Metrifonate benefits cognitive, behavioral, and global function in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of metrifonate, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, in patients clinically diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) of mild to moderate severity. METHODS: A prospective, 36-week, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, parallel group study of metrifonate in probable AD patients, including a 2-week screening period, a 26-week double-blind treatment period, and a follow-up visit at 8 weeks post-treatment. A total of 24 ambulatory clinics in the United States in a variety of settings, including contract research organizations, public health facilities, and universities. Patients met diagnostic criteria for probable AD as defined by the work group of the National Institute for Neurological and Communicative Diseases and Stroke and the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association. Patients had Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores of 10 to 26 and Ischemic Scores (Rosen Modification) of <4. A total of 408 patients were enrolled. Percentages of patients completing double-blind treatment were 88% and 79% in the placebo and metrifonate groups, respectively. Rates of discontinuation due to adverse events were 4% in the placebo group and 12% in the metrifonate group. Placebo or metrifonate was administered once daily. Metrifonate-treated patients received a loading dose of 100 to 180 mg based on weight (2.0 mg/kg) for 2 weeks, followed by a maintenance dose of 30 to 60 mg based on weight (0.65 mg/kg) for 24 weeks. Primary efficacy variables were the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog) and the Clinician's Interview-Based Impression of Change with Caregiver Input (CIBIC-plus). Secondary efficacy variables included the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), the Disability Assessment in Dementia, the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS), the ADAS-Noncognitive subscale (ADAS-Noncog), the MMSE, and the Clinician's Interview-Based Impression of Severity with Caregiver Input (CIBIS-plus). Outcome measures reflected changes from baseline at week 26 for all variables. Safety was assessed with incidences of premature termination, treatment-emergent events and mortality, and routine safety evaluations. RESULTS: After 26 weeks of metrifonate therapy, a 2.86-point treatment difference (p = 0.0001) was observed in the ADAS-Cog scores of the intent-to-treat AD patients. The treatment difference in the mean CIBIC-plus score at this time was 0.28 points (p = 0.0071). At week 26, treatment differences also were observed in the mean NPI total score (p = 0.0161). Analysis of the remaining secondary efficacy variables showed treatment differences that favored metrifonate but did not reach statistical significance. Metrifonate adverse events were predominantly mild in intensity. No hepatotoxicity was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Metrifonate was safe and well-tolerated. It enhanced not only the cognitive and global function, but also the behavioral function of patients diagnosed with mild to moderate AD. Therefore, metrifonate appears to be useful in the symptomatic treatment of AD.

The interleukin-1beta-mediated regulation of proenkephalin and opioid receptor messenger RNA in primary astrocyte-enriched cultures.

Opioids have been found to modulate the function of the immune system by regulating the biochemical and proliferative properties of its cellular components. The interaction of opioid and immune systems, however, is not unidirectional, but rather, bidirectional in nature. In the CNS, one cellular target of immune system activation is the astrocytes, glial cells known to synthesize proenkephalin. We have recently shown that these cells also express the messenger RNA transcripts for the opioid receptors mu, delta and kappa, raising the question of the functional significance of this opioid peptide and the related receptors in the astrocytes. That is, why do astrocytes express proenkephalin and opioid receptors, and are these molecules responsive to a factor to which the astrocytes could be exposed in vivo? Furthermore, do these molecules respond to this factor in a region-specific fashion? In the present study, in order to characterize the astrocytic opioid response to an immune factor, we examined the concomitant regulation of mu, delta, kappa and proenkephalin messenger RNAs by interleukin-1beta (1 ng/ml=60 pM, 24 h) in primary astrocyte-enriched cultures derived from the rat (post-natal day 1-2) cortex, striatum, cerebellum, hippocampus and hypothalamus. Interleukin-1beta treatment was found to increase by 55-75% the level of mu receptor messenger RNA in striatal, cerebellar and hippocampal cultures, but not in cultures derived from the cortex or hypothalamus. However, the cytokine had no effect on the level of delta receptor messenger RNA in any of the five cultures examined. In marked contrast to its stimulatory effects on mu receptor messenger RNA levels and its lack of an effect on 6 receptor messenger RNA expression, interleukin-1beta reduced to 10-30% of control levels the kappa receptor messenger RNA levels in all cultures. Interleukin-1beta had no effect on the level of proenkephalin messenger RNA in cortical, striatal, cerebellar and hypothalamic cultures, but did significantly decrease the expression of proenkephalin messenger RNA in hippocampal cultures to 40% of the control level. Therefore, interleukin-1beta differentially regulated opioid receptor messenger RNA in astrocyte-enriched cultures in a manner dependent upon both the receptor type and the brain region from which the culture was derived. The cytokine also differentially regulated proenkephalin messenger RNA in a region-dependent fashion. These findings suggest a capacity for astrocytes to differentially regulate opioid peptide and receptor messenger RNAs in response to an immune factor, supporting the potential existence of a novel immune-opioid system interaction in the CNS.

The effects of metrifonate on the cognitive, behavioral, and functional performance of Alzheimer's disease patients. Metrifonate Study Group.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of metrifonate, a long-acting acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, in patients clinically diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's disease of mild-to-moderate severity. METHOD: This was a prospective, multicenter, 26-week, double-blind, parallel group study. The 264 randomized patients met diagnostic criteria of the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Diseases and Stroke and the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association for probable Alzheimer's disease. Patients had Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores of 10-26 and ischemic scores (Rosen modification) of <4. Metrifonate-treated patients received a single 50-mg dose once daily. The efficacy of metrifonate was investigated with respect to 3 symptom domains. Cognitive performance was analyzed using the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog) and the MMSE. Psychiatric and behavioral disturbances were analyzed using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and the ADAS-Noncognitive subscale (ADAS-Noncog). The ability to perform instrumental and basic activities of daily living was evaluated using the Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD) scale. Additionally, global state was assessed using the Clinician Interview-Based Impression of Change with Caregiver Input (CIBIC-Plus) scale. RESULTS: After 26 weeks of metrifonate therapy, a statistically significant benefit of metrifonate was observed in the cognitive performance of Alzheimer's disease patients (ADAS-Cog, t = 2.55, df = 237, p = .012; MMSE, t = 4.60, df = 237, p = .0001). Metrifonate also significantly attenuated the deterioration in activities of daily living of the patients (DAD total score, t = -2.11, df = 233, p = .036) and relieved patients' psychiatric and behavioral disturbances (NPI total score, t = 2.51, df = 233, p = .013). In addition, metrifonate significantly improved the scores for the global state of the patients (CIBIC-Plus, t = 2.07, df = 232, p = .039). Metrifonate was well tolerated; adverse events were predominantly mild in intensity, and no hepatotoxicity was observed. CONCLUSION: In this study, metrifonate was safe and well tolerated. It benefited the cognitive decline, psychiatric and behavioral disturbances, impaired ability to perform instrumental and basic activities of daily living, and global state of patients diagnosed with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease.

Primary astroglial cultures derived from several rat brain regions differentially express mu, delta and kappa opioid receptor mRNA.

The existence of opioid receptors within glial cell membranes has been proposed by several laboratories based on biochemical and radioligand binding data. The recent cloning of the mu, delta and kappa receptors has enabled us to directly examine the issue of opioid receptor expression in rat brain astroglia by using solution hybridization/ribonuclease protection assays to analyze the total RNA obtained from primary cultures of cortical, striatal, cerebellar, hippocampal and hypothalamic astrocytes. The results indicate that all five glial cultures expressed mu, delta and kappa receptor mRNA. The rank order of receptor mRNA abundance, expressed collectively across all five cultures, was determined to be delta > or = kappa >> mu. An analysis of the glial distribution profile for each receptor type revealed that mu receptor mRNA levels were the most abundantly expressed in cortical cultures, while the greatest levels of delta receptor mRNA were found in the cortical and hypothalamic cultures, and significant kappa receptor mRNA levels were produced by the cortical, hypothalamic and cerebellar cultures. Furthermore, the five glial cultures each expressed different levels of total opioid receptor (mu + delta + kappa) mRNA. The rank order of total opioid receptor mRNA expression across different astroglial cultures was found to be cortex > hypothalamus > cerebellum = hippocampus > striatum. An analysis of the relative expression profiles for mu, delta and kappa receptor mRNA within each culture revealed that all cultures manifested relatively high levels of delta and kappa receptor mRNA, but relatively low levels of mu receptor mRNA. Generally, cortical, hippocampal and hypothalamic cultures were characterized by comparable levels of delta and kappa receptor mRNA, and little, if any, mu receptor mRNA. However, striatal cultures were characterized by a high level of delta receptor mRNA which was approximately twice and four times that of the kappa and mu receptor mRNA, respectively. In contrast, cerebellar cultures expressed predominantly kappa receptor mRNA at a level which was almost twice that of the delta receptor mRNA, and expressed very little mu receptor mRNA. These data show that primary astroglial cultures not only express mu, delta and kappa receptor mRNAs, but they do so in a manner dependent upon receptor type and brain region. This suggests a regional heterogeneity of astrocytes with respect to opioid receptor expression, a characteristic previously described only for neurons. Furthermore, it suggests the existence of an additional anatomical component in CNS opioid systems.

Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and safety of metrifonate in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Metrifonate is converted nonenzymatically to 2.2, dimethyl dichlorovinyl phosphate (DDVP), an inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). This 21-day, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of metrifonate in patients with Alzheimer's disease (n = 27) evaluated four doses, each administered orally once daily. All patients received a loading dose (LD) for 6 days followed by a maintenance dose (MD) for 15 days. The treatment groups were: panel 1, LD = 1.5 mg/kg (75-135 mg), MD = 0.25 mg/kg (12.5-25 mg); panel 2, LD = 2.5 mg/kg (125-225 mg), MD = 0.40 mg/kg (20-35 mg); panel 3, LD = 4.0 mg/kg (200-335 mg), MD = 0.65 mg/kg (30-60 mg); and panel 4, LD = 4.0 mg/kg (200-335 mg), MD = 1.0 mg/kg (50-90 mg). All metrifonate doses were well tolerated. Most adverse events were mild to moderate in intensity, gastrointestinal in nature, and transient. Mean area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) and maximum concentration (Cmax) for both metrifonate and DDVP increased in relation to dose. Metrifonate and DDVP had similar, largely dose-independent mean values for time to Cmax (tmax) and half-life (t1/2). There was little or no accumulation of either metrifonate or DDVP with long-term administration. After 21 days of treatment, mean percent erythrocyte AChE inhibition was 14%, 35%, 66%, 77%, and 82% for placebo and panels 1 through 4, respectively. Cognitive improvement was observed with the two highest metrifonate doses. These results reflect favorable safety and pharmacokinetic profiles for the use of metrifonate in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Elevation of Met-enkephalin-like immunoreactivity in the rat striatum and globus pallidus following the focal injection of excitotoxins.

The present study examined the effects of excitotoxins which activate distinct excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptor subtypes on the levels of Methionine-enkephalin-like immunoreactivity (ME-i.r.) in the striatum and globus pallidus, with a view to developing a model of the striatopallidal enkephalin deficit that prevails in Huntington's disease (HD). Each of the 4 excitotoxins, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA, 50-150 nmol), quisqualate (QUIS, 26.5-102 nmol), kainate (KA, 0.5-7 nmol) and quinolinate (QUIN, 18-288 nmol), were unilaterally infused into the right striatum under halothane anaesthesia. Seven days after the injection, levels of ME-i.r. in the ipsilateral and contralateral striatum or globus pallidus were measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA). Injection of each of the 4 excitotoxins produced dose-related and bilateral elevations in ME-i.r. in both brain regions. Generally, the excitotoxin-induced contralateral response mirrored that on the ipsilateral side and the globus pallidus showed a greater change in ME-i.r. levels than did the striatum. The rank order of apparent efficacy for these 4 agents, based on the magnitude of the maximal effect produced by the excitotoxin, was QUIN = KA greater than NMDA = QUIS. In contrast, the rank order of apparent potency, based on the doses producing a maximal effect, was KA greater than QUIS greater than QUIN greater than NMDA. Histological examination of brain sections revealed that in all cases of excitotoxin injection, the dose producing a maximal increase in ME-i.r. was associated with tissue damage in the injection area. However, no tissue damage was apparent in the globus pallidus or the contralateral striatum. To determine the involvement of EAA receptors in the observed elevations of ME-i.r., the action of 3 EAA antagonists was evaluated in co-injection experiments. Kynurenate (KYN), but not CNQX, antagonized the actions of QUIS on pallidal ME-i.r. levels. Both KYN and CPP, a potent NMDA receptor antagonist, blocked the effect of QUIN. The possibility that contralateral changes in the striatum or globus pallidus were due to mobilization of an endogenous EAA was investigated by injection of CPP into the striatum contralateral to the QUIN infusion. This injection of CPP (1.8-3.6 nmol) did not block the QUIN-induced contralateral response, but reduced the elevation in ME-i.r. in the ipsilateral pallidum. Although the excitotoxin-induced changes in ME-i.r. levels do not appear to correspond to the enkephalin deficit seen in HD, such a deficit may be discernible in different parameters of enkephalinergic cell function.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Quinolinic acid elevates striatal and pallidal Met-enkephalin levels: the role of enkephalin synthesis and release.

Huntington's chorea (HC) is characterized, in part, by a substantial deficit in the striatal and pallidal enkephalin levels. Recently, an attempt was made to replicate this deficit by focally injecting quinolinic acid (QUIN), an excitotoxin, into the rat striatum. However, at 7 days post-injection, QUIN produced a dose-related and bilateral increase in the striatal and pallidal levels of met-enkephalin-like immunoreactivity (ME-i.r.), an effect which was attenuated in the presence of excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptor antagonists. In the present study, the action of QUIN was investigated further. To determine whether the QUIN (72 nmol)-induced elevations in ME-i.r. reflected the enhanced synthesis of the peptide, the striatal levels of proenkephalin mRNA were assayed 7 days following a unilateral injection of QUIN into the rat striatum. QUIN significantly depleted (50%) of the proenkephalin mRNA level in the injected, but not the contralateral striatum when compared to that in the saline-injected animals. To determine whether the QUIN-induced increases in ME-i.r. were due to an impaired release of the peptide, the release of ME-i.r. from the striatal or pallidal slices obtained from animals 7 days after a saline- or QUIN-injection, was measured. The 30 mM K(+)-stimulated ME-i.r. release from the saline-injected and contralateral striatum represented an 8-fold increase above the spontaneous release level, while this stimulus induced a 6-fold increase in the ME-i.r. release from both the QUIN-injected and contralateral striatum.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aprotinin decreases exposure to allogeneic blood during primary unilateral total hip replacement.

BACKGROUND: Aprotinin, a hemostatic agent, regulates fibrinolysis, modulates the intrinsic coagulation pathway, stabilizes platelet function, and exhibits anti-inflammatory properties through inhibition of serine proteases, such as trypsin, plasmin, and kallikrein. Aprotinin has been used successfully for many years in cardiac operations, and there have been preliminary investigations of its use in hip replacement operations. The objectives of this multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial were to evaluate the efficacy and safety of aprotinin as a blood-sparing agent in patients undergoing an elective primary unilateral total hip replacement and to examine its effect on the prevalence of deep-vein thrombosis in this population. METHODS: Seventy-three patients received a placebo; seventy-six patients, a low dose of aprotinin (a load of 500,000 kallikrein inhibitor units [KIU]); seventy-five, a medium dose of aprotinin (a load of 1,000,000 KIU, with infusion of 250,000 KIU per hour); and seventy-seven patients, a high dose of aprotinin (a load of 2,000,000 KIU, with infusion of 500,000 KIU per hour). The end points for the determination of efficacy were transfusion requirements and blood loss. Patients received standard prophylaxis against deep-vein thrombosis and underwent compression ultrasonography with color Doppler imaging of the proximal and distal venous systems of both legs to evaluate for the presence of deep-vein thrombosis. RESULTS: Aprotinin reduced the percentages of patients who required any form of blood transfusion (47 percent of the patients managed with a placebo needed a transfusion compared with 28 percent of those managed with low-dose aprotinin [p = 0.02],27 percent of those managed with high-dose aprotinin [p = 0.008], and 40 percent of those managed with medium-dose aprotinin [p = 0.5]). Only 6 percent (twelve) of the 212 patients treated with aprotinin required allogeneic blood compared with 15 percent (ten) of the sixty-eight patients treated with the placebo (p = 0.03). Aprotinin decreased the estimated intraoperative blood loss (p = 0.02 for the low-dose group, p = 0.04 for the medium-dose group, and p = 0.1 for the high-dose group), the measured postoperative drainage volume (p = 0.4 for the low-dose group, p = 0.006 for the medium-dose group, and p = 0.000 for the high-dose group), and the mean reduction in the hemoglobin level on the second postoperative day (thirty-four grams per liter for the placebo group, twenty-eight grams per liter for the low-dose group [p = 0.000], twenty-six grams per liter for the medium-dose group [p = 0.000], and twenty-three grams per liter for the high-dose group [p = 0.0001). The rate of deep-vein thrombosis was similar for all groups. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that aprotinin is safe and effective for use as a hemostatic agent in primary unilateral total hip replacements. In patients who are at high risk of receiving allogeneic blood, use of aprotinin may be of particular clinical and economic benefit.

The K(+)-evoked release of [3H]acetylcholine from slices of rat globus pallidus: modulation by delta-opioid receptors.

Previous investigations have shown that the activation of delta-opioid receptors depresses the release of acetylcholine (ACh) in the rat caudate putamen. This finding raised the possibility that the release of ACh is similarly modulated in the globus pallidus, a region containing a distinct population of cholinergic neurons and enriched in enkephalinergic nerve terminals. In the present study the pallidal release of ACh was characterized and the effects of delta-opioid receptor activation on this release were examined. The results show that this release is stimulated by high K+ in a concentration- and Ca(2+)-dependent manner. D-Pen2,L-Pen5-enkephalin (0.1-10 microM), a selective delta-opioid receptor agonist, produced a dose-related inhibition of the 25 mM K(+)-evoked tritium release. The maximal inhibitory effect, representing a 34% decrease in the K(+)-induced tritium release, was observed at a concentration of 1 microM. This opioid effect was attenuated by the selective delta-opioid receptor antagonist, ICI 174864 (1 microM). These findings support the role of a delta-opioid receptor in the modulation of ACh release in the rat globus pallidus.

Met-enkephalin release from slices of the rat striatum and globus pallidus: stimulation by excitatory amino acids.

The present study evaluated the effects of high K+ and four excitatory amino acids (EAAs) on the release of met-enkephalin-like immunoreactivity (ME-i.r.) from slices of the rat striatum and globus pallidus. High K+ (15-50 mM) increased the release of ME-i.r. in a concentration-dependent manner in both regions, the release response in the globus pallidus being consistently greater than in the striatum. This release was highly Ca(++)-dependent and was significantly enhanced in the absence of external Mg++. D-2-Amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid (0.5 mM), a competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, did not alter this enhanced action of K+, suggesting that the activation of NMDA receptors by an endogenous agonist did not contribute to the enhancement. Exposure of pallidal or striatal slices to four EAA receptor agonists, NMDA, L-glutamate, kainate (KA) and quisqualate, increased the release of ME-i.r. above the base line, an effect that was Ca(++)-dependent. Both L-glutamate and NMDA, at concentrations of 1 and 5 mM, produced a graded increase in the ME-i.r. release, but a higher concentration (10 mM) produced a lower release. In both regions the NMDA (5 mM)-evoked release was effectively inhibited by Mg++ (1.2 mM), 3-(2-carboxypiperazin-4-yl)-propyl-1-phosphonic acid (CPP) (5 microM), a competitive NMDA receptor antagonist and thienylcyclohexylpiperidine (10 microM), a noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist. Tetrodotoxin (0.3 microM), a Na+ channel blocker, did not affect the NMDA-evoked release of ME-i.r. in the striatum, but decreased it by 52% in the globus pallidus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Depression of potassium-evoked striatal acetylcholine release by delta-receptor activation: inhibition by cholinoactive agents.

To examine the role of delta-opioid receptors in the modulation of striatal acetylcholine (ACh) release, the action of D-Pen2,L-Pen5-enkephalin, a selective delta-opioid receptor agonist, was tested on [3H]ACh release from slices of the rat caudate-putamen. Slices, incubated with [3H]choline, were superfused with a physiological buffer and stimulated twice by exposure to a high potassium (K+) concentration. In the absence of a cholinesterase inhibitor, 1 microM D-Pen2,L-Pen5-enkephalin produced a 46 and 35% decrease in the release of [3H]ACh evoked by 15 and 25 mM K+, respectively. The depressant action of the enkephalin analogue was concentration dependent, with a maximal effect on K+-evoked [3H]ACh release occurring at 1.0 microM, and was completely blocked in the presence of the delta-opioid receptor selective antagonist, ICI 174864 (1 microM). In the presence of the cholinesterase inhibitors physostigmine (10 microM) and neostigmine (10 microM), or the muscarinic receptor agonist oxotremorine (10 microM), D-Pen2,L-Pen5-enkephalin did not depress the K+-evoked release of [3H]ACh. Atropine (1 microM) blocked the inhibitory effect of physostigmine on the depressant action of D-Pen2,L-Pen5-enkephalin. The results of this study indicate that delta-opioid receptor activation is associated with an inhibition of striatal ACh release, but this opioid-cholinergic interaction is not apparent under conditions of presynaptic muscarinic receptor activation.

Differential cellular regulation of pro-opiomelanocortin by interleukin-1-beta and corticotropin-releasing hormone.

Considerable evidence supports the existence of a bidirectional communication between the immune system and the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. In the present study, we examined the interleukin-1 beta (IL1 beta)-mediated regulation of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) at a cellular level, from secretion to gene expression, using murine anterior pituitary corticotroph tumor (AtT20) cells as a model system. The regulatory effects of IL1 beta were compared to those of the classical POMC regulator, corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). IL1 beta was found to evoke an early, preferential release of beta-lipotropin (beta LPH) which was accompanied by elevations in POMC heteronuclear (hn)RNA and c-fos and c-jun mRNAs. IL1 beta also elicited a late, preferential release of beta LPH which was associated with only an enhanced expression of POMC hnRNA. Additionally, IL1 beta stimulated an intermediate, preferential release of beta-endorphin (beta E) which was not accompanied by any changes in gene expression. In marked contrast to IL1 beta, CRH evoked an early, preferential beta E secretory response which was associated with elevations in POMC hnRNA and c-fos mRNA. CRH also elicited a late, preferential beta E release which was associated with only an enhanced POMC hnRNA expression. These findings show that although both IL1 beta and CRH activate the corticotrophs, they elicit dramatically different patterns in the regulation of the biochemical dynamics of POMC. Such distinct patterns of corticotroph activation in response to IL1 beta or CRH exposure in vivo would allow the pituitary not only to indicate that it has been activated, but also how it has been activated. This characteristic may be critically important in the function of the HPA axis and in the interaction of the HPA axis with the immune system.

Interleukin-1 beta-mediated regulation of mu-opioid receptor mRNA in primary astrocyte-enriched cultures.

Opioids have been found to modulate the immune system by regulating the function of immunocompetent cells. Several studies suggest that the interaction between immune and opioid systems is not unidirectional, but rather reciprocal, in nature. In the CNS, one cellular target of immune system activation is the astrocytes. These glial cells have been shown to produce the opioid peptide, proenkephalin, to express the mu-, delta-, and kappa-opioid receptors, and to respond to the immune factor interleukin-1 beta (IL1 beta) with an increased proenkephalin synthesis. To characterize more completely the astrocytic opioid response to immune factor stimulation, we examined the effect of IL1 beta (1 ng/ml) on the mu-receptor mRNA expression in primary astrocyte-enriched cultures derived from rat (postnatal day 1-2) cortex, striatum, cerebellum, hippocampus, and hypothalamus. A 24-h treatment with IL1 beta produced a 70-80% increase in the mu-receptor mRNA expression in the striatal, cerebellar, and hippocampal cultures but had no effect on this expression in the cortical and hypothalamic cultures. This observation represents one of the few demonstrated increases in levels of the mu-receptor mRNA in vitro or in vivo, since the cloning of the receptor. The enhanced mu-receptor mRNA expression, together with the previous observation that IL1 beta stimulates proenkephalin synthesis in astrocytes, supports the IL1 beta-mediated regulation of an astroglial opioid peptide and receptor in vitro, a phenomenon that may be significant in the modulation of the gliotic response to neuronal damage. Therefore, the astroglial opioid "system" may be important in the IL1 beta-initiated, coordinated response to CNS infection, trauma, or injury.