Intrastriatal injection of hypoxanthine reduces striatal serotonin content and impairs spatial memory performance in rats.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of intrastriatal injection of hypoxanthine, a metabolite accumulated in Lesch-Nyhan disease, on rats' performance in the Morris water maze tasks, along with the monoamine content in striatum of rats. Male adult Wistar rats were divided in two groups: (1) saline-injected and (2) hypoxanthine-injected group. Seven days after solutions infusion, animals were trained in the Morris Water Maze or were sacrificed for evaluation of the striatal monoamine content. Results show that hypoxanthine administration caused impairment on spatial navigation in the acquisition phase in reference memory task in the Morris Water Maze, as well as in the latency to cross over the platform location in probe trial, when compared to the saline group (control). Hypoxanthine also altered rat performance in the working memory. Although striatal dopamine metabolites content did not change, treated animals showed a reduction of tissue levels of serotonin (5-HT) and 5- hydroxyl-indoleacetic acid (5-HIAA). These results show that intra-striatal hypoxanthine administration provoked impairment of spatial learning/memory in rats without affecting striatal dopaminergic system, although serotonergic pathways seem to have been affected.

• Authors: Caren Serra Bavaresco, Fabria Chiarani, Eduardo Duringon, Marcelo Machado Ferro, Cláudio Da Cunha, Carlos Alexandre Netto, Angela Terezinha de Souza Wyse
• Journal: Metabolic brain disease (Metab Brain Dis) Vol. 22 Issue 1 Pg. 67-76 (Mar 2007) ISSN: 0885-7490 [Print] United States
• PMID: 17221304 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid
• Hypoxanthine
• Serotonin
• Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid
• Dopamine
• Homovanillic Acid

Topics

• 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid (metabolism)
• Animals
• Corpus Striatum (drug effects, metabolism, physiopathology)
• Dopamine (metabolism)
• Homovanillic Acid (metabolism)
• Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid (metabolism)
• Hypoxanthine (toxicity)
• Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome (metabolism, physiopathology)
• Male
• Maze Learning (drug effects)
• Memory (drug effects, physiology)
• Microinjections
• Rats
• Rats, Wistar
• Serotonin (metabolism)
• Space Perception (drug effects, physiology)