Recent Advances in Neuropharmacology

This volume is dedicated to Professor Ullrich Trendelenburg. It contains the proceedings of a symposium which was held in his honour on the occasion of his retirement and took place March 22-24, 1991 in Wiirzburg. Ullrich Trendelenburg was the head of the Department of Pharmacology at Wiirzburg University from 1968 till the end of March 1991. He is famous internationally for his contributions to the physiology and pharmacology of the autonomic nervous system, and his impact on pharmacology in general throughout the world has been outstanding. The various phases of his life and his career have been delineated recently by Youdim and Riederer (Journal of Neural Transmission; Suppl. 32, 1990). The articles included in this volume reflect a considerable range of current research work dealing with various aspects of neuropharmacology, i. e. , the field of research Ullrich Trendelenburg has influenced most. One or more authors of each chapter are either former or present students and coworkers or close friends of Ullrich Trendelenburg. The first section is devoted to the synthesis and metabolism of catecholamines as well as to the mechanisms by which amine transmitters are removed from the extracellular fluid; three chapters deal with the two types of extraneuronal uptake of catecholamines. The second section concentrates on the release of catecholamines in the peripheral and the central nervous system, the regulation of transmitter release and the noradrenaline-ATP co-transmis­ sion. The third section deals with the pharmacology of various receptors, including agrenoceptors, adenosine, 5-HT and glutamate receptors.

Contenu

Synthesis and inactivation of neurotransmitters.- The effects of electroconvulsive shock on catecholamine function in the locus ceruleus and hippocampus.- Molecular aspects of the neuronal noradrenaline transporter.- Energy requirements for the basal efflux of noradrenaline and its metabolites from adrenergic varicosities.- The effects of type 1 diabetes mellitus and of tobacco smoke on dissipation of catecholamines in pulmonary endothelial cells - a non-neuronal site of uptake1.- Distribution of extraneuronal uptake1 in reproductive tissues: studies on cells in culture.- Extraneuronal inactivation of noradrenaline in tissue culture.- The influence of the estrous cycle on the accumulation of 3H-noradrenaline in rat uterus and on efflux of radioactivity from the uterus.- PC12 cells as a window for the differentiation of neural crest into adrenergic nerve ending and adrenal medulla.- Clinical aspects on presynaptic noradrenaline metabolism.- Effects of imipramine and some tryptamine derivatives on the efflux of 3H-5-hydroxytryptamine from rabbit platelets.- Influence of antidepressant drugs on seizure susceptibility and the anticonvulsant activity of valproate in mice.- Neurotransmitter release and co-transmission.- Noradrenaline-ATP corelease and cotransmission following activation of nicotine receptors at postganglionic sympathetic axons.- Preliminary evidence for noradrenaline and ATP as neurotransmitters in the porcine isolated palmar common digital artery.- Involvement of catecholaminergic neurones of the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) in blood pressure regulation.- Vasodilatation by endothelium-derived nitric oxide as a major determinant of noradrenaline release.- Stimulation of noradrenaline release in the cerebral cortex via presynaptic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and their pharmacological characterization.- Presynaptic modulation of neurotransmitter release by endogenous angiotensin II in brown adipose tissue.- Selective destruction of preganglionic sympathetic nerves by antibodies to acetylcholinesterase.- Receptors and post-receptor events.- Adenosine receptors in the central nervous system.- Mediation by adenosine of the trophic effects exerted by the sympathetic innervation of blood vessels.- Alpha1- and alpha2-adrenoceptors at different levels of the canine saphenous vein.- Pre- and postsynaptic alpha2 adrenoceptors as target for drug discovery.- Cyclic AMP and adaptive supersensitivity in guinea pig atria.- Molecular aspects of the receptor activation by imidazolines: an overview.- 5-HT4-like receptors in mammalian atria.- Glutamate receptor antagonism: neurotoxicity, anti-akinetic effects and psychosis.- Stereotypy and asymmetry in mice.