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There is accumulating evidence from many directions indicating that gender plays a critical role in drug abuse. Biological factors, including gonadal sex hormones, contribute in a significant although incompletely understood manner, to gender differences in drug abuse. Female sex hormones have been shown to affect central nervous system function and modulate the effects of drugs of abuse. For example, GABAA receptor function is positively modulated by progesterone. There is evidence from preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies as well as some clinical research suggesting that progesterone and its metabolites may enhance the behavioral effects of benzodiazepines, which also serve as positive modulators of GABAA receptors. The three studies presented here utilize within subject designs to assess the role of progesterone on the discriminative stimulus, subjective, performance and cardiovascular effects of triazolam, a short-acting benzodiazepine, in healthy, premenopausal women. The first study examined the effect of menstrual cycle phase on the discriminative stimulus effects of triazolam (0.00, 0.06, 0.12 and 0.25 mg/70 kg). The results of this study indicated that when progesterone levels peak (mid luteal phase), the discriminative stimulus effects of triazolam (0.12 mg/70 kg) are enhanced. The second study examined the separate and combined effects of a range of acute doses of oral micronized progesterone (0, 100 and 200 mg) and oral triazolam (0.00, 0.12 and 0.25 mg/70 kg) on the subjective, psychomotor and physiological effects of these medications, tested under conditions of low circulating sex hormones. The results of this study indicated that progesterone alone has some short-acting, sedative-like effects and enhances the subjective and performance effects of triazolam. The final study examined the effects of progesterone (0 and 100 mg) on the discriminative stimulus effects of triazolam (0.00, 0.06, 0.12 and 0.25 mg/70 kg), also under conditions of low circulating sex hormones. The results of this study indicated that the parent hormone progesterone does not appear to alter sensitivity to the discriminative stimulus effects of triazolam. Increases in sensitivity to triazolam in studies 1 and 2 may have been the result of neuroactive progesterone metabolites (e.g., allopregnanolone, TH-DOC), although future studies will be required to further examine this possibility. Taken together, these studies help clarify the manner in which the ovarian hormone progesterone and its metabolites modulate the behavioral effects of the benzodiazepines.

Pregnenolone (PREG), the precursor of all neurosteroids, is synthesized in the nervous system from cholesterol and recent clinical studies indicate that reduced cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia correlate with elevated serum levels of pregnenolone sulfate (PregS), its immediate sulfated metabolite. PregS fulfills most of the classical criteria for an endogenous modulator of excitatory synaptic transmission, including: presence in nervous tissue at physiologically relevant concentrations, potentiation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) mediated synaptic activity, and a mechanism for its inactivation. As NMDAR hypoactivity has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, defects in neurosteroid metabolism might play a role in its associated cognitive dysfunction. PregS improves memory performance in rodents and augments long-term potentiation (LTP), an electrophysiological correlate of synaptic plasticity that is stabilized by phosphorylation of the cAMP response element binding protein (CREB). We have previously demonstrated that PregS at low picomolar (pM) concentrations increases intracellular Ca2+ and CREB via synaptic NMDARs. Therefore, we hypothesized that low pM concentrations of PregS might potentiate spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) and promote molecular events underlying synaptic plasticity. Here, using whole-cell patch clamp recordings, we report that PregS enhances the frequency of sEPSCs of cultured hippocampal neurons by about 2-fold while not altering their amplitude or passive membrane properties. This suggests that PregS acts presynaptically by increasing the frequency of neurotransmitter release or postsynaptically by activating silent synapses. We then investigated the hypothesis that PregS increases α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPAR) and NMDAR subtypes at synapses as a molecular switch for this enhancement. We measured receptor redistribution and phosphorylation using fluorescence imaging and Western blot technology. The results demonstrate that PregS (50pM, 10min): (1) Increases AMPAR (GluA1)/PSD95 colocalization (dependent on L-type voltage-gated Ca+2 channel and synaptic NMDAR activity), and increases phosphorylation of GluA1 at serine-831/845; (2) Increases casein kinase 2 (CK2) dependent surface NMDAR2A (GluN2A) but not GluN1 or GluN2B; and (3) Increases GluN2B serine-1480 phosphorylation. The results show that PregS increases the frequency of excitatory synaptic transmission and increases surface/synaptic AMPARs and surface GluN2A (but not GluN1 or GluN2B) NMDARs, shifting the molecular composition of young glutamatergic synapses toward the adult GluN2A enriched synaptic phenotype.

When the brain is exposed to a traumatic injury, the brain produces high amounts of neurosteroids like allopregnanolone and progesterone which show protective and neurogenic capacities. Alzheimer’s disease patients also have lower amounts of these neurosteroids in brain tissue. Neurosteroids act on GABAA receptors and cholesterol receptors which is interesting since both the cholesterol transporter ApoE and excitotoxicity seems to be issues plaguing the patients. To study if there is a relationship between Alzheimer’s disease and neurosteroids, there are ongoing phase one studies but neurobiological studies are equally important in order to understand the mechanism. In this work protective capabilities of allopregnanolone on induced toxicity was investigated in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Protection and induced toxicity were assessed by studying cell viability with MTT assay. Toxins used were the oxidative stress inducing agent t-BHP, excitotoxic glutamate and amyloid β25-35. Previous studies have found allopregnanolone to induce neurogenesis, decrease ROS levels, inhibit apoptosis and to have immunoregulatory capabilities. The present study did see an increase in cell viability when treated to 1x10-8 M allopregnanolone but this effect was not observed when the concentration was increased further to 1x10-7 M and 1x10-6 M. When the SH-SY5Y cells were treated with toxins after pretreatment of allopregnanolone, additional decrease was seen when compared to cells only treated with toxins. The present study discovered the influence of components like cell density and cell generation which is of value for researchers planning future neurobiological studies. These neurobiological studies give insight of the correct mechanisms in the brain, opening up opportunities for new efficient drugs to be developed.

GABA receptors type A (GABAAR) are ligand-gated ion channels permeable for chloride anions. In the mammalian brain they mediate most of the inhibitory transmission. Moreover, the dysfunctions of the GABA-mediated system result in many neurological disorders, including epilepsy, anxiety and depression. Neurosteroids are cholesterol metabolites interacting with a variety of membrane receptors and have a direct effect on neuronal excitability. The neurosteroids allo-pregnanolone (allo-PA) and pregnanolone (PA) are potent positive modulators of the GABAAR. The goal of this work is to establish a newly constructed application system and a calcium imaging method using the GCaMP sensor to examine the effects of PA on the activity of primary hippocampal cultures. In this work we validate the application system and test the GCaMP calcium sensor in vitro. Application of PA inhibited the spontaneous calcium peaks, which agrees with its known actions on the GABAAR. We discovered that the neurosteroid inhibitory effect on the neuronal network activity changes after repeated applications. The results suggest that there might be some compensatory actions on the GABAAR level during prolonged or repeated exposition to PA. Key words: GABAAR; neurosteroid; pregnanolone; allopregnanolone; calcium; GCaMP; inhibition

Background Obesity is currently one of the major causes of ill health and it is clear that overeatingis the cause of obesity. However, the actions of many endogenous factors that contribute to overeating are still not well understood. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic transmission has been shown to be of great importance for food intake regulation. The progesterone metabolite allopregnanolone is a potent positive GABAA receptor modulating steroid (GAMS) and in humans, elevated allopregnanolone levels have been suggested to be involved in increased food intake, and also with overweight and obesity. GABAA receptors that express the α2 and α3 subunits are proposed to be the main subtypes involved in food intake regulation. Therefore, the aims of the work in this thesis were to further investigate the effect of allopregnanolone on food intake, feeding behaviour, possible effects on weight gain and also to characterize a possible antagonist at α2β3γ2and α3β3γ2 GABAA receptors. Methods Allopregnanolone effects on food intake of different food items were recorded in male Wistar rats. Feeding patterns were analyzed. Food preference tests were also conducted and rats were repeatedly exposed to allopregnanolone under different feeding conditions to elucidate possible effects on body weight gain. To deeper investigate GABAA receptor subtypes suggested to be involved in food intake regulation, electrophysiological whole-cell patch-clamp recordings were performed to identify the specificity of the GAMS antagonist UC1020, at human α2β3γ2 and α3β3γ2 GABAA receptors expressed in HEK293-cells. Results Allopregnanolone increased the intake of standard chow, cookies and a high fat diet in male Wistar rats. Preferentially, allopregnanolone increased the rats´intake of the more calorie dense food type. Allopregnanolone reduced feeding latency and prolonged feeding duration. The increased chow intake induced by allopregnanolone was more pronounced at the beginning of the rats´ active period compared to the inactive. Repeated allopregnanolone administration during 5 consecutive days led to an increased body weight gain, more evident in schedule fed rats on a high fat diet. Both obesity prone and obesity resistant rats gained significantly more weight with repeated allopregnanolone exposure and the increased body weight gain correlated with increased food intake. The compound UC1020 was a potent antagonist of GAMS-enhanced GABA evoked currents at human α3β3γ2 GABAA receptors, whereas it had no effect at α2β3γ2 GABAA receptors. Conclusions Our findings indicate that allopregnanolone induced hyperphagia may be one of the endogenous factors involved in weight gain, especially when the diet is energy-rich. The compound UC1020 may prove useful for investigating the involvement of the α2 and α3 GABAA receptor subtypes in GAMS-induced hyperphagia.

The overall aim of the present thesis is to clarify the control of intracellular chloride homeostasis in central neurons, because of the critical role of chloride ions (Cl–) for neuronal function. Normal function of the central nervous system (CNS) depends on a delicate balance between neuronal excitation and inhibition. Inhibition is, in the adult brain, most often mediated by the neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). GABA may, however, in some cases cause excitation. GABA acts by activating GABA type A receptors (GABAARs), which are ion channels largely permeable to Cl–. The effect of GABAAR-mediated neuronal signaling - inhibitory or excitatory - is therefore mainly determined by the Cl– gradient across the membrane. This gradient varies with neuronal activity and may be altered in pathological conditions. Thus, understanding Cl– regulation is important to comprehend neuronal function. This thesis is an attempt to clarify several unknown aspects of neuronal Cl– regulation. For such clarification, a sufficiently sensitive method for measuring the intracellular Cl– concentration, [Cl–]i, is necessary. In the first study of this thesis, we examined two electrophysiological methods commonly used to estimate [Cl–]i. Both methods, here called the interpolation and the voltage-ramp method, depend on an estimate of the Cl– equilibrium potential from the current-voltage relation of GABA- or glycine-evoked Cl– currents. Both methods also provide an estimate of the membrane Cl– conductance, gCl. With a combination of computational and electrophysiological techniques, we showed that the most common (interpolation) method failed to detect changes in [Cl–]i and gCl during prolonged GABA application, whereas the voltage-ramp method accurately detected such changes. Our analysis also provided an explanation as to why the two methods differ. In a second study, we clarified the role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) for the distribution of Cl– across the cell membrane of neurons from rat brain. It was recently proposed that immobile charges located within the ECM, rather than as previously thought cation-chloride transporter proteins, determine the low [Cl–]i which is critical to GABAAR-mediated inhibition. By using electrophysiological techniques to measure [Cl–]i, we showed that digestion of the ECM decreases the expression and function of the neuron-specific K+ Cl– cotransporter 2 (KCC2), which normally extrudes Cl- from the neuron, thus causing an increase in resting [Cl–]i. As a result of ECM degradation, the action of GABA may be transformed from inhibitory to excitatory. In a third study, we developed a method for quantifying the largely unknown resting Cl– (leak) conductance, gCl, and examined the role of gCl for the neuronal Cl– homeostasis. In isolated preoptic neurons from rat, resting gCl was about 6 % of total resting conductance, to a major part due to spontaneously open GABAARs and played an important role for recovery after a high Cl– load. We also showed that spontaneous, impulse-independent GABA release can significantly enhance recovery when the GABA responses are potentiated by the neurosteroid allopregnanolone. In a final commentary, we formulated the mathematical relation between Cl– conductance, KCC2-mediated Cl– extrusion capacity and steady-state [Cl–]i. In summary, the present thesis (i) clarifies how well common electrophysiological methods describe [Cl–]i and gCl, (ii) provides a novel method for quantifying gCl in cell membranes and (iii) clarifies the roles of the ECM, ion channels and ion transporters in the control of [Cl–]i homeostasis and GABAAR-mediated signaling in central neurons.

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are glutamate-gated calcium permeable ion channels that play a key role in excitatory synaptic transmission and plasticity, and their dysfunction underlies several neuropsychiatric disorders. The overactivation of NMDA receptors by tonically increased ambient glutamate can lead to excitotoxicity, associated with various acute and chronic neurological disorders, such as ischemia, Alzheimer and Parkinson's disease, epilepsy or depression. On the opposite, NMDA receptor hypofunction is thought to be implicated in autism, schizophrenia, or intellectual disability. Recent DNA screening for neurological and psychiatric patients revealed numerous mutations in genes encoding for NMDA receptor subunits. The activity of NMDA receptors is influenced by a wide variety of allosteric modulators, including neurosteroids that could both inhibit and potentiate the activity of NMDA receptors, which makes them promising therapeutic targets. In this thesis, we describe new classes of neurosteroid analogues which possess structural modifications at carbons C3 and C17 of the steroidal core, and analogues without D-ring region (perhydrophenanthrenes). We evaluated the structure-activity relationship (SAR) for their modulatory effect on recombinant GluN1/GluN2B receptors. Our results...