Intranasal Pineal Peptide Infusions Influence Rat Behaviour and Pineal Activity in Chronic Osmotic Stress.

Sibarov D.A., Kovalenko R.I., Chernysheva M.P., Nozdrachev A.D.
Intranasal Pineal Peptide Infusions Influence Rat Behaviour and Pineal Activity in Chronic Osmotic Stress.
In.; Психофармакология и биологическая наркология, № 2/01, 2001, с. 169.

Department of General Physiology, St.Petersburg State University, St.Petersburg, 199034, Russia

Both pineal peptides and melatonin influence behaviour, immune status, general adaptation syndrome and other physiological processes. The most part of this effects have been discovered using i.p. and i.v. injections. Intranasal way of injection permits the peptides to reach brain structures avoiding blood-brain barrier [1].We have investigated the effects of intranasal infusions of two pineal drugs – epithalamine (peptide extract of bovine pineal gland, 0.4ng/rat, 20mkl) and epitalone (synthetic pineal tetrapeptide Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly, 20ng/rat, 20mkl) on orientation-investigative behaviour and on pineal gland structure in chronic stress (48-hour water and food deprivation). The behaviour have been studied in “open field” test immediately after the infusion. The functional state of the pineal gland was morphologically investigated 2 hours after the last peptide infusion.Pineal peptides have been noticed to facilitate those components of orientation-investigative behaviour which are usually suppressed with water and food deprivation, horizontal locomotion in particular. Epitalone seems to reduce such characteristic for osmotic stress changes as pineal capillars widening (increases the transcapillar transport) and pinealocytes ipidization. The number of secretory vesicles in pinealocytes was high in stress both while epitalone infusion and without it. This results, together with fluorescent microscopy detected total RNA increase in pineal gland, indicate an activation of synthetic processes in it.The data obtained lead us to the conclusion that intranasally infused pineal peptides cause immediate changes in behaviour; 2 hours later when we suppose the peptides to be transported to brain structures they influence the structure of the pineal gland itself. We can make a careful assumption that pineal peptides are involved in epiphysis self regulation.In general we haven’t noticed any negative effects of pineal peptides application. Thus we think an intranasal infusions of this drugs to be interesting for clinical use.

[1] Xue-Qing Chen et al., Delivery of Nerve Growth Factor to the brain via olfactory pathway // J. of Alzheimer’s Disease 1 (1998) 35-44.

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Sibarov D.A., Kovalenko R.I., Chernysheva M.P., Nozdrachev A.D. Intranasal Pineal Peptide Infusions Influence Rat Behaviour and Pineal Activity in Chronic Osmotic Stress. In.; Психофармакология и биологическая наркология, № 2/01, 2001, с. 169. Department of General Physiology, St.Petersburg State University, St.Petersburg, 199034, Russia Both pineal peptides and melatonin influence behaviour, immune status, general adaptation syndrome and other physiological processes. The most part of this effects have been discovered using i.p. and i.v. injections. Intranasal way of injection permits the peptides to reach brain structures avoiding blood-brain barrier [1].We have investigated the effects of intranasal infusions of two pineal drugs – epithalamine (peptide extract of bovine pineal gland, 0.4ng/rat, 20mkl) and epitalone (synthetic pineal tetrapeptide Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly, 20ng/rat, 20mkl) on orientation-investigative behaviour and on pineal gland structure in chronic stress (48-hour water and food deprivation). The behaviour have been studied in “open field” test immediately after the infusion. The functional state of the pineal gland was morphologically investigated 2 hours after the last peptide infusion.Pineal peptides have been noticed to facilitate those components of orientation-investigative behaviour which are usually suppressed with water and food deprivation, horizontal locomotion in particular. Epitalone seems to reduce such characteristic for osmotic stress changes as pineal capillars widening (increases the transcapillar transport) and pinealocytes ipidization. The number of secretory vesicles in pinealocytes was high in stress both while epitalone infusion and without it. This results, together with fluorescent microscopy detected total RNA increase in pineal gland, indicate an activation of synthetic processes in it.The data obtained lead us to the conclusion that intranasally infused pineal peptides cause immediate changes in behaviour; 2 hours later when we suppose the peptides to be transported to brain structures they influence the structure of the pineal gland itself. We can make a careful assumption that pineal peptides are involved in epiphysis self regulation.In general we haven’t noticed any negative effects of pineal peptides application. Thus we think an intranasal infusions of this drugs to be interesting for clinical use. [1] Xue-Qing Chen et al., Delivery of Nerve Growth Factor to the brain via olfactory pathway // J. of Alzheimer’s Disease 1 (1998) 35-44.