Effects of propentofylline, a NGF synthesis stimulator, on alterations in muscarinic cholinergic receptors induced by basal forebrain lesion in rats

Basal forebrain (BF) lesions induced by ibotenic acid produced increases in the B_max and K_d values of [³H]QNB binding sites in the frontal cortex, parietal cortex, and hippocampus. Twenty-eight-day successive administration of propentofylline (10 and 25 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly reduced the K_d values of [³H]QNB binding sites, to the levels of those in a sham group, in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, propentofylline (25 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly reduced the B_max value of [³H]QNB binding sites compared with that in a vehicle-treated BF-lesioned group. These results suggest that successive administration of propentofylline ameliorates changes in muscarinic cholinergic receptors through improving presynaptic cholinergic dysfunction.