Psychotropic effects of angiotensin II N-terminal fragments: Asp-Arg-Val-Tyr-Ile-His and Arg-Val-Tyr-Ile-His in rats

In this study the effects of angiotensin II (AII) angiotensin II hexapeptide [AII(1-6)] and angiotensin II pentapeptide [AII(2-6)] on the motility, stereotypy, learning of conditioned avoidance responses (CARs) and recall of a passive behavior making it possible to avoid aversive stimulation in rats, were compared. All the peptides were injected into the lateral cerebral ventricle (icv) in a dose of 1 nmol. AII caused a statistically significant increase in the number of crossings, rearings, and bar approaches in an open field whereas [AII(1-6)] and [AII(2-6)] were inactive in this test. The stereotypic behavior induced by an intraperitoneal (ip) injection of apomorphine (1 mg/kg) and amphetamine (7.5 mg/kg) was statistically significantly enhanced only in the rats which received AII icv. The application of AII, but not that of [AII(1-6)] and [AII(2-6)] resulted in a quicker acquisition of the CARs. A better recall of passive avoidance was achieved only by AII, while the fragments [AII(1-6)] and [AII(2-6)] had no effect. These findings indicate that the 1-6 and 2-6 fragments of AII do not possess a psychotropic activity like that of the parent octapeptide.