Effects of cabergoline and rotigotine on tacrine-induced tremulous jaw movements in rats.

Go Koganemaru, Hiroshi Abe, Aki Kuramashi, Kosuke Ebihara, Hisae Matsuo, Hideki Funahashi, Kazuya Yasuda, Tetsuya Ikeda, Toshikazu Nishimori, Yasushi Ishida

Index: Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav. 126 , 103-8, (2014)

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Abstract

We examined the effects of two dopamine agonists, cabergoline and rotigotine, on tacrine-induced tremor and c-Fos expression in rats.Rats received intraperitoneal injection of cabergoline (0.5, 1.0, or 5.0mg/kg), rotigotine (1.0, 2.5, or 10.0mg/kg), or vehicle 30min before intraperitoneal injection of tacrine (5.0mg/kg). The number of tremulous jaw movements (TJMs) after tacrine administration was counted for 5min. Animals were sacrificed 2h later under deep anesthesia, and the brain sections were immunostained in order to evaluate the c-Fos expression.Induction of TJMs by tacrine was dose-dependently reduced by pretreatment with cabergoline and rotigotine. The number of c-Fos-positive cells was significantly enhanced in the medial striatum, nucleus accumbens core, and nucleus accumbens shell after tacrine administration, and the enhanced expression of c-Fos in these three regions was significantly attenuated by cabergoline, while rotigotine suppressed c-Fos expression in two regions except the nucleus accumbens core.These results suggest that tacrine-induced TJMs would be relieved by either cabergoline or rotigotine and that anticholinesterase-induced TJMs and the ameliorating effects of dopamine agonists would relate to neuronal activation in the striatum and nucleus accumbens.Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.