Abstract
Rationale: The metabolites of deoxycorticosterone (DOC) and progesterone, allotetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone and allopregnanolone, are potent endogenous neuroactive steroids that are increased in rodent brain and plasma after hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation by acute stress or ethanol administration. However, little data are available for male nonhuman primates. Objective: To determine DOC concentrations in plasma samples from 11 monkeys following challenge of the HPA axis with naloxone, corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), dexamethasone, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) following dexamethasone pretreatment and ethanol. Methods: DOC levels were measured in monkey plasma by radioimmunoassay. Results: DOC levels were increased after naloxone (125 μg/kg and 375 μg/kg, respectively) and CRF administration (1 μg/kg), and decreased following dexamethasone (130 μg/kg) administration. ACTH (10 ng/kg) challenge, 4-6 h after 0.5 mg/kg dexamethasone, and administration of ethanol (1.0 g/kg and 1.5 g/kg) had no effect on DOC concentrations. DOC levels were positively correlated with cortisol and ACTH levels after the naloxone (375 μg/kg), CRF, and ACTH challenges. Finally, the suppression of DOC levels measured after dexamethasone was negatively correlated with subsequent alcohol self-administration. Conclusions: These results suggest that DOC levels in monkeys are regulated by the HPA axis and may contribute to physiological responses following activation.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 293-301 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Psychopharmacology |
| Volume | 186 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2006 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Cynomolgus monkeys
- Deoxycorticosterone (DOC)
- Ethanol
- Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pharmacology