Neonatal striatal NADPH-diaphorase neurons are vulnerable to quisqualate and its analogue alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole proprionate (AMPA).
A small population of neurons in the mammalian striatum and cerebral cortex contain NADPH-diaphorase. Recently, this class of neurons has been found in vitro to be selectively vulnerable to low concentrations of non-N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate agonists. To determine if this pattern exists in vivo, we injected either quisqualate (QA) or its inotropic site analogue alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole proprionate (AMPA) into the striatum of neonatal rat pups and found a dose-dependent loss of NADPH-diaphorase reactive neurons. These data suggest that the QA receptor may be present and functional at postnatal day 7 when other glutamate receptor subtypes have not yet fully developed and that QA is working through its inotropic site since AMPA causes the same dose-dependent cell death.
Ferriero
D M
DM
Department of Neurology, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California 94143-0870.
Simon
R P
RP
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D007839:Functional Laterality; D007051:Ibotenic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000633:toxicity; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D009498:Neurotoxins / Q000633:toxicity*; D016318:Quisqualic Acid / Q000633:toxicity*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012016:Reference Values; D018350:alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid
D009498:Neurotoxins; D007051:Ibotenic Acid; D018350:alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid; D016318:Quisqualic Acid; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase