Influence of nitric oxide synthase inhibition on the development of rapid tolerance to ethanol

Abstract

We recently reported that the nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor L-nitroarginine (L-NA) blocks the development of rapid tolerance to the motor incoordinating effect of ethanol in the tilt-plane test. To clarify the mechanism of L-NA blockade of tolerance, four additional experiments were carried out using the same test. The first demonstrated that L-NA prevented the development of rapid tolerance to ethanol when injected prior to ethanol either on both Days 1 and 2 or only on Day 1. In the second experiment, tolerance was blocked only when L-NA was injected before but not after behavioral testing on Day 1. In the third, L-NA blocked the enhancement of rapid tolerance to ethanol induced by D-cycloserins (CS), an agonist at the N-methyl-d-separtate (NMDA) receptor. In the last experiment, L-NA pretreatment did not influence blood ethanol disappearance curves on Day 1, or ethanol concentrations in brain, tail blood or decapitated trunk blood on Day 2. These data argue against statedependent learning as the basis of the L-NA effect, and confirm and extend our previous observation that NO plays a role in the development of rapid tolerance to ethanol.