Kynurenic acid blocks neurotoxicity and seizures induced in rats by the related brain metabolite quinolinic acid.
Kynurenic acid (KYNA) was tested as an antagonist of the neurotoxic and epileptogenic effects of the metabolically related brain constituent quinolinic acid (QUIN). In the rat striatum, KYNA blocked the neurotoxic effects of QUIN in preference to those of other excitotoxins. In the hippocampus, KYNA antagonized both the neurodegeneration and seizures caused by the local application of QUIN. These properties of KYNA raise the possibility of a functional link between KYNA and QUIN in the brain which may be of relevance for an understanding of human neurodegenerative disorders.
D000818:Animals; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D007736:Kynurenic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D009410:Nerve Degeneration; D009498:Neurotoxins; D011725:Pyridines / Q000633:toxicity*; D017378:Quinolinic Acid; D011805:Quinolinic Acids / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000633:toxicity*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012640:Seizures / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*
D009498:Neurotoxins; D011725:Pyridines; D011805:Quinolinic Acids; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase; D017378:Quinolinic Acid; D007736:Kynurenic Acid