title: Prevention of zinc neurotoxicity in vivo by N,N,N',N'-tetrakis (2-pyridylmethyl) ethylene-diamine (TPEN).
abstract: Intrahippocampal injections of zinc chloride (10 nmol) produce lesions in the rat hippocampus. A heavy metal chelator N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)-ethylene-diamine (TPEN), co-injected with zinc chloride in vivo, totally prevented zinc-induced neuronal loss. Furthermore, intrahippocampal injections of TPEN (10 nmol) were non-toxic when compared with controls. TPEN injections in vivo quenched the in vitro staining of brain sections for zinc (Timm's stain), particularly the staining of the hippocampal mossy fibres. This demonstrates that TPEN is taken up by zinc-containing neurones in vivo. The use of TPEN to block the actions of zinc could help define the possible role of zinc in the pathology of various neurological disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Science, University of Auckland School of Medicine, New Zealand.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Cuajungco
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Lees
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D002614:Chelating Agents; D005029:Ethylenediamines; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D008845:Microinjections; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects*; D009498:Neurotoxins; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015032:Zinc
chemical_list: D002614:Chelating Agents; D005029:Ethylenediamines; D009498:Neurotoxins; D015032:Zinc; C044387:N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine