We examined the effect of NO synthase inhibitor on the functional and ulcerogenic responses to aspirin (ASA) in rat stomach. The animals were given ASA (20–80 mM) orally with or without HCl (10–50 mM) and killed 2 h later. N^G-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) was given i.v. 5 min before aspirin. In the functional study, a rat stomach was mounted on an ex vivo chamber under urethane anesthesia, perfused with saline, and transmucosal potential difference (PD), luminal pH, acid secretion and mucosal blood flow (GMBF) were measured simultaneously. ASA alone caused gastric damage in a dose-related manner; mostly nonhemorrhagic lesions. Pretreatment with L-NAME worsened such lesions and caused severe hemorrhagic lesions. Coadministration of HCl with ASA also potentiated gastric lesions in a concentration-dependent manner, changing nonhemorrhagic into hemorrhagic damage, and the worsening effect of L-NAME disappeared when 80 mM ASA was given together with HCl at >20 mM. In chambered stomachs, the mucosal application of ASA (80 mM, 30 min) caused a marked reduction in PD and a slight decrease in acid secretion, with minimal change in GMBF. L-NAME blocked the reduced acid response following ASA and caused stimulation of acid secretion with no effect on PD and GMBF. These effects of L-NAME were all antagonized by coadministration of L-arginine and significantly mitigated by sensory deafferentation or pretreatment with cimetidine or FPL-52694. These results suggest that (1) intragastric administration of ASA causes a release of NO, which reduces the development of hemorrhagic lesions by decreasing acid secretion, and (2) L-NAME worsens gastric damage by increasing acid secretion in ASA-treated stomachs, the process being dependent on endogenous histamine and sensory neurons.

The role of nitric oxide (NO) in the gastric mucosal blood flow response and the healing of HCl-induced gastric lesions was investigated in rats. After 18 h fasting rats were given 0.6 N HCl p.o. for the induction of gastric lesions, and 1 h later they were fed normally. After induction of gastric lesions, they were repeatedly administered the NO synthase inhibitors N^G-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME 5-20 mg/kg p.o. twice daily) or aminoguanidine (20 mg/kg s.c. once daily) for 7 days. Gastric lesions caused by HCl healed almost completely within 5 days with granulation and to an extent with re-epithelialization. Repeated administration of L-NAME but not aminoguanidine significantly delayed the healing of gastric lesions in a dose-dependent manner. The damaged mucosa secreted less acid, but showed a marked rise in H⁺ permeability, resulting in luminal acid loss accompanied by an increase of mucosal blood flow. Aminoguanidine did not significantly affect any of these functional changes observed in the stomach after damage by HCl, whereas L-NAME treatment slightly reversed the decreased acid response, increased the luminal H⁺ loss, and totally inhibited the mucosal hyperemic response associated with luminal acid loss in the damaged mucosa. In addition, the deleterious influences of L-NAME on the mucosal blood flow response and the healing of gastric lesions were significantly antagonized by co-administration of L-arginine but not of D-arginine (500 mg/kg × 2, i.p.). Luminal output ofNO^-₂/NO^-₃ was significantly increased in pylorus-ligated stomachs in control rats on days 3 and 5 after damage, and such increases in gastric NO output were completely attenuated by L-NAME treatment. These results suggest that endogenous NO may contribute to the healing of acute gastric injury by mediating the mucosal hyperemic responses associated with acid back-diffusion and by facilitating acid disposal in the damaged mucosa. NO mediating such responses and participating in the healing aspect of gastric lesions may be produced by the constitutive type of NO synthase.

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GABA receptors containing 5 subunits (GABA5) are highly expressed in the hippocampus and negatively involved in memory processing, as shown by the fact that GABA5-deficient mice show higher hippocampus-dependent performance than wild-type mice. Accordingly, small-molecule GABA5 negative allosteric modulators (NAMs) are known to enhance spatial learning and memory in rodents. Here we introduce a new, orally available GABA5 NAM that improves hippocampal functions. ONO-8590580 [1-(cyclopropylmethyl)-5-fluoro-4-methyl--[5-(1-methyl-1H-imidazol-4-yl)-2-pyridinyl]-1H-benzimidazol-6-amine] binds to the benzodiazepine binding sites on recombinant human 5-containing GABA receptors with a of 7.9 nM, and showed functionally selective GABA5 NAM activity for GABA-induced Cl channel activity with a maximum 44.4% inhibition and an EC of 1.1 nM. In rat hippocampal slices, tetanus-induced long-term potentiation of CA1 synapse response was significantly augmented in the presence of 300 nM ONO-8590580. Orally administered ONO-8590580 (1-20 mg/kg) dose-dependently occupied hippocampal GABA5 in a range of 40%-90% at 1 hour after intake. In the rat passive avoidance test, ONO-8590580 (3-20 mg/kg, by mouth) significantly prevented (+)-MK-801 hydrogen maleate (MK-801)-induced memory deficit. In addition, ONO-8590580 (20 mg/kg, p.o.) was also effective in improving the cognitive deficit induced by scopolamine and MK-801 in the rat eight-arm radial maze test with equal or greater activity than 0.5 mg/kg donepezil. No anxiogenic-like or proconvulsant effect was associated with ONO-8590580 at 20 mg/kg p.o. in the elevated plus maze test or pentylenetetrazole-induced seizure test, respectively. In sum, ONO-8590580 is a novel GABA5 NAM that enhances hippocampal memory function without an anxiogenic or proconvulsant risk.