title: Involvement of nitric oxide on kainate-induced toxicity in oligodendrocyte precursors.
abstract: The vulnerability of oligodendrocytes to excitatory amino acids may account for the pathology of white matter occurring following hypoxia/ischemia or autoimmune attack. Here, we examined the vulnerability of immature oligodendrocytes (positively labeled by galactocerobroside-C and not expressing myelin basic protein) from neonatal rat spinal cord to kainate, an agonist of excitatory amino acid receptors that induces long-lasting inward currents in immature oligodendrocytes. In particular, we studied whether kainate toxicity was linked to the endogenous production of nitric oxide. We found cultured oligodendrocytes to be highly sensitive to 24-48 h exposure to 0.5-1 mM kainate. The toxin induced striking morphological changes in oligodendrocytes, characterized by the disruption of the process network around the cell body and the growth of one or two long, thick and non-branched processes. A longer exposure to kainate resulted in massive death of oligodendrocytes, which was prevented by 6,7, dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (DNQX) (30 micro M), the antagonist of AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic/kainate receptors. Remarkably, we found that those oligodendrocytes displaying bipolar morphology following kainate exposure, also expressed the inducible form of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and nitrotyrosine immunoreactivity, suggesting that peroxynitrite could be formed by the reaction of nitric oxide with superoxide. Moreover, kainate toxicity was significantly prevented by addition of the NOS inhibitor nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), further suggesting that nitric oxide-derived oxidants contribute to excitotoxic mechanisms in immature oligodendrocytes.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Histologia, Facultad de Veterinaria y Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la Republica, Montevideo 11600, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martinez-Palma
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pehar
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cassina
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Peluffo
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Castellanos
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Anesetti
authors.forename: Joseph S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Beckman
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barbeito
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002452:Cell Count; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003470:Culture Media; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists / Q000633:toxicity*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D007608:Kainic Acid / Q000633:toxicity*; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester / Q000494:pharmacology; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000502:physiology*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000187:drug effects*; D030421:Peroxynitrous Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D011810:Quinoxalines / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; D011810:Quinoxalines; D030421:Peroxynitrous Acid; D009569:Nitric Oxide; C002744:3-nitrotyrosine; D014443:Tyrosine; C056723:FG 9041; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; C496318:Nos2 protein, rat; D007608:Kainic Acid; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester