title: Upregulation of glutamate receptor subtypes during alcohol withdrawal in rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate glutamate receptor subtypes during alcohol withdrawal.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rats were exposed to severe alcohol intoxication for 84 h and then decapitated at 0, 12 and 36 h after the last alcohol dose (n = 7 per group). Alcohol was administered five times a day by intragastric intubation. The densities of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and 2-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors were studied in membranes from the forebrain by using the specific ligands [3H]MK-801 and [3H]AMPA, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although no change in the maximal density (B(max)) of [3H]MK-801 binding sites was observed at the time of withdrawal, [3H]MK-801 binding was increased by 49% 12 h into the withdrawal reaction compared with the control group. At 36 h post alcohol the B(max) of the [3H]MK-801 binding was still increased by 24% compared with the control group; however, this difference was not statistically significant. When investigated at the time of withdrawal from chronic alcohol intoxication, no significant alterations in the B(max) of the [3H]AMPA binding was detected, but 12 h into the withdrawal reaction the [3H]AMPA binding was markedly increased by 94%. At 36 h post alcohol the [3H]AMPA binding had returned to control levels. No significant alterations in the dissociation constant (K(D)) of either [3H]MK-801 or [3H]AMPA binding was observed at any time point.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NMDA and AMPA receptors are involved in the cerebral hyperactivity of alcohol withdrawal.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Steven Rosenzweig
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Haugbøl
authors.forename: Bjarke
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ebert
authors.forename: Jakob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ulrichsen
mesh_terms: D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D021122:Protein Subunits / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000378:metabolism*; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D021122:Protein Subunits; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate; D000431:Ethanol