altered by ACTH treatment, relative to saline-injected rats. This latter finding was confirmed electrophysiologically by measuring the enhancement of hippocampal population spikes by exogenous CRH, also showing no differences between ACTH- and saline-injected rats. The results of this study support the proposal that systemic ACTH treatment down-regulates CRH expression in infant brain, perhaps contributing to the therapeutic efficacy observed during treatment of infantile spasms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Kingston General Hospital, Queen's University, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Bridgid
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Kimberly E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Dow
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: David Andrew
authors.forename: Douglas D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Fraser
mesh_terms: D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015536:Down-Regulation; D004594:Electrophysiology; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D018019:Receptors, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D018019:Receptors, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone; C067133:corticotropin releasing factor-binding protein; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone; D003345:Corticosterone