The effect of centrally administered galanin (Gal; 100 pM i.c.v.) on the hypothalamo-neurohypophysial storage as well as blood plasma level of vasopressin and oxytocin was estimated in haemorrhaged (1 ml per 100 g b.w.) male Wistar rats. Gal i.c.v. treatment did not alter vasopressin and oxytocin content both in the hypothalamus and neurohypophysis as well as their concentration in blood plasma...

Sex hormones including estrogens affect brain areas involved in mood and cognition in addition to directly controlling reproduction and reproductive behavior. We studied the effect of pregnancy and puerperium on the concentrations of cholecystokinin (CCK), neuropeptide Y (NPY), substance P (SP) and galanin in tissue extracts from the rat striatum, frontal cortex and the hippocampal formation by...

Galanin is colocalized with GnRH, and its expression in these neurons is enhanced at proestrus, a time of activation of GnRH neurons. We tested the hypothesis that the expression of both the GnRH and galanin mRNAs in GnRH neurons decrease during lactation in the rat, a reproductive state characterized by reduced gonadotropin secretion. For double label in situ hybridization, GnRH mRNA was detec...

The neuropeptide galanin is widely distributed in the central and peripheral nervous systems and part of a bigger family of bioactive peptides. Galanin exerts its biological activity through three G-protein coupled receptor subtypes, GAL1-3R. Throughout the last 20years, data has accumulated that galanin can have a neuroprotective effect presumably mediated through the activation of GAL1R and G...

Galanin and its receptors, GALR1 and GALR2, are known tumor suppressors and potential therapeutic targets in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Previously, we demonstrated that, in GALR1-expressing HNSCC cells, the addition of galanin suppressed tumor proliferation via upregulation of ERK1/2 and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, whereas, in GALR2-expressing cells, the addition of ...

Porcine galanin (pGAL), its 15-amino-acid-residue fragment and five new analogues modified in positions 4, 6 or 14 were tested for their effects on glucose-induced insulin secretion from isolated rat pancreatic islets of Langerhans. In vitro insulin secretion was studied during static incubation. All peptides were tested at two concentrations: 100 nM and 1 microM. The insulin level in the prese...

Galanin receptors type 1 (GalR1) and/or type 2 (GalR2) represent unique pharmacological targets for treatment of seizures and epilepsy. Previous studies have shown that the endogenous peptide ligand galanin exerts powerful anticonvulsant effect through activation of these two G protein-coupled receptors, which are highly expressed in the temporal lobe of rodent brain. Here we report the charact...

Basal and forced swimming (FS) stress-induced release of noradrenaline (NA) and serotonin (5-HT) were determined by in vivo microdialysis in the ventral hippocampus of mice overexpressing galanin under the platelet-derived growth factor B promoter (GalOE/P) or under the dopamine beta-hydroxylase promoter (GalOE/D) (only NA). WT mice served as controls. Intraventricular infusion of galanin signi...

The effects of galanin (GAL) on magnocellular neurosecretory cells (MNCs) were examined during microelectrode recordings from supraoptic neurons in superfused hypothalamic explants. Application of the full-length peptide (GAL1-29) or of the N-terminal fragment GAL1-16 produced reversible membrane hyperpolarization with an IC50 near 10 nM. These effects were associated with an increase of membra...

Stroke is the third most common cause for mortality in industrialised countries and amongst the major causes of longtime morbidity. While the mortality due to myocardial infarction has been dramatically reduced during the last 10-15 years, mortality due to stroke remains almost the same, despite the fact that the two share similar basic pathogenic mechanisms including atherosclerosis, hypertens...