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Effect of Three Different Modes of Alcohol Administration on the Activity of the Rat Hypothalamic‐Pituitary‐Adrenal Axis
Author(s) -
Ogilvie Kathleen,
Lee Soon,
Rivier Catherine
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1997.tb03792.x
Subject(s) - alcohol , endocrinology , administration (probate law) , medicine , hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis , hypothalamus , biology , hormone , political science , biochemistry , law
The present study compared the effect of different modes of alcohol administration on the activity of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis. In a first series of studies, we investigated the influence of the intraperitoneal (ip) and intragastric (ig) effect of acutely administered alcohol. Over a 3–hr period, alcohol induced dose‐related increases in adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and alcohol levels in the circulation. There was a good correlation between blood ACTH and alcohol levels (ip treatment, R = 0.84; ig treatment, R = 0.79). Measurement of steady‐state mRNA of the immediate early gene NGFI‐B, taken as an index of neuronal activation in the paraventricu‐lar nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus of rats administered 3 g of alcohollkg, indicated significant (p < 0.01) increases between 60 and 180 min after both ip and ig alcohol injection, with peak stimulation at 1 and 2 hr, respectively. Although NGFI‐6 mRNA levels had returned to control level in the parvicellular portion of the PVN of animals administered the drug ip 4 hr earlier, they were still significantly (p < 0.01) elevated 4 hr after ig treatment. A second series of studies used rats fed an alcohol diet containing 6.4% alcohol (w/v), or pair‐fed. The rats were tested during the 4th or 6th night of treatment. Despite blood alcohol levels ranging between 0.060 and 0.140% w/v, there was no significant rise in plasma ACTHlcorticosterone levels in animals fed the drug, and no detectable NGFI‐B mRNA in their PVN. Collectively, these results indicate that both the ip and the ig acute injection of alcohol induced dose‐related increases in plasma ACTH levels. PVN neuronal activation was also observed. In contrast, the alcohol diet had no effect on HPA hormone levels or PVN expression Of NGFI‐B.