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1. Maternal intake of 1 mEq CsCl in drinking water at conception until weaning the offspring mice resulted in certain maternal mediated neonatal and developmental toxicity. 2. Initial reduction in body and brain weights were determined in male offspring due to maternal exposure to Cs salt before they attained the control levels. 3. Offspring from both sexes showed increased spleen weight from control as a consequence of maternal exposure to Cs. This may precipitate delayed immunotoxicity. 4. Maternal Cs exposure did not alter litter size or specific activities of offspring heart lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes from respective controls. 5. Maternal exposure to Cs altered specific activities of offspring liver alcohol- and aldehyde dehydrogenase during development compared to controls. 6. The results indicate neonatal and developmental toxicity of Cs as a function of maternal intake of CsCl during pregnancy and breast feeding.

The antidepressant efficacy of fluoxetine in major depression has been briefly reviewed. A brief outline of dose selection, therapeutic onset, and pharmacokinetics of fluoxetine were made. The potential use of the drug in management of various psychiatric conditions has been examined. These include obsessive-compulsive disorder and related variances, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, Tourette's syndrome, and trichotillomania. The suggested use of fluoxetine in pain relief in certain diabetics, premenstrual syndrome, and migraine headache were assessed. The reports on the use of fluoxetine in panic disorders, paraphilias, and related conditions and in the management of substance abuse, alcoholism, and cocaine abuse, were summarized and elaborated upon. A composite of preliminary reports cited in literature pertinent to the potential of fluoxetine in treatment of abusing injurious behavior, dysthymic disorder, fibrositis, postanoxicaction myoclonus, pathologic jealously, personality disorder, pseudobulbar affect, and social phobia were also reviewed. Fluoxetine pharmacological profile may be extended to cover a relative wide range of application, provided future controlled studies confirm the preliminary data found in the literature.

1. A brief overview of gonadal alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde-dehydrogenase (ALDH) is presented and their relationships to gonadal toxicity of ethanol has been discussed. 2. The distributions of ADH and ALDH among major reproductive tissues of rodents, their subcellular localization and kinetic properties were summarized. 3. The sensitivity of testicular ADH and ALDH to ethanol intake, various psychoactive agents and steroidal compounds was assessed and the implication of these enzymes in gonadal ethanol-drug interaction has been suggested. 4. The possible role of testicular ALDH in tumorigenesis and in high altitude endocrine sensitivity to ethanol has been addressed.

Using a peptide extraction procedure, reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography, and a radioimmunoassay that utilized an antibody raised specifically against human beta-casomorphin-8 (BC8), BC-immunoreactivity (BCIR) was detected in rostrocaudally increasing levels in nineteen microscopically distinct and functionally relevant areas of mesencephalon, pons cerebri, and medulla oblongata of eight infants. On the basis of the methodology used, it can be concluded, that the BCIR present in their brain stem was due to BC8 and/or to some of its congeners. Data in the literature together with those of this study indicate that beta-casomorphins could be transported by specific mechanisms from the blood into the brain stem and that they could play a role in the central regulation of various physiological phenomena.

1. Breast fed maternally-mediated developmental LiCl toxicity was determined in mice offspring as a function of offspring's gender and duration of maternal intake of LiCl (1 mEq). 2. The female offspring were more sensitive than the males to major organ weight changes by maternal exposure to LiCl. 3. Maternal intake of LiCl from preconception until weaning of the nurslings induced offspring hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase and heart lactate dehydrogenase in both sexes which was isoenzyme specific for the latter. 4. The offspring also showed induction of liver aldehyde dehydrogenase but only as consequences of postnatal exposure to LiCl. 5. The results indicate offspring developmental toxicity as a consequence of maternal exposure to Li salts and breast feeding.

The results suggest the feasibility of metabolic and behavioral interrelationships between ethanol (ET), certain neurotransmitter substances and major metabolites, some neuropeptides and/or psychoactive agents. This was indicated by the in vivo and in vitro effects of such authentic compounds on certain ET-elicited behavioral responses and on hepatic ET and acetaldehyde metabolizing enzymes in rats and mice.

This study describes the effects of ten clinically used cytostatics [bleomycin (BLM), cytarabine (Ara-C), cyclophosphamide (CTX), doxorubicin (DOX), etoposide (VP-16), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), methotrexate (MTX), mitoxantrone (MXN), vincristine (VCR), and vinblastine (VLB)] on the chorioallantoic membrane vessels--especially on vessel counts--and on the weight of the chicken embryo. A significant reduction of vessel counts (VC) due both to angiocidal and an angiostatic action, was induced by DOX, MXN, VP-16, VCR, and VLB. 5-FU and BLM induced only a (weak) angiostatic effect. MTX, Ara-C, and CTX were neither angiocidal nor angiostatic. The classification of cytostatics presented here might have implications for their use in the clinical treatment of malignant tumors.

Acute IP injection of benzyl alcohol but not benzaldehyde (0.5 g/kg) caused aversion to voluntary drinking of 5% ethanol solution by male rats with preference to ethanol. Benzyl alcohol noncompetitively inhibited hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase of rats maintained for a short term on 5% ethanol compared to control. The results suggest an adverse interaction between benzyl alcohol and ethanol underlying the observed aversion to ethanol.

On the line of experiences previously made in the development of a two-site immunoradiometric assay (TS-IRMA), we generated, in the present study, a novel, sequential, noncompetitive two-site immunoenzymometric assay (TS-IEMA) for the determination of the non-acetylated form of human beta-endorphin (beta h-EP). At variance with other assays reported in the literature, but in analogy to the TS-IRMA, the TS-IEMA does not require previous separation of beta h-EP. The TS-IEMA detects beta h-EP in central nervous tissues at a very low detection limit, and to a high degree of reproducibility, precision, sensitivity, and accuracy. The newly developed assay was then used to determine beta h-EP levels in the tissues of distinct brainstem regions. Tissues were collected, by the Palkovits's punching technique, from a series of victims of "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome" and of miscellaneous infections. The TS-IEMA, combined with the punching technique, has revealed, in the measure of its application in the present study, an unprecedented high degree of resolution of the neurochemical architecture of beta h-EP in the human infantile brainstem.

The separate and combined effects of successive administration of amantadine, 100 mg/kg, i.p., and chlorpromazine, 0.2 mg/kg, i.p., on motor activity and whole brain levels of certain biogenic amines and major metabolites were studied in four strains of mice. These were the albino ICR, the inbred BALB/C, C57BL/6 and the hybrid CDF-I mice. Amantadine produced a strain-dependent behavioral stimulation subsequent the fourth dose. This was apparent in ICR and C57BL/6 mouse strains and was followed by a behavioral depression phase occurring during the night in C57BL/6 mice which was antagonized by chlorpromazine. Administration of chlorpromazine alone affected only CDF-1 mouse mobility. Chlorpromazine reduced only ICR mouse brain dopamine without concomitant changes in major acid metabolites. Repeated administration of amantadine prior to chlorpromazine negated this effect. Chlorpromazine enhancement of BALB/C brain serotonin and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid was antagonised by pretreatment with amantadine. This antagonism was also evident in BALB/C mouse brain dihydroxyphenylacetic acid. The results suggest genotypic-dependent behavioral and cerebral effects by the drugs studied. The antagonism between amantadine and chlorpromazine on brain amines may explain the therapeutic efficacy of amantadine in modulating chlorpromazine-induced extrapyramidal disorders.

The effect of equal-dose regimens of amitriptyline and nortriptyline on the concentrations of serotonin, dopamine and major acidic metabolites was compared in 5 distinct brain regions as a function of inbred mouse strain. Amitriptyline increased to a greater extent the regional brain serotonin levels in the albino BALB/c mouse than did nortriptyline. Both drugs increased serotonin levels but decreased cerebral 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid levels in some distinct brain regions of the black C57BL/6 mouse strain. The results suggest a strain-dependent differential increase in brain serotonin turnover in specific mouse strain brain regions which may account for the greater incidence of amitriptyline-induced sedation and seizures. The BALB/c mouse was also found to be more sensitive than the C57BL/6 strain to the action of both drugs on dopamine and major acidic metabolites with amitriptyline showing more regional brain potency than nortriptyline. The data suggest an increase in dopamine turnover particularly in brain areas associated with motor function and posture which may account for tricyclic-antidepressant-induced extrapyramidal disorders. The results also indicate that the C57BL/6 mouse strain may be of experimental value for studying the mechanism underlying tricyclic-induced adverse reactions relevant to sedation and movement disorders as a function of genetic predisposition.

The effects of certain experimental variables on rodents brain and liver alcohol--(ADH) and aldehyde-dehydrogenase (LALDH) were evaluated. The in vivo and in vitro effect of chlorpromazine on these enzymes was determined. Short-term housing under complete darkness differentially inhibited ADH and ALDH in distinct brain regions with ADH showing more sensitivity than ALDH. The hepatic enzymes studied were not affected by such housing conditions but a non-competitive inhibition of L-ALDH occurred as a consequence of exposure to UV lighting for 3 consecutive weeks. Short-term treatment with chlorpromazine inhibited striatal ADH which was not affected by experimentally-induced hypothermia. Likewise, both hepatic and testicular ADH were noncompetitively inhibited in vitro by chlorpromazine. The results suggest sensitivity of brain and hepatic ADH to environmental housing conditions and indicate a similarity between peripheral and cerebral ADH responses to chlorpromazine. The modulation of ADH and/or ALDH may facilitate the formation of endogenous biogenic amines derived alkaloids which have been implicated in alcohol and extrapyramidal side effects.

The effects of gossypol on ethanol-elicited responses pertaining to liver ethanol, acetaldehyde-metabolizing enzymes and alcohol preference were studied in rodents. Intraperitoneal injection of a single dose of gossypol, 100 mg/kg, inhibited hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase for 50 h in mice from both sexes. The acute gossypol treatment produced earlier inhibition of mouse liver cytoplasmic aldehyde dehydrogenase in male than female mice. Acute gossypol administration initially inhibited mouse liver subcellular mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase in both sexes which was not evident 50 h later. Administration of gossypol, 10 mg/kg i.p., to male rats with preference for ethanol caused aversion for ethanol drinking. The enzymatic determinations indicate gender sensitivity of subcellular mouse liver aldehyde dehydrogenase to gossypol. The behavioral study suggests adverse metabolic interaction between gossypol and alcohol which may underlie the rat aversion to voluntary ethanol drinking.

Haloperidol and pimozide are the only medications approved in management of Tourette's syndrome, thought due to dopaminergic overactivity with a possible genetic trait. The effect of equal dose regimens of these drugs on some brain biogenic amines and major acidic metabolites was studied in two genetically different strains of mice. These drugs exerted strain-dependent effect on regional brain levels of the compounds measured. The results suggest a higher turnover of striatal dopamine by haloperidol than by pimozide in the albino BALB/c but not in the black C57BL/6 mouse strain which may explain the high incidences of haloperidol-induced extrapyramidal side effects. Conversely, a greater decrease in serotonin turnover by pimozide than by haloperidol was apparent in two brain regions of C57BL/6 but not in BALB/c mice which may contribute to the unwanted sedative effect reported for pimozide. The results suggest the possible contribution of genetic factors to cerebral potency of these neuroleptics which may explain variable therapeutic response and sensitivity to drug-produced toxicity in Tourette's syndrome.

The effects of some tremor-producing and antitremor agents on the enzymes sequentially metabolizing ethanol and acetaldehyde in addition to biogenic-amine-derived aldehyde intermediates were studied in mouse liver preparations. Aldehyde but not alcohol dehydrogenase was differentially stimulated by the compounds studied in vitro. This effect was confined to the mitochondrial enzyme and was isoenzyme-dependent. The results indicate difference between in vitro and in vivo effects and suggest a role for mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase in metabolic detoxification of endogenous biogenic aldehydes in the presence of alcohol which may explain the worsening of drug-induced tremor by ethanol.

Beta-endorphin-like immunoreactivity (beta-ELIR) blood levels in control subjects and in patients with different carcinoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma tumor types, were found within the same range, with the exception of one carcinoma type. This pertained to a group of patients with small cell lung cancer who had a significantly higher median beta-ELIR level compared to controls. This finding, and the fact that proopiomelanocortin expression is enhanced in tissues of this cancer type, suggest that the latter might secrete elevated beta-ELIR amounts into the blood of the affected patients.

1. Repeated administration of amantadine prior to chlorpromazine to two different strains of mice altered both locomotor activity, concentrations of brain biogenic amines and selected major metabolites as a function of mouse strain. 2. Amantadine antagonized chlorpromazine effect on motility which was associated with increases in whole brain levels of homovanillic acid in the CDF-1 but not C57BL/6 mice. 3. Conversely, the treatment with amantadine prior to chlorpromazine reduced whole brain normetanephrine and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid levels from respective controls in the C57BL/6 and CDF-1 mice, respectively. 4. The results suggest that genetic factors underly differential alteration of brain dopamine and serotonin which may underly the mechanism of amantadine efficacy in neuroleptic-induced extrapyramidal disorders and to the variable responses to amantadine therapy.

1. Gossypol, an antifertility ingredient of the cotton plant, altered specific activity of mouse liver alcohol dehydrogenase (L-ADH) and subcellular aldehyde dehydrogenase (L-ALDH) in mice of both sexes. 2. Intraperitoneal injection of a single gossypol dose, 50 mg/kg, inhibited both male and female L-ADH and cytoplasmic L-ALDH from saline controls 21 hr after drug treatment. 3. Gossypol inhibited female but not male mouse mitochondrial L-ALDH isoenzymes. 4. Gossypol-produced enzyme inhibition was determined as noncompetitive. 5. The results suggest gender-dependent sensitivity of mitochondrial L-ALDH to the gossypol inhibition. A toxic metabolic interaction between ethanol and gossypol has been indicated which suggests the contraindication of alcoholic beverages during gossypol use.

In order to identify opioid receptor proteins, we first ascertained the presence of mu-receptors in membranes of the human cerebral frontal cortex, using binding studies performed with sufentanil. Sufentanil binding was reversed by naloxone and prevented by an anti-idiotypic opioid receptor-specific antibody. This antibody was bound specifically by proteins (molecular weights of 66 and 68 Kda) detected in frontal cortex membrane preparations by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in combination with western blot analysis. Binding of the same antibody was achieved in dot blots of homologous cerebral and cerebellar cortex preparations.

1. Short-term intake of a 2% benzyl alcohol in the rat drinking fluid resulted in sex-dependent inhibition of hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase. 2. Benzyl alcohol intake also inhibited female but not male mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase isoenzymes with the apparent low and high Km. 3. The benzyl alcohol inhibition kinetics were found non-competitive with the major differences in Vmax being confined to the cytoplasmic enzymes. 4. The velocity of the enzymatic reaction was greater for the substrate benzaldehyde than benzyl alcohol. 5. The results suggest sex-dependent hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase-substrate competition between benzyl alcohol and ethanol which may precipitate adverse metabolic interaction particularly in the susceptible female subject. 6. Modulation of the activity of this enzyme by benzyl alcohol may contribute to its toxicity as preservative in parentral injectable solutions.

1. The effect of beta-endorphin (beta-EP) and morphine sulfate (MS), in presence and absence of naloxone (NX), on chicken chorioallantoic membrane was studied as a function of blood vessel proliferation. 2. A 50% reduction in blood vessel proliferation occurred by 10 micrograms of beta-EP or by 5 micrograms of MS per egg compared to controls. 3. An individual dose, i.e. 5 micrograms of beta-EP, did not significantly inhibit blood vessel counts after initial 24 hr period of the drug application when given alone compared to inhibition occurring with combined use of NX. 4. NX (1 microgram) did not significantly reverse the angiostatic effects of MS (10 micrograms) or of beta-EP (5 micrograms). 5. The observed modulation of angiogenesis by opioids suggests involvement of beta-EP and MS in the proliferation of vascular endothelial cells. 6. This may be due to an effect of beta-EP and MS on cell-mediated immunity factors such as interferons, interleukins and prostaglandin E2.

The effects of short-term intraperitoneal injection of diluted almond or anis oil on heart lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes, liver alcohol dehydrogenase and subcellular aldehyde dehydrogenase were studied in the female mouse. Hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase was induced from control by administration of almond oil 3.2 g/kg/d for 7 days, or anis oil 1.6 g/kg/d for 7 days. Treatment with almond but not anis oil inhibited both cytoplasmic and mitochondrial liver aldehyde dehydrogenase. The mitochondrial isoenzyme with an apparently low Km was also inhibited by the almond oil trial. No significant changes occurred in heart lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes by the treatments used. The enzymatic inhibition kinetics were found to be non-competitive. The apparent Km for almond-treated mouse aldehyde dehydrogenase was greater than the controls. This indicates lower substrate affinity for almond oil than for acetaldehyde. The results suggest adverse hepatic metabolic interaction between almond oil and alcohol.

The effect of short-term oral administration of doxepin, a tricyclic antidepressant, on voluntary drinking of ethanol was studied in the rat as a function of sex. The effects of doxepin on ethanol and acetaldehyde metabolizing enzymes of hepatic and selected endocrine tissues were made in the presence and in the absence of ethanol. A reduction in voluntary ethanol intake was determined after the initial doxepin dose. This effect was not apparent during continued drug administration. Subsequently, a statistically insignificant reduction of ethanol drinking was noted 24 h and 72 h post-drug termination. Hepatic alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase were not altered from respective controls by doxepin in the presence and absence of ethanol. Epididymal and testicular adlehyde dehydrogenase were inhibited by doxepin from control in rats maintained on ethanol or water, respectively. The results suggest lack of adverse effect of doxepin on peripheral metabolism of alcohol metabolizing enzymes as compared to adverse interaction with acetaldehyde metabolizing enzyme in the endocrine tissues studied.

Acute treatment with gossypol produced both tissue specific and sex-dependent alterations of M and H subunits of mouse lactate dehydrogenase. Gossypol induced female mouse heart cytoplasma H subunit and inhibited both enzyme subunits in the male mouse. Gossypol induced mouse liver mitochondrial lactate dehydrogenase subunit M in both sexes 50 hrs after acute drug administration while was ineffective on the testicular enzyme. Induction of hepatic lactate dehydrogenase may enhance NADH:NAD ratio, resulting in alteration of cellular redox status and reduction of NAD utilization by other dehydrogenases. The gossypol-mediated sex-dependent changes of heart lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes may be of value in the prediction of certain aspects of gossypol toxicity.

The effect of cholinergics and an anticholinergic agent on hepatic ethanol metabolizing enzymes was studied. Short-term administration of the cholinomimetic arecoline or the anticholinergic scopolamine induced rat liver mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase (L-ALDH) isoenzyme with the apparent high and low Km, respectively. In addition, scopolamine inhibited cytoplasmic L-ALDH. This suggests differential sensitivity of the L-ALDH isoenzymes to these agents. Scopolamine and the cholinomimetic pilocarpine enhanced rat and mouse liver alcohol dehydrogenase (L-ADH) in vitro, respectively. This indicates species-dependent effect of these agents on L-ADH. The results suggest interaction of the cholinergic system with ethanol metabolizing enzymes which may contribute to the peripheral action of alcohol.

The effects of tetrahydropapaverine (THP) and papaverine (PAP), an O-methylated analogue, on rat liver alcohol dehydrogenase (L-ADH) and aldehyde-dehydrogenase (L-ALDH) were studied in vitro. The action of THP on these enzymes was also evaluated in vivo in conjunction with its effect on voluntary intake of ethanol by the rat. Both L-ADH and mitochondrial L-ALDH were inhibited in vitro in the presence of 10(-4) M THP. Conversely, stimulation of L-ADH and L-ALDH occurred by PAP in the concentration range between 10(-4) to 10(-6) M in vitro. Acute or daily administration of THP for five consecutive days did not alter voluntary intake of ET by the rat or changed specific activity of these hepatic enzymes in vivo. The structure activity of these compounds in relationship to the enzymes studied suggest the importance of O-methylation on the enzymatic effect studied which may possibly underlie some of the hypothesized action of THP on libation of alcohol.

The in vivo effect of amantadine, chlorpromazine and reserpine on testicular aldehyde dehydrogenase (T-ALDH) was studied as a function of mouse strain. The effect of Leu-enkephalin and tetrahydropapaverine on rodent T-ALDH was also studied in vivo. The in vitro effect of chlorpromazine, papaverine and scopolamine on rodent subcellular T-ALDH and testicular alcohol dehydrogenase (T-ADH) were evaluated. A strain-linked difference in endogenous T-ALDH among the three mouse strains studied was determined. Individual injection of chlorpromazine or reserpine inhibited only albino ICR T-ALDH which was alleviated by pretreatment with amantadine and, thereby, suggesting antagonism between amantadine and these agents. The Leu-enkephalin administration induced T-ALDH from saline control. Tetrahydropapaverine did not influence the enzymes studied in vivo compared to an insignificant in vitro induction of T-ADH by the O-methylated analogue papaverine. Chlorpromazine noncompetitively inhibited T-ADH in vitro. The results indicate the modulation of the enzymes studied, which are involved in both detoxification of ethanol and biogenic amine-derived aldehyde intermediates, by agents affecting the endocrine system. This suggests the potential of these testicular enzymes in the evaluation of alcohol- and drug-induced endocrine adverse reactions.

1. Comparative analyses of regional brain biogenic amines and spontaneous locomotor activity of three mouse strains suggest a genotype dependent relationship. 2. A positive correlation between striatal dopamine and locomotor activity was determined in the inbred albino BALB/c mouse strain. 3. An inverse relationship between some brain regions serotonin and motility was found in the inbred black C57BL/6 mouse strain. 4. No correlation could be established between brain monoamines and motor activity in the hybrid CDF-1 mouse strain. 5. The results suggest that inbred BALB/c and C57BL/6 mouse strains may be useful animal models for studying dopaminergic and serotonergic acting agents, respectively.

1. Equal dose regimens of amitriptyline, a tertiary amine tricyclic antidepressant, were more potent than nortriptyline, a secondary amine derivative, in suppressing CDF-1 mouse locomotor activity. 2. A suggestive increase in dopamine turnover rate in mouse cerebral cortex and striatal brain regions was apparent by amitriptyline but not nortriptyline. 3. A suggestive increase in serotonin turnover in mouse cerebellum and striatum was determined for nortriptyline. 4. Both antidepressants increased cerebral cortex, midbrain and cerebellum serotonin levels from saline control. 5. Increases of regional brain dopamine by amitriptyline and serotonin by nortriptyline concurrent with reuptake blockade of the respective serotonin and dopamine may contribute to their differential extrapyramidal and sedating side effects.

1. A comparison between the effect of equal dose regimens of Tourette's medications on mouse motor activity and regional brain monoamines suggests differential responses which may underlie drug-induced side-effects. 2. Haloperidol was more potent than pimozide in altering striatal dopamine concentration which may account for the greater incidence of haloperidol-induced extrapyramidal disorders compared to pimozide. 3. Pimozide, but not the haloperidol treatment, altered brain serotonin concentrations to suggest a decrease in turnover rate which may underlie pimozide-caused sedation in Tourette's syndrome. 4. Pimozide was more potent than haloperidol in duration of behavioral depression which suggests differential dopamine receptor subtypes blockade. 5. Pimozide was more potent than haloperidol in altering 3 of the 6 brain regions content of norepinephrine-derived normetanephrine which may be responsible for the increase in blood pressure reported during pimozide treatment.

1. Short-term treatment with tamoxifen (a nonsteroidal antiestrogen) decreased mouse spontaneous locomotor activity compared to controls. 2. Short-term pretreatment with tamoxifen prior to an acute sedative dose of ethanol potentiated ethanol-medicated behavioral depression in the mouse. 3. Injection of a small dose of Leu-enkephalin, which is devoid of effect on mouse motility, prior to an acute sedative dose of ethanol to tamoxifen pretreated female mice counteracted ethanol-produced suppression of motor activity. 4. Mouse liver aldehyde dehydrogenase was inhibited by the short-term administration of tamoxifen when given alone or preceding acute dosages of Leu-enkephalin. Concomitantly, there was an increase in blood plasma ethanol concentration from corresponding control. 5. The results of the behavioral performance test used suggest that tamoxifen possesses depressant property and exerts synergestic effect with Leu-enkephalin in antagonizing ethanol-produced behavioral depression in the mouse. 6. The enzymatic part of the study indicates an adverse metabolic influence by tamoxifen on hepatic metabolism of ethanol-derived acetaldehyde which could contribute to the potentiation of the sedative effect of ethanol.

1. Spontaneous locomotor activity of four mouse strains, the albino ICR, BALB/C, the black C57 BL/6 and the brown CDF-I, was studied in conjunction with whole brain content of select biogenic amines and major metabolites. The ICR and C57BL/6 mice scored the highest and lowest motility among the strains studied, respectively. 2. The ICR mice motility were the most sensitive to experimental stress among the mouse strains evaluated. 3. Brain dopamine concentrations were greater in ICR and CDF-I mice than the other two mouse strains. This is compared to high serotonin and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid levels determined in C57BL/6. 4. A relationship between the ICR mouse strain with a high motility and the ratios of brain dopamine:homovanillic acid and between serotonin:5-hydroxyindole acetic acid was established. 5. An inverse relationship between ICR mice motility and the ratio of metanephrine and normetanephrine:3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) was determined. 6. It is concluded that genetic predisposition may account for a relationship between motor activity and brain biogenic amines which may give insight into the susceptibility of different patients to the development of certain extrapyramidal diseases.

The distribution of (newly found) NAD-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) was determined in the rat testis and epididymis as a function of age. There were changes in specific activity of testicular ALDH as a function of age. Epididymal ALDH, which is found evenly distributed between the caput and cauda epididymis, increased initially from the 20th day after birth to th 50th day and remained little altered thereafter in both the caudet and the caput portion of the epididymis. Testicular and epididymal ALDH were found species-dependent with the hamster testis and the rat epididymis showing greater specific activities from the rest of the species studied, respectively. Determinations of testicular ALDH in various mouse strains indicate that it is strain-dependent. Intake of 25% (v/v) ethanol solution as the sole drinking fluid for 10 consecutive days inhibited testicular ALDH in the three mouse strains studied. Administration of disulfiram, 15 mg/kg/day for 60 consecutive days, exerted inhibitory action on testicular and epididymal ALDH in the rat. Intraperitoneal injection of pyrazol, 100 mg/kg once daily for 7 days, resulted in inhibition of epididymal but not of testicular ALDH. It is suggested that testicular and epididymal ALDH may play a role in the toxic action of ethanol-derived acetaldehyde on the gonad.

The chloride salts of lithium (Li+) and cesium (Cs+) were evaluated for their ability to influence the growth of Sarcoma I implants in A/J mice. The administration of daily doses of either 1 or 3 mEq/kg CsCl to these mice reduced the incidence and size of tumor implants. This effect was not apparent in animals receiving a smaller dose (0.5 mEq/kg) of the same drug. At the time of sacrifice the serum level of Cs+ in this latter group was approximately half that recorded in animals receiving the higher doses of CsCl. No effect on tumor incidence or rate of growth was observed in animals receiving different doses of LiCl. Because of the similarities that existed between cesium and potassium, it was postulated that the effect of cesium was due to alterations in the intracellular composition of the tumor cells. Also, the possible role of cytotoxic agents in potentiating the inhibitory effect of cesium on tumors was discussed.

The effect of short-term administration of chlorpromazine and phenobarbital on cytoplasmic alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) was studied in distinct brain regions of the male rat. The effect of exposure to cold environment on the same enzymes was also evaluated. Chlorpromazine treatment resulted in inhibition of ADH and ALDH in the striatum and in the cerebellum, respectively. This inhibition was determined only when the animals were sacrificed 30 min but not 18 hr post terminal drug treatment. The pons-medulla content of ALDH was reduced by chlorpromazine treatment from controls 18 hr of terminal treatment. Hypothermic animals showed an inhibition of ADH in the diencephalon from corresponding controls. The phenobarbital treatment was devoid of action on hepatic ADH and ALDH. Concomitantly, an induction of both ADH and ALDH by pentobarbital was observed in the cerebellum and in the diencephalon, respectively. The effect of the drugs studied may contribute to their adverse interaction with ethanol on the central nervous system.

A 10% ethanol (ET) solution was the only drinking fluid available for 60 days prior to and during pregnancy which was continued until neonatal rats were weaned. The 18 day old fetus and its liver weight of ET drinking rats were significantly decreased from water drinking controls. Liver and body weights of 14 and 21 day old neonates of both sexes were markedly decreased from controls as a consequence of ET intake. Hepatic cytosolic aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) of 14 day old neonates maintained on ET was increased from water controls without a concomitant change in specific activities of mitochondrial ALDH or or liver alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). This is contrasted with decreases in hepatic mitochondrial ALDH in 21 day old neonate of both sexes as a function of maternal ET feeding. The postnatal development of L-ALDH activity of offspring of ET-fed rats was less than that of water controls. A transient increase in liver ADH from respective controls was measured in the 21 day old males but not in females of corresponding age. The results suggest that certain metabolic changes in hepatic ET and acetaldehyde metabolism may occur in fetal alcohol syndrome. This may conceivably contribute to one of the mechanism(s) underlying the adverse reaction towards ET and to the susceptibility of the newborn of alcoholic subjects to other related CNS depressants.

Fast reverse-phase chromatographic procedures (Sep-Pak C18 cartridges and high pressure liquid chromatography) combined with radioimmunoassay is presented. It provides accurate assessment of brain tissue concentrations of beta h-endorphin (beta h-E). The method was used to study the distribution of the endogenous opioid in nine distinct human brain regions. The beta h-E was found mainly localized in the hypothalamus anterior, hypothalamus posterior followed by a lower concentration in the Corpora mamillaria and the Substantia grisea centralis. Concentrations below 1.0 fmol/mg fresh brain tissue were determined in the Pons dorsalis, Substantia nigra, Colliculi inferiores, Glandula pinealis and in Nucleus ruber.

A two-site immunoradiometric assay for the highly specific direct quantitation of nonacetylated beta h-EP in crude brain tissue samples has been developed with a detection limit of 10 fmol per well. The assay used two different antibodies with distinct specificities: a polyclonal rabbit anti-beta h-EP antibody binding between the middle portion and the C-terminal end of beta h-EP was bound to nitrocellulose membrane discs, a solid phase with a high protein binding capacity. In the following two incubation steps, the beta h-EP containing crude tissue extract--or the beta h-EP-standard--and, subsequently, the 125I-labeled monoclonal 3-E7 mouse antibody directed against the N-terminus of beta h-EP were added. Binding of beta h-EP to the solid phase antibody in the first incubation step was not affected by the addition of cross reacting opioid peptides derived from beta h-LPH up to 10 pmol per disc. Nonspecific binding of the labeled antibody to the solid phase could be lowered to 3% of total counts by the use of PBS containing nonfat dry milk as blocking solution and incubation buffer, a procedure that did not reduce maximum specific binding. Dilution studies performed with extracts sampled from the anterior hypothalamus excluded the interference of tissue factors in the assay.

The in vitro effects of some cholinergics and an anticholinergic agent on hepatic liver alcohol and aldehyde-dehydrogenase were investigated. Physostigmine was the only cholinomimetic agent which significantly inhibited hepatic mitochondrial aldehyde-dehydrogenase without concomitant changes in specific activity of alcohol dehydrogenase. This inhibitory action of physostigmine is found to be competitive and is confined to the enzyme with the low Km value which is also known to be inhibited by disulfiram. Kinetic studies were made to determine changes in the apparent Km value of aldehyde dehydrogenase by physostigmine. Additional experiments were performed to evaluate the Ki50 of physostigmine. The results are discussed in relevance to possible physostigmine-ethanol interaction and the complication of physostigmine in post-operative recovery procedures in individuals with alcohol intoxication and/or in alcoholic patients.

The effect of short-term intake of LiCl in drinking fluid on NO2 toxicity was studied in mice as a function of mortality and of specific activities of mouse liver alcohol dehydrogenase (L-ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenases (L-ALDH). Pretreatment with LiCl for 10 days decreased mortality in mice exposed to 60 to 70 PPM NO2 for 6 hr compared to controls. Pretreatment with LiCl for 10 days under continued exposure to 5 PPM NO2 resulted in a decrease in liver weight compared to control. Lithium treated mice exposed to NO2 showed less gain in body weight than the controls treated with LiCl and exposed to air. The latter group showed an induction of mitochondrial but not cytoplasmic L-ALDH and the NO2 exposure did not alter endogenous L-ALDH from corresponding controls. This induction of mitochondrial ALDH was associated with an increase in both Vmax and the apparent Km. Exposure to NO2 for 10 consecutive days resulted in inhibition of cytoplasmic L-ALDH. The data suggest that Li+ antagonized NO2 toxicity. A possible mechanism for reduction of NO2 toxicity by LiCl may be due to Li+ action on stabilizing cell membranes and/or modifying intercellular pulmonary response to NO2 injury.