Title: Intracerebroventricular Injection of Glutathione-Related Dipeptides Induces Sedative and Hypnotic Effects During Acute Stress in Neonatal Chicks
VOLUME: 4 ISSUE: 5
Author(s):Haruka Yamane, Rie Suenaga, Li Han, Kohsuke Hayamizu, D. Michael Denbow and Mitsuhiro Furuse
Affiliation:Laboratory of Advanced Animal and Marine Bioresources, Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan.
Keywords:Glu-Cys, Cys-Gly, Glu-Gly, Intracerebroventricular injection, Social separation stress, Neonatal chick
Abstract: To identify the important structural components of glutathione that induce sedative and hypnotic effects, intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of three glutathione-related dipeptides, i.e., glutamyl-cysteine (Glu-Cys), cysteinyl-glycine (Cys-Gly) and glutamyl-glycine (Glu-Gly) were given during an acute stress condition in neonatal chicks. These peptides attenuated distress vocalizations and spontaneous activity induced by social isolation. The increase in the time for sedation including sleep was also observed following the i.c.v. injection of dipeptides and then the time for active wakefulness decreased. Among the three peptides, Glu-Cys and Glu-Gly had a tendency to attenuate corticosterone release. In conclusion, dipeptides related to glutathione had a sedative and hypnotic effect, and did not vary in their action from each other.