title: Behavioral effects of urotensin-II centrally administered in mice.
abstract: Urotensin-II (U-II) receptors are widely distributed in the central nervous system. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of U-II causes hypertension and bradycardia and stimulates prolactin and thyrotropin secretion. However, the behavioral effects of centrally administered U-II have received little attention. In the present study, we tested the effects of i.c.v. injections of U-II on behavioral, metabolic, and endocrine responses in mice. Administration of graded doses of U-II (1-10,000 ng/mouse) provoked: (1) a dose-dependent reduction in the number of head dips in the hole-board test; (2) a dose-dependent reduction in the number of entries in the white chamber in the black-and-white compartment test, and in the number of entries in the central platform and open arms in the plus-maze test; and (3) a dose-dependent increase in the duration of immobility in the forced-swimming test and tail suspension test. Intracerebroventricular injection of U-II also caused an increase in: food intake at doses of 100 and 1,000 ng/mouse, water intake at doses of 100-10,000 ng/mouse, and horizontal locomotion activity at a dose of 10,000 ng/mouse. Whatever was the dose, the central administration of U-II had no effect on body temperature, nociception, apomorphine-induced penile erection and climbing behavior, and stress-induced plasma corticosterone level. Taken together, the present study demonstrates that the central injection of U-II at doses of 1-10,000 ng/mouse induces anxiogenic- and depressant-like effects in mouse. These data suggest that U-II may be involved in some aspects of psychiatric disorders.
authors.affiliation: Institut Fédératif de Recherches Multidisciplinaires sur les Peptides (IFRMP 23), Laboratoire de Neuropsychopharmacologie Experimentale, CNRS FRE 2735, UFR de Medecine et Pharmacie, 76183 Rouen Cedex, France. jean.costentin@univ-rouen.fr
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Do-Rego
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chatenet
authors.forename: Marie-Hélène
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Orta
authors.forename: Bertrand
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Naudin
authors.forename: Camille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Le Cudennec
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leprince
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Scalbert
authors.forename: Hubert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vaudry
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Costentin
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004326:Drinking / Q000187:drug effects; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D007276:Injections, Intraventricular; D008124:Locomotion / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D013997:Time Factors; D014579:Urotensins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D014579:Urotensins; C029677:urotensin II