title: Effects of glutamate antagonists on the activity of aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase.
abstract: This study examines the hypothesis that glutamate tonically suppresses the activity of the enzyme aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC), and hence the biosynthesis of dopamine, to explain how antagonists of glutamate receptors might potentiale the motor actions of L-DOPA in animal models of Parkinson's disease. A variety of glutamate antagonists were therefore administered acutely to normal rats, which were sacrificed 30-60 min later and AADC activity assayed in the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) and corpus striatum (CS). The NMDA receptor-ion channel antagonists MK 801, budipine, amantadine, memantine and dextromethorphan all caused a pronounced in creased in AADC activity, more especially in the SNr than CS. The NMDA glycine site antagonist (R)-HA 966 produced a modest increase in AADC activity in the CS but not SNr, whilst the NMDA polyamine site antagonist eliprodil, the NMDA competitive antagonist CGP 40116 and the AMPA antagonist NBQX were without effect. The results suggest that an increase in dopamine synthesis might contribute to the L-DOPA-facilitating actions of some glutamate antagonists.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Biggs
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Starr
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D065105:Aromatic Amino Acid Decarboxylase Inhibitors; D001142:Aromatic-L-Amino-Acid Decarboxylases / Q000378:metabolism*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*
chemical_list: D065105:Aromatic Amino Acid Decarboxylase Inhibitors; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D018091:Receptors, AMPA; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D001142:Aromatic-L-Amino-Acid Decarboxylases