Opposing effects of ethanol and nicotine on hippocampal calbindin-D28k expression

Autor: Patrick J. Mulholland, Rachel L. Self, Lincoln H. Wilkins, John M. Littleton, Mark A. Prendergast, Robert C. Holley, Barton R. Harris, John A. Blanchard
Rok vydání: 2003
Předmět:
Zdroj: Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.). 31(1-2)
ISSN: 0741-8329
Popis: Long-term ethanol exposure produces multiple neuroadaptations that likely contribute to dysregulation of Ca2+ balance and neurotoxicity during ethanol withdrawal. Conversely, nicotine exposure may reduce the neurotoxic consequences of Ca2+ dysregulation, putatively through up-regulation of the Ca2+-buffering protein calbindin-D28k. The current studies were designed to examine the extent to which 10-day ethanol exposure and withdrawal altered calbindin-D28k expression in rat hippocampus. Further, in these studies, we examined the ability of nicotine, through action at α 7 ∗ -bearing nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), to antagonize the effects of ethanol exposure on calbindin-D28k expression. Organotypic cultures of rat hippocampus were exposed to ethanol (50–100 mM) for 10 days. Additional cultures were exposed to 500 nM (–)-nicotine with or without the addition of 50 mM ethanol, 100 nM methyllycaconitine (an α 7 ∗ -bearing nAChR antagonist), or both. Prolonged exposure to ethanol (≥50 mM) produced significant reductions of calbindin-D28k immunolabeling in all regions of the hippocampal formation, even at nontoxic concentrations of ethanol. Calbindin-D28k expression levels returned to near-control levels after 72 h of withdrawal from 10-day ethanol exposure. Extended (–)-nicotine exposure produced significant elevations in calbindin-D28k expression levels that were prevented by methyllycaconitine co-exposure. Co-exposure of cultures to (–)-nicotine with ethanol resulted in an attenuation of ethanol-induced reductions in calbindin-D28k expression levels. These findings support the suggestion that long-term ethanol exposure reduces the neuronal capacity to buffer accumulated Ca2+ in a reversible manner, an effect that likely contributes to withdrawal-induced neurotoxicity. Further, long-term exposure to (–)-nicotine enhances calbindin-D28k expression in an α 7 ∗ nAChR–dependent manner and antagonizes the effects of ethanol on calbindin-D28k expression.
Databáze: OpenAIRE