Effect of taurine on excitation-induced changes in brain and hemolymph octopamine levels in Periplaneta americana

Injection of adult male cockroaches with 16 nmol taurine reduces excitationinduced elevation of hemolymph octopamine levels. Taurine-treated insects have higher concentrations of octopamine in the brain following excitation than nontreated cockroaches. Isolated brains, incubated in taurine-containing saline, release less octopamine in response to electrical stimulation than those incubated in saline. The effect of taurine injection on excitation-induced octopamine release is manifested with physiological concentrations of taurine and persists for at least 15 h following injection. Excitation also causes a rapid increase in hemolymph taurine levels. The results indicate that taurine inhibits the release of octopamine from the insect nervous system and may form part of a dual control mechanism for excitation, with octopamine serving as a positive effector and taurine serving as an inhibitory modulator of octopamine release.

[1]  A. Jabbar,et al.  The effects of chemical and physical stress on the concentrations of amino compounds in the haemolymph and nervous system of locusts and cockroaches , 1985 .

[2]  P. Evans,et al.  Changes in haemolymph octopamine levels associated with food deprivation in the locust, Schistocerca gregaria , 1984 .

[3]  W. Bailey.  Epizootiology of Posthodiplostomum minimum (MacCallum) and Proteocephalus ambloplitis (Leidy) in bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque) , 1984 .

[4]  R. Martin,et al.  Haemolymph octopamine levels during and following flight in the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana L. , 1984 .

[5]  R. Martin,et al.  Rapid estimation of catecholamines, octopamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine in biological tissues using high-performance liquid chromatography with coulometric detection. , 1983, Journal of chromatography.

[6]  I. Orchard.  Octopamine in insects: neurotransmitter, neurohormone, and neuromodulator , 1982 .

[7]  R. Bodnaryk.  The biosynthesis, function and fate of taurine during the metamorphosis of the noctuid moth Mamestra configurata Wlk.☆ , 1981 .

[8]  M. Pelhate,et al.  GABA and taurine sensitivity of cockroach giant interneurone synapses: Indirect evidence for the existence of a GABA uptake mechanism , 1981 .

[9]  R. Bodnaryk.  Developmental changes in brain taurine levels during metamorphosis of the moth, Mamestra configurata Wlk.☆ , 1981 .

[10]  M. Pelhate,et al.  Pre- And Postsynaptic Effects of Taurine and Gaba in the Cockroach Central Nervous System , 1979, Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences / Journal Canadien des Sciences Neurologiques.

[11]  R. Downer.  Induction of hypertrehalosemia by excitation in Periplaneta americana , 1979 .

[12]  J. Meek.  Application of inexpensive equipment for high pressure liquid chromatography to assays for taurine, gamma-amino butyric acid, and 5-hydroxytryptophan. , 1976, Analytical chemistry.

[13]  R. Downer.  Interspecificity of lipid-regulating factors from insect corpus cardiacum , 1972 .

[14]  J. Beament.  A paralysing agent in the blood of cockroaches. , 1958 .