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. 1992 Jan;105(1):37–44. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1992.tb14207.x

Changes in adrenoceptors and monoamine metabolism in neonatal and adult rat brain after postnatal exposure to the antihypertensive labetalol.

E B Erdtsieck-Ernste 1, M G Feenstra 1, M H Botterblom 1, J De Barrios 1, G J Boer 1
PMCID: PMC1908619  PMID: 1596689

Abstract

1. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the acute (single injection), direct (chronic treatment) and the long-lasting effects after exposure to the alpha 1/beta-adrenoceptor antagonist labetalol during rat brain development on adrenoceptors and monoamine metabolism. 2. In 10-day-old rat pups, subcutaneously administered labetalol (10 mg kg-1) passed the blood-brain barrier, reaching a level of 2.1 micrograms g-1 tissue in the brain 90 min after injection. 3. Chronic labetalol treatment (10 mg kg-1, s.c., twice daily) during the first 10 days of life significantly increased alpha 1-adrenoceptor binding in the hypothalamus (+39%), but not in the occipital cortex. 4. This chronic postnatal labetalol treatment did not result in long-lasting changes in alpha 1- and beta-receptors measured on day 60. 5. A single labetalol injection (10 mg kg-1, s.c.) on postnatal day 10 significantly increased noradrenaline (NA) metabolism in all brain regions tested (+25 to 105%), but had no effects on 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) or dopamine metabolism. 6. Chronic labetalol treatment between postnatal (PN) days 1 and 10 also increased NA metabolism on PN 10 (3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG)/NA, +20 to 100%), suggesting that tolerance to the acute effect of labetalol did not occur. A slight increase in 5-HT metabolism (20%) was induced by the chronic labetalol treatment in the hippocampus and meso-limbic system. 7. In general, long-lasting effects on NA metabolism could not be detected on day 60 more than one month after the treatment. However, 5-HT metabolism was significantly increased in all four brain regions measured (+20 to 70%). 8. We conclude that chronic labetalol exposure during early postnatal rat brain development does not cause long-lasting changes in beta-receptor number or NA metabolism, but appears to be critical for the rate of 5-HT metabolism in later life.

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Selected References

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