beta-funaltrexamine and Hypoxia

Activation of delta opioid receptors increases survival time during acute, lethal hypoxia in mice. delta Agonists therefore present a promising avenue for therapeutic application to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with clinical hypoxia in settings such as drowning, head injury apnea, and complicated childbirths. However, most delta agonists now available are peptides, and may have limited clinical utility. In the present study, we evaluate the neuroprotective ability of an alkaloid delta agonist, BW373U86. Alkaloid compounds, due to increased stability and increased systemic distribution, may be more favorable for clinical use. We found that BW373U86, like the peptide delta agonist, DPDPE ([D-Pen2, D-Pen5]-enkephalin), increases survival time of mice during lethal hypoxia. The mechanism of neuroprotection induced by delta receptor activation appears to involve decreasing body temperature. Further, using selective opioid receptor antagonists, it appears that BW373U86 exerts these neuroprotective effects by acting at delta-opioid receptors.

Topics: Acute Disease; Animals; Benzamides; Body Temperature; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Hypoxia; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred Strains; Naltrexone; Narcotic Antagonists; Piperazines; Receptors, Opioid, delta; Receptors, Opioid, kappa; Receptors, Opioid, mu

The present study was designed to investigate the contribution of opioids and nitric oxide (NO) to hypoxia-induced pial vasodilation. Newborn pigs equipped with a closed cranial window were used to measure pial arteriolar diameter and to collect cortical periarachnoid cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for assay of opioids and guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP). Hypoxia-induced pial dilation was potentiated by norbinaltorphimine, 10(-6) M, a kappa-opioid antagonist (25 +/- 2 vs. 33 +/- 3%, n = 5), but was blunted by beta-funaltrexamine, 10(-8) M, a mu-opioid antagonist (28 +/- 2 vs. 19 +/- 1%, n = 5). Hypoxia-induced vasodilation was associated with increased CSF methionine enkephalin, a mu-opioid agonist (884 +/- 29 vs. 2,638 +/- 387 pg/ml, n = 5). N omega-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA), an NO synthase inhibitor (10(-6) M), also blunted hypoxia-induced vasodilation that was further diminished by coadministration of L-NNA and beta-funaltrexamine (26 +/- 2, 14 +/- 1, and 9 +/- 1%, respectively, n = 5). Reversal of the above order of antagonist administration resulted in similar inhibition of hypoxia-induced pial dilation. Hypoxia-induced vasodilation was also associated with an increase in CSF cGMP that was attenuated by L-NNA (2.1 +/- 0.1- vs. 1.1 +/- 0.2-fold change in CSF cGMP, n = 5). Sodium nitroprusside (10(-6) M) increased CSF cGMP and methionine enkephalin concentration similar to hypoxia. These data suggest that hypoxia-induced pial arterial vasodilation, in part, is due to NO and/or cGMP-induced methionine enkephalin release as well as the direct action of NO.

Topics: Amino Acid Oxidoreductases; Analysis of Variance; Animals; Animals, Newborn; Arginine; Arterioles; Cerebral Arteries; Cyclic GMP; Dynorphins; Enkephalin, Ala(2)-MePhe(4)-Gly(5)-; Enkephalin, Methionine; Enkephalins; Female; Hypoxia; Male; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular; Naltrexone; Nitric Oxide; Nitric Oxide Synthase; Nitroarginine; Nitroprusside; Receptors, Opioid, kappa; Receptors, Opioid, mu; Swine; Vasodilation