Fecal corticosterone metabolites and plasma corticosterone in Japanese quail selected for low or high plasma corticosterone responses to brief restraint

The study of the endocrine status can be useful to understand wildlife responses to the changing environment. Here, we validated an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to non-invasively monitor adrenocortical activity by measuring fecal corticosterone metabolites (FCM) in three sympatric gerbil species (Gerbillus andersoni, G. gerbillus and G. pyramidum) from the Northwestern Negev Desert’s sands (Israel). Animals included into treatment groups were injected with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) to stimulate adrenocortical activity, while control groups received a saline solution. Feces were collected at different intervals and FCM were quantified by an EIA. Basal FCM levels were similar in the three species. The ACTH effect was evidenced, but the time of FCM peak concentrations appearance differed between the species (6–24 h post-injection). Furthermore, FCM peak values were observed sooner in G. andersoni females than in males (6 h and 18 h post-injection, respectively). G. andersoni and G. gerbillus males in control groups also increased FCM levels (18 h and 48 h post-injection, respectively). Despite the small sample sizes, our results confirmed the EIA suitability for analyzing FCM in these species as a reliable indicator of the adrenocortical activity. This study also revealed that close species, and individuals within a species, can respond differently to the same stressor.

Download Full-text

The Paradoxical Effect Hypothesis of Abused Drugs in a Rat Model of Chronic Morphine Administration

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10153197 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (15) ◽

pp. 3197

Author(s):

Yinghao Yu ◽

Alan Bohan He ◽

Michelle Liou ◽

Chenyin Ou ◽

Anna Kozłowska ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drug Addiction ◽

Basolateral Amygdala ◽

Neural Substrates ◽

Plasma Corticosterone ◽

High Plasma ◽

Paradoxical Effect ◽

Chronic Morphine ◽

Morphine Administration ◽

Abused Drugs ◽

Effect Hypothesis

A growing body of studies has recently shown that abused drugs could simultaneously induce the paradoxical effect in reward and aversion to influence drug addiction. However, whether morphine induces reward and aversion, and which neural substrates are involved in morphine’s reward and aversion remains unclear. The present study first examined which doses of morphine can simultaneously produce reward in conditioned place preference (CPP) and aversion in conditioned taste aversion (CTA) in rats. Furthermore, the aversive dose of morphine was determined. Moreover, using the aversive dose of 10 mg/kg morphine tested plasma corticosterone (CORT) levels and examined which neural substrates were involved in the aversive morphine-induced CTA on conditioning, extinction, and reinstatement. Further, we analyzed c-Fos and p-ERK expression to demonstrate the paradoxical effect—reward and aversion and nonhomeostasis or disturbance by morphine-induced CTA. The results showed that a dose of more than 20 mg/kg morphine simultaneously induced reward in CPP and aversion in CTA. A dose of 10 mg/kg morphine only induced the aversive CTA, and it produced higher plasma CORT levels in conditioning and reacquisition but not extinction. High plasma CORT secretions by 10 mg/kg morphine-induced CTA most likely resulted from stress-related aversion but were not a rewarding property of morphine. For assessments of c-Fos and p-ERK expression, the cingulate cortex 1 (Cg1), prelimbic cortex (PrL), infralimbic cortex (IL), basolateral amygdala (BLA), nucleus accumbens (NAc), and dentate gyrus (DG) were involved in the morphine-induced CTA, and resulted from the aversive effect of morphine on conditioning and reinstatement. The c-Fos data showed fewer neural substrates (e.g., PrL, IL, and LH) on extinction to be hyperactive. In the context of previous drug addiction data, the evidence suggests that morphine injections may induce hyperactivity in many neural substrates, which mediate reward and/or aversion due to disturbance and nonhomeostasis in the brain. The results support the paradoxical effect hypothesis of abused drugs. Insight from the findings could be used in the clinical treatment of drug addiction.

Download Full-text

Frequent serial fecal corticoid measures from rats reflect circadian and ovarian corticosterone rhythms

Journal of Endocrinology ◽

10.1677/joe.1.05935 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 184 (1) ◽

pp. 153-163 ◽

Cited By ~ 84

Author(s):

S A Cavigelli ◽

S L Monfort ◽

T K Whitney ◽

Y S Mechref ◽

M Novotny ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sprague Dawley ◽

Temporal Acuity ◽

Non Invasive ◽

Laboratory Rodents ◽

Sprague Dawley Rats ◽

Single Animal ◽

Invasive Method ◽

Luteinizing Hormone Surge ◽

Corticosterone Metabolites ◽

Fecal Corticosterone Metabolites

The circadian glucocorticoid rhythm provides important information on the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in individuals. Frequent repeated blood sampling can limit the kinds of studies conducted on this rhythm, particularly in small laboratory rodents that have limited blood volumes and are easily stressed by handling. We developed an extraction and assay protocol to measure fecal corticosterone metabolites in repeated samples collected from undisturbed male and female adult Sprague–Dawley rats. This fecal measure provides a non-invasive method to assess changes in corticosterone within a single animal over time, with sufficient temporal acuity to quantify several characteristics of the circadian rhythm: e.g. the nadir, acrophase, and asymmetry (saw-tooth) of the rhythm. Males excreted more immunoreactive fecal corticoids than did females. Across the estrous cycle, females produced more fecal corticoids on proestrus (the day of the preovulatory luteinizing hormone surge) than during estrus or metestrus. These results establish a baseline from which to study environmental, psychological, and physiological disturbances of the circadian corticosterone rhythm within individual rats.

Download Full-text

Plasma corticosterone in hemorrhaged Japanese quail after microwave irradiation in ovo

Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A Physiology ◽

10.1016/0300-9629(88)91050-x ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 89 (3) ◽

pp. 415-424 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

R.P. Gildersleeve ◽

D.G. Satterlee ◽

D.I. McRee ◽

T.E. Bryan ◽

C.R. Parkhurst

Keyword(s):

Microwave Irradiation ◽

Japanese Quail ◽

Plasma Corticosterone ◽

In Ovo

Download Full-text

Comparison of experimental wound healing in quail using two types of commercial hemostatic dressings

Acta Veterinaria Brasilica ◽

10.21708/avb.2021.15.2.9731 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 146-152

Author(s):

Tainá M. P. Chiquito ◽

Margarete K. Falbo ◽

Rafael V. Soares ◽

Roberta A. Marcondes ◽

Jayme A. Peres ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wound Healing ◽

Leukocyte Count ◽

Visual Assessment ◽

Total Leukocyte Count ◽

Expected Time ◽

Post Procedure ◽

Superficial Skin ◽

Hemostatic Dressing ◽

Corticosterone Metabolites ◽

Fecal Corticosterone Metabolites

The use of powdered hemostatic products and propolis-based preparations has become increasingly common to control bleeding and aid healing. This study evaluated two hemostatic dressings, one based on propolis (Alveolex®) and the other on ferric subsulfate powder (Quick Blood Stopper®), on experimental wound in quails. The experiment was conducted with 36 quails assigned to three groups: control, propolis-based hemostatic dressing and ferric subsulfate-based hemostatic dressing, on two types of wounds, superficial (skin and subcutaneous) and deep (skin, subcutaneous and muscle). Pre- (day-7) and post-procedure (days 2 and 10) examinations showed a tendency to reduce hematocrit values on day 2 and a tendency to increase fibrinogen levels and total leukocyte count on the same day. Visual assessment of wound healing indicated that birds using Quick Blood Stopper® showed signs of poor healing, while the group treated with Alveolex® had uncomplicated healing within the expected time. The groups treated with hemostatic based on ferric subsulfate showed a tendency to increase the values of fecal corticosterone metabolites on day 10, suggesting an increased level of stress in these animals. During the surgical procedure, both hemostatic products controlled bleeding, but Alveolex®was more efficient and easy to handle.

Download Full-text

Effect of Ground Transportation on Adrenocortical Activity in Prepuberal Female Mice from Five Different Genetic Backgrounds

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani9050239 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 239

Author(s):

Sonja Rumpel ◽

Christina Scholl ◽

Anja Göbel ◽

Rupert Palme ◽

Esther Mahabir

Keyword(s):

Genetic Background ◽

Average Duration ◽

Stressful Event ◽

Research Facility ◽

Embryo Production ◽

Adrenocortical Activity ◽

Experimental Protocols ◽

Baseline Levels ◽

Corticosterone Metabolites ◽

Fecal Corticosterone Metabolites

Specific experimental protocols necessitate transportation, a potentially stressful event that could confound results. We determined adrenocortical activity by measuring fecal corticosterone metabolites (FCMs), as a stress marker, in prepuberal (three-week old) female C57BL/6J, C57BL/6NCrl, FVB/NCrl, Crl:CD1(ICR), and BALB/cAnCrl mice. On each transport day, five female cage mates per genetic background were weaned and transported in stable groups via truck from the breeding to the research facility. Fecal pellets were collected on Days 0, 1, and 4. Mice were superovulated for embryo production to determine if repeated fecal collection impacts this procedure. The average duration of transportation over 600 km and from packing to unpacking of mice was 7.24 and 22.62 h, respectively. FCM levels increased from Day 0 to Day 1 and decreased on Day 4 in all genetic backgrounds except in FVB/NCrl, but only B6N showed significantly higher FCM levels on Day 1. Furthermore, embryo production was not affected by repeated feces collection. The results show that weaning and immediate transport of prepuberal mice from the breeding to the research facility led to temporal and genetic background-dependent increases of adrenocortical activity in four of the five genetic backgrounds investigated, which returned to baseline levels within four days.

Download Full-text

CHARACTERISTICS OF FAST FEEDBACK CONTROL OF CORTICOTROPHIN RELEASE BY CORTICOSTEROIDS

Journal of Endocrinology ◽

10.1677/joe.0.0550489 ◽

1972 ◽

Vol 55 (3) ◽

pp. 489-497 ◽

Cited By ~ 77

Author(s):

M. T. JONES ◽

F. R. BRUSH ◽

R. L. B. NEAME

Keyword(s):

Control System ◽

Stress Response ◽

Feedback Control ◽

Plasma Corticosterone ◽

High Plasma ◽

Bilateral Adrenalectomy ◽

Critical Rate ◽

Corticosterone Concentration ◽

Response To Stress

SUMMARY Corticosterone was administered intraperitoneally to rats, and the consequent changes in plasma corticosterone concentration traced. Stress (sham bilateral adrenalectomy) was applied at various times when the plasma corticosterone concentration was changing at different rates, and it was shown that there was a critical rate of rise of plasma corticosterone concentration of about 1·3 μg/100 ml plasma/min in excess of which the stress response was inhibited. Rates of rise less than this did not affect the stress response. A state of ' saturation' of the control system was also demonstrated to result from high plasma corticosterone concentrations when the response to stress was not inhibited as above. A model of the system is suggested to explain these and other data.

Download Full-text