This Article Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Gard, P. R Articles by Tran, P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Gard, P. R Articles by Tran, P. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Interactions of angiotensin IV and oxytocin on behaviour in mice

School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton, p.r.gard{at}brighton.ac.uk

Pauline Daw

School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton

Zhila Sayyad Mashhour

School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton

Paula Tran

School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton

Introduction. Angiotensin (Ang) IV enhances learning and memory in rats but there are strain differences in its effects in mice. Oxytocin (OT) also influences learning and memory in rats and mice and, in the light of the proposed effects of Ang IV on oxytocinase, the hypothesis that the effects of Ang IV on cognition in mice involve OT was tested.

Materials and methods. The effects of Ang IV and OT, alone and combined, were determined in rat isolated uterine smooth muscle and in object recognition and forced swim tests in BKW mice.

Results. Ang potentiated the contractile effects of OT in the uterus. Neither peptide had any effect on object recognition nor locomotor activity. Ang IV had no effect in the forced swim test but abolished the effects of OT.

Conclusions. Ang IV influences the actions of OT in vitro and in vivo, possibly by inhibition of oxytocinase, but the lack of effect of Ang IV on object recognition in BKW mice is unlikely to be a consequence of a deficiency endogenous OT. Unlike OT, Ang IV alone has no effect on learned helplessness in the forced swim test, an effect often used to predict potential antidepressant efficacy in humans.

Key Words: angiotensin IV • learned helplessness • object recognition • oxytocin • oxytocinase

Journal of Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System, Vol. 8, No. 3, 133-138 (2007)
DOI: 10.3317/jraas.2007.016


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?