Cholinergic Influences on Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical Activity of Stressed Rats: An Approach Utilizing Choline Deficient Diets

Abstract

Male rats were placed on choline (Ch) deficient diets for 3 to 14 days, without and with Ch (normal and large doses) supplemented in the drinking water, to determine whether altering the availability of Ch would affect the cholinergic system in relation to the latter's role in modulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system of non-stressed and stressed animals. The results indicate that the basal nonstressed activity of the HPA system, as assessed by adrenal and plasma corticosterone concentrations, was not affected by placing the animals on these diets for as long as 14 days. Furthermore, the in vitro production of corticosterone by these adrenal glands, in the presence or absence of adrenocorticotrophin, was similar to those observed in animals on a regular rat diet; however, the HPA responses to auditory (100 db) stress, and to a lesser extent hypercapnic (9 % CO2) stress, were impaired on the Ch deficient diet (14 days), and these responses were partially corrected by supplementing the diet with Ch in the drinking water. Thus, the data suggest that altering the dietary intake of Ch may affect cholinergic activity, which in turn affects the HPA response to stressors.In a previous communication (Sithichoke 8c Maretta 1978), it was shown that the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine (ACh), played a role in modulating the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical ( ) system of both Correspondence to:

The Effect of Adrenergic and Cholinergic Antagonists on Central Histaminergic Stimulation of Pituitary-Adrenocortical Response under Stress in Rats

“…Steiner and Graharne-Smith [32] in their experi ments did not find either the presence of a final common cholinergic pathway stimulating the CRF release in un stressed rats, since atropine did not block the secretion of corticosterone stimulated by 5-hydroxytryptophan. Our re sults do not agree with those of Sithichoke et al [29] and Sithichoke and Marotta [30], who claim that central muscar inic receptors are involved in inhibiting the hypothalamo-pituitary activity both in nonstressed and stressed rats, as assessed by plasma corticosterone. The present results are not in line, either, with those of Hedge and Smelik [13], according to which atropine implantation in the anterior hypothalamus markedly inhibits the responses evoked by different stressors, suggesting the presence of a cholinergic step in mediating the adrenocortical stress response.…”

Maternal choline status during pregnancy, but not that of betaine, is related to antenatal mental well-being: The growing up in Singapore toward healthy outcomes cohort

“…Furthermore, mecamylamine, an acetylcholine receptor antagonist, can prevent corticotropin releasing factor release (Raber, Koob, & Bloom, 1995). Moreover, in rats on a choline deficient diet, the HPA response to auditory stress was impaired which was partially corrected by choline supplementation (Sithichoke, Malasanos, & Marotta, 1978). Lastly, higher maternal dietary choline intake (930 mg/day versus 480 mg/day) lowered offspring circulating cortisol by altering the methylation state of cortisol-regulating genes in the placenta and fetal compartments (Jiang et al, 2014).…”

Glucocorticoids, Transmitters and Stress

“…Although the PVN receives relatively sparse cholinergic innervation (Sharp et al, 1987;Tago et al, 1987), the involvement of cholinergic pathways in the response of the HPA axis to stress (Balfour et al, 1975;Sithichoke et al, 1978) and its mediation through activation of nicotinic receptors (Cam et al, 1979;Weidenfeld et al, 1988Weidenfeld et al, , 1989Matta et al, 1990) are well documented. A role for muscarinic receptors cannot be ruled out (Hedge & De Wied, 1971;Calogero et al, 1988aCalogero et al, , 1989b, as recent studies indicate that acetylcholine stimulates CRF release by action at either the muscarinic (Tsagarakis et al, 1988)or a mixed receptor system in the hypothalamus (Calogero et al, 1988a;…”