Involvement of gamma-aminobutyric acid and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in the inhibitory effect of ethanol on pentylenetetrazole-induced c-fos expression in rat brain

F Le, P A Wilce, D A Hume, B C Shanley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

The expression of c-fos mRNA in rat brain was induced by intraperitoneal administration of pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) and picrotoxin, which act on the picrotoxin binding site of the gamma-aminobutyric acid-benzodiazepine (GABA-BZ) receptor complex, by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and kainic acid, agonists of different classes of glutamate receptors and by caffeine, an antagonist of adenosine receptors. The actions of PTZ and picrotoxin but not that of NMDA were blocked by ethanol and the NMDA-receptor antagonist, MK-801. Ro 15-4513 partially reversed the inhibitory effect of ethanol on PTZ-induced c-fos mRNA synthesis. Acute ethanol administration blocked the actions of PTZ and NMDA without affecting the response to kainic acid or caffeine. Taken together, these data suggest that ethanol blocks c-fos gene activation by noncompetitive antagonists of the GABA-BZ receptor via actions on both the NMDA and GABA receptors.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1309-15
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Neurochemistry
Volume59
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 1992

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Animals
  • Azides
  • Benzodiazepines
  • Brain
  • Ethanol
  • Male
  • N-Methylaspartate
  • Pentylenetetrazole
  • Picrotoxin
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos
  • RNA, Messenger
  • Rats
  • Rats, Wistar
  • Receptors, GABA-A
  • Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate

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