title: Kynuretic acid blocks spontaneous epileptiform bursts induced by 4-aminopyridine in rat amygdala neurons.
abstract: The effects of excitatory amino acid receptor antagonists, kynuretic acid and DL-2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (DL-APV), on spontaneous epileptiform activity induced by 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) were studied in rat amygdala slices using intracellular recording techniques. Five to ten minutes after switching to 4-AP containing solution, spontaneous epileptiform bursts were observed in 37 out of 48 slices studied. The spontaneous epileptiform events consisted of an initial burst followed by a number of afterdischarges. Superfusion with kynuretic acid, a nonspecific excitatory amino acid receptor antagonist, reversibly reduced the duration of the spontaneous bursting discharges in a dose-dependent manner. The frequency of spontaneous bursting was also decreased. The IC50, estimated from the graph of the concentration-response relationship, was approximately 130 microM. In contrast to kynuretic acid, DL-APV, which is a specific N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, failed to block the spontaneous bursting. These results suggest that activation of excitatory amino acid receptors of non-NMDA type is involved in the generation of propagation of spontaneous epileptiform events induced by 4-AP in the neurons of basolateral amygdala.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Cheng-Kung University, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Gean
mesh_terms: D015761:4-Aminopyridine; D000679:Amygdala / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003292:Convulsants; D007736:Kynurenic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter / Q000187:drug effects; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D003292:Convulsants; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter; D015761:4-Aminopyridine; D007736:Kynurenic Acid