title: Studies on the neuroprotective action of kynurenine mono-oxygenase inhibitors in post-ischemic brain damage.
abstract: Kynurenine 3-mono-oxygenase (KMO) inhibitors facilitate kynurenic acid (KYNA) neosynthesis and reduce the formation of 3OH-kynurenine (3-HK) and quinolinic acid (QUIN). They also attenuate post-ischemic brain damage and decrease glutamate (Glu) content in brain extracellular spaces. To investigate KMO mechanism(s) of neuroprotection, we performed experiments in gerbils subjected to bilateral carotid occlusion and in organotypic rat hippocampal slice cultures exposed to oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD). In gerbils, direct application of KYNA (100 nM, through reverse microdialysis in the hippocampus) completely prevented the increase in Glu output induced by transient (5 min) occlusion of the carotids. In rat hippocampal slices exposed for 30 min to OGD, KMO inhibitors (m-nitrobenzoyl)-alanine (mNBA, 30-100 microM) or 3,4-dimethoxy-[-N-4-(nitrophenyl)thiazol-2yl]-benzenesulfonamide (Ro 61-8048, 1-10 microM) reduced post-ischemic neuronal death and increased KYNA concentrations in the incubation medium. KYNA may antagonize glycineb or alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors but the concentrations in the incubation medium never reached values that could efficiently antagonize receptor function. On the contrary, 3-HK (1-10 microM) added to slices exposed to OGD in the presence of KMO inhibitors completely prevented the neuroprotective effects of the inhibitors. Our findings suggest that KMO inhibitors reduce OGD-induced pyramidal cell death by decreasing 3-HK (and possibly QUIN) synthesis.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Farmacologia Preclinica e Clinica, Università di Firenze, Viale Pieraccini 6, 50139 Firenze, Italy. fmoroni@pharm.unifi.it
authors.forename: Flavio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Moroni
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Carpenedo
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cozzi
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Meli
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chiarugi
authors.forename: Domenico E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Pellegrini-Giampietro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007737:Kynurenine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000633:toxicity; D050601:Kynurenine 3-Monooxygenase; D006899:Mixed Function Oxygenases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; C005045:3-hydroxykynurenine; D007737:Kynurenine; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D006899:Mixed Function Oxygenases; D050601:Kynurenine 3-Monooxygenase