Intracerebroventricular administration of urotensin II promotes anxiogenic-like behaviors in rodents.
We identified urotensin II (U-II) as the endogenous ligand for the orphan G-protein-coupled receptor GPR14 or SENR. Both U-II and GPR14 are expressed not only in peripheral tissues but also in the brain of rodents, suggesting that U-II plays a physiological role in the central nervous system. In the present study, we investigated the central effects of U-II in rodents. Intracerebroventricular administration of U-II induced anxiogenic-like behaviors in the elevated plus maze test and the hole-board test in mice in a dose-dependent manner, as did corticotropin releasing factor (CRF). The effective doses of U-II were 10-100-fold higher than these of CRF in these tests. Our results suggest that U-II is a candidate for the mediator of some aspect of stress or anxiety in the central nervous system.
Matsumoto
Yoshio
Y
Pharmaceutical Research Division, Takeda Chemical Industries, Ltd., Jusohonmachi 2-17-85, Yodogawa, Osaka 532-8686, Japan.
Abe
Michiko
M
Watanabe
Takuya
T
Adachi
Yuka
Y
Yano
Takahiko
T
Takahashi
Hideki
H
Sugo
Tsukasa
T
Mori
Masaaki
M
Kitada
Chieko
C
Kurokawa
Tsutomu
T
Fujino
Masahiko
M
D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000523:psychology; D002417:Cattle; D007276:Injections, Intraventricular; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D014579:Urotensins / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D014579:Urotensins; C029677:urotensin II