title: Vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) in the brain of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR): effect of treatment with an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor.
abstract: The cholinergic marker vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) was investigated in different cerebral areas of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) by immunochemistry (Western blot analysis) and by immunohistochemistry. SHR were used as an animal model of hypertensive brain damage. The sensitivity of manipulation of cholinergic system on VAChT was assessed in rats treated for four weeks with the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor galantamine (3 mg/Kg/day). VAChT concentrations were increased in the brain of control SHR compared to age-matched normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats. This increase probably represents an up-regulation of VAChT to oppose cholinergic deficits reported in SHR and is countered by galantamine administration. The possibility that cholinergic neurotransmission enhancement may represent a therapeutic strategy in cerebrovascular disease is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Sezione di Anatomia Umana, Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Sanità Pubblica, Università di Camerino, Camerino, Italy. khosrow.tayebati@unicam.it
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Tayebati
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Di Tullio
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Amenta
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000378:metabolism; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism; D002799:Cholinergic Fibers / Q000187:drug effects; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005702:Galantamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D011921:Rats, Inbred WKY; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects; D050494:Vesicular Acetylcholine Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; C493459:SLC18A3 protein, human; D050494:Vesicular Acetylcholine Transport Proteins; D005702:Galantamine