Hypothermia during or after severe perinatal asphyxia prevents increase in cyclic GMP-related nitric oxide levels in the newborn rat striatum

• Published in: Brain research 1998-04, Vol.791 (1), p.303-307
• Main Authors: Loidl, C.Fabián, De Vente, Jan, van Ittersum, Marjanne Markerink, van Dijk, Erik H.J, Vles, Johan S.H, Steinbusch, Harry W.M, Blanco, Carlos E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Animals, Newborn; Asphyxia - metabolism; Asphyxia - mortality; Biological and medical sciences; Body Temperature Regulation - physiology; Corpus Striatum - metabolism; Cyclic GMP; Cyclic GMP - biosynthesis; Delivery. Postpartum. Lactation; Disorders; Enzyme Inhibitors - pharmacology; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Humans; Hypothermia; Medical sciences; NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester - pharmacology; Nitric Oxide - metabolism; Nitric oxide synthase; Nitric Oxide Synthase - antagonists & inhibitors; Perinatal asphyxia; Rat pup; Rats; Striatum; Survival Rate
• ISSN: 0006-8993; 1872-6240
• DOI: 10.1016/S0006-8993(98)00195-4

The striatum is rich in nitric oxide synthase (NOS). It is present in a dense fiber network and in a few medium-sized non-spiny interneurons. Previous work showed chronic overexpression of NOS in the rat striatum after a severe perinatal asphyctic (SPA) insult. This was prevented by hypothermia. We investigated whether the overexpression of NOS was accompanied by increased NOS activity. As nitric oxide (NO) is a potent activator of the soluble isoform of guanylyl cyclase, we measured striatal 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic GMP) synthesis in 10-day-old (P10) rat pups that were subjected to SPA during normothermia or hypothermia during or after the insult. Cyclic GMP levels in striatal tissue from control pups were ∼25.8 pmol/mg protein and in the SPA group ∼38.1 pmol/mg protein ( p