Kainic acid-induced neurodegenerative model: potentials and limitations.
Excitotoxicity is considered to be an important mechanism involved in various neurodegenerative diseases in the central nervous system (CNS) such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the mechanism by which excitotoxicity is implicated in neurodegenerative disorders remains unclear. Kainic acid (KA) is an epileptogenic and neuroexcitotoxic agent by acting on specific kainate receptors (KARs) in the CNS. KA has been extensively used as a specific agonist for ionotrophic glutamate receptors (iGluRs), for example, KARs, to mimic glutamate excitotoxicity in neurodegenerative models as well as to distinguish other iGluRs such as α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate receptors and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors. Given the current knowledge of excitotoxicity in neurodegeneration, interventions targeted at modulating excitotoxicity are promising in terms of dealing with neurodegenerative disorders. This paper summarizes the up-to-date knowledge of neurodegenerative studies based on KA-induced animal model, with emphasis on its potentials and limitations.
Department of Neurosurgery, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Xiang-Yu
XY
Zheng
Hong-Liang
HL
Zhang
Qi
Q
Luo
Jie
J
Zhu
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D007608:Kainic Acid; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000378:metabolism; D018092:Kainic Acid Receptors / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
D007608:Kainic Acid; D018092:Kainic Acid Receptors