title: Effect of naloxone-precipitated morphine withdrawal on c-fos expression in rat corticotropin-releasing hormone neurons in the paraventricular hypothalamus and extended amygdala.
abstract: Morphine withdrawal is characterized by physical symptoms and a negative affective state. The 41 amino acid polypeptide corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) is hypothesized to mediate, in part, both the negative affective state and the physical withdrawal syndrome. Here, by means of dual-immunohistochemical methodology, we examined the co-expression of the c-Fos protein and CRH following naloxone-precipitated morphine withdrawal. Rats were treated with slow-release morphine 50 mg/kg (subcutaneous, s.c.) or vehicle every 48 h for 5 days, then withdrawn with naloxone 5 mg/kg (s.c.) or saline 48 h after the final morphine injection. Two hours after withdrawal rats were perfused transcardially and their brains were removed and processed for immunohistochemistry. We found that naloxone-precipitated withdrawal of morphine-dependent rats increased c-Fos immunoreactivity (IR) in CRH positive neurons in the paraventricular hypothalamus. Withdrawal of morphine-dependent rats also increased c-Fos-IR in the central amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, however these were in CRH negative neurons.
authors.affiliation: Pain Management Research Institute, University of Sydney, Royal North Shore Hospital, St. Leonards, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Hamlin
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Buller
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Day
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Osborne
mesh_terms: D000679:Amygdala / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009020:Morphine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009270:Naloxone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D010286:Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D009270:Naloxone; D009020:Morphine; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone