Effects of Hypothermia, Pentobarbital, and Isoflurane on Postdepolarization Amino Acid Release during Complete Global Cerebral Ischemia

1996 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Nakashima ◽  
Michael M. Todd
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Cerebral Ischemia ◽  
Excitatory Amino Acids ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Excitatory Amino Acid ◽  
Protective Efficacy ◽  
Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Global Cerebral Ischemia ◽  
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid

Background Hypothermia and anesthetics may protect the brain during ischemia by blocking the release of excitatory amino acids. The effects of hypothermia (28 degrees C), pentobarbital, and isoflurane on postischemic excitatory amino acid concentrations were compared. Methods Rats were anesthetized with 0.8% halothane/50% N2O, vascular catheters were placed, and a glass microelectrode and microdialysis cannula were inserted into the cerebral cortex. Experimental groups were: (1) control, pericranial, t = 38 degrees C; (2) hypothermia, t = 28 degrees C; (3) pentobarbital, t = 38 degrees C; and (4) isoflurane, t = 38 degrees C. Halothane/N2O was continued in groups 1 and 2, whereas a deep burst-suppression or isoelectric electroencephalogram was achieved with the test drugs in groups 3 and 4. Cerebral metabolic rates were similar in groups 2, 3, and 4. After a baseline dialysis sample was collected, animals were killed with potassium chloride. The time to terminal depolarization was recorded, after which three consecutive 10-min dialysate samples were collected. Glutamate, aspartate, gamma-aminobutyric acid, and glycine concentrations were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography. Results Times to terminal depolarization were shorter in both pentobarbital and isoflurane groups than with hypothermia (103 +/- 15 and 127 +/- 10 vs. 195 +/- 20 s respectively, mean +/- SD). However, times to terminal depolarization in all three groups were longer than in control subjects (control = 70 +/- 9s). Postdepolarization concentrations of all compounds were lower in hypothermic animals (vs. normothermic control animals), but no reductions in glutamate, aspartate, or glycine concentrations were noted in pentobarbital or isoflurane groups. gamma-Aminobutyric acid concentrations were reduced by both anesthetics, but not to the same degree as with hypothermia. Conclusions Pentobarbital and isoflurane prolonged the time to terminal depolarization, but did not influence the rate at which the extracellular concentrations of glutamate, aspartate, or glycine increased. By contrast, hypothermia reduced the release of all excitatory amino acids. These differences may explain the greater protective efficacy of hypothermia in the face of cerebral ischemia.

Cardiovascular responses to global cerebral ischemia: role of excitatory amino acids in the ventrolateral medullary pressor area

1993 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 922-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert F. Heary ◽  
Allen H. Maniker ◽  
Abbott J. Krieger ◽  
Hreday N. Sapru
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Cerebral Ischemia ◽  
Excitatory Amino Acids ◽  
Excitatory Amino Acid ◽  
Cardiovascular Responses ◽  
Global Cerebral Ischemia ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Acid Receptor ◽  
Male Wistar Rats

✓ The object of this study was to investigate the role of the ventrolateral medullary pressor area in mediating the cardiovascular responses to experimentally induced global cerebral ischemia, and to test if excitatory amino acids or acetylcholine are the transmitters released in this brain region during these responses. The cerebral ischemic response was elicited in pentobarbital-anesthetized, artificially ventilated male Wistar rats by bilateral ligation of vertebral arteries followed by temporary clamping of the common carotid arteries. The pressor area was identified by microinjections of L-glutamate. Inhibition of neurons in this area by microinjections of muscimol, a γ-aminobutyric acid receptor agonist, abolished the ischemic response, which demonstrated that this area is important in mediating these responses. Microinjections of a broad-spectrum excitatory amino acid receptor blocker (kynurenate), of specific antagonists for N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) and non-NMDA receptors (injected alone or in combination), and of atropine failed to block the ischemic responses. These results indicate that: 1) the ventrolateral medullary pressor area mediates pressor responses to cerebral ischemia, and 2) excitatory amino acids or acetylcholine in this area do not mediate the cardiovascular responses to cerebral ischemia.

Purification of Antihemophilic Factor (Factor VIII) by Amino Acid Precipitation*

1964 ◽  
Vol 11 (01) ◽  
pp. 064-074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H Wagner ◽  
William D McLester ◽  
Marion Smith ◽  
K. M Brinkhous
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Factor Viii ◽  
Plasma Protein ◽  
Acid Precipitation ◽  
Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Specific Procedure ◽  
Beta Alanine ◽  
Antihemophilic Factor

Summary1. The use of several amino acids, glycine, alpha-aminobutyric acid, alanine, beta-alanine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid, as plasma protein precipitants is described.2. A specific procedure is detailed for the preparation of canine antihemophilic factor (AHF, Factor VIII) in which glycine, beta-alanine, and gammaaminobutyric acid serve as the protein precipitants.3. Preliminary results are reported for the precipitation of bovine and human AHF with amino acids.

Use-dependent block of excitatory amino acid currents in cultured neurons by ketamine

1987 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. MacDonald ◽  
Z. Miljkovic ◽  
P. Pennefather
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Aspartic Acid ◽  
Excitatory Amino Acids ◽  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Excitatory Amino Acid ◽  
Outward Current ◽  
Bathing Solution ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Repeated Applications

1. Mouse hippocampal neurons grown in dissociated cell culture were patch clamped using a whole cell voltage clamp (discontinuous switching clamp) technique. The currents generated by pressure applications of excitatory amino acids were studied over a wide range of holding potentials, and current-voltage curves were plotted. Excitatory amino acids that activated the N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor demonstrated some degree of desensitization with repeated applications, whereas the currents observed in response to kainic acid (KAI) did not. Desensitization could be minimized by keeping the frequency of application sufficiently low (i.e., less than 0.1 Hz). 2. The short-acting dissociative anaesthetic, ketamine (2–50 microM), selectively blocked L-aspartic acid (L-Asp), NMDA, and L-glutamic acid (L-Glu) currents while sparing those in response to KAI. Therefore, ketamine is a relatively selective blocker of the NMDA response versus that (those) activated by KAI. 3. The block by ketamine of excitatory amino acid currents is highly voltage dependent. Concentrations of ketamine that had little effect on outward current responses at depolarized potentials were quite effective at blocking inward current responses at hyperpolarized potentials. In contrast, DL-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (APV) was equally effective at blocking both inward and outward currents (voltage independent). The voltage dependence of ketamine (a positively charged molecule) could be accounted for if ketamine blocked the NMDA response by binding to a site that experienced 55% of the membrane field. 4. In the presence of ketamine, peak inward currents evoked by repeated applications of NMDA, L-Asp, or L-Glu progressively declined to a steady-state level of block (use-dependent block). This decrement occurred at frequencies much lower than those that were employed to demonstrate desensitization (in the absence of ketamine). Moving the membrane potential to depolarized values did not, in itself, relieve the ketamine block. However, if the appropriate excitatory amino acid (L-Asp, NMDA, L-Glu) was applied during the period of depolarization, a relief of the block could be demonstrated. No recovery from the blockade occurred with periods of rest (no amino acid application) as long as 5 min. Furthermore, no recovery was observed even when ketamine was washed out of the bathing solution until the appropriate agonist was applied. Thus recovery from blockade, like development of blockade, was use dependent.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

scholarly journals Effects of some excitatory amino acid antagonists and drugs enhancing gamma-aminobutyric acid neurotransmission on pefloxacin-induced seizures in DBA/2 mice.

1997 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 427-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
G De Sarro ◽  
F Nava ◽  
G Calapai ◽  
A De Sarro
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Excitatory Amino Acid ◽  
Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Nmda Receptor Complex ◽  
Amino Acid Antagonists ◽  
Quinolone Derivative ◽  
Sites Of Action ◽  
Anticonvulsant Activities ◽  
Potential Interactions

The behavioral and convulsant effects of pefloxacin (PEFLO), a quinolone derivative, were studied after intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration to Dilute Brown Agouti DBA/2J (DBA/2) mice, a strain genetically susceptible to sound-induced seizures. The anticonvulsant effects of some excitatory amino acid (EAA) antagonists acting at N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) or alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) and kainate (KA) receptors and of some compounds enhancing gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic transmission against seizures induced by PEFLO were also evaluated. The present study demonstrated that both groups of compounds administered i.p. or intracerebroventricularly were able to protect against seizures induced by PEFLO. However, ifenprodil and (+/-)-alpha-(chlorophenyl)-4-[(4-fluorophenyl)methyl]-1-piperidine-ethan ol (SL 82.0715), two compounds acting on the polyamine site of the NMDA receptor complex, were unable to provide any protection. The relationship between the different sites of action and the anticonvulsant activities of these derivatives were discussed. Although the main mechanisms of PEFLO-induced seizures cannot be easily determined, potential interactions with the receptors of EAA exist. In fact, antagonists of EAA, and in particular, those acting at NMDA receptors, were able to increase the threshold for the seizures or to prevent the seizures induced by PEFLO, while compounds acting at the polyamine site did not provide any protection. The AMPA-KA receptor antagonists were also able to exert anticonvulsant activity, but with minor potency in comparison to those of NMDA antagonists. In addition, the fact that compounds enhancing GABA-ergic neurotransmission were also able to protect the mice against seizures induced by PEFLO suggests an involvement of GABA system.

Excitatory amino acids in cerebrospinal fluid following traumatic brain injury in humans

1993 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Baker ◽  
Richard J. Moulton ◽  
Vernon H. MacMillan ◽  
Peter M. Shedden
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Excitatory Amino Acids ◽  
Excitatory Amino Acid ◽  
Neuronal Damage ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Injured Patients

✓ Evidence from models of traumatic brain injury implicates excitotoxicity as an integral process in the ultimate neuronal damage that follows. Concentrations of the excitatory amino acid glutamate were serially measured in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with traumatic brain injuries and in control patients for comparison. The purpose of the study was to determine whether glutamate concentrations were significantly elevated following traumatic brain injury and, if so, whether they were elevated in a time frame that would allow the use of antagonist therapy. Cerebrospinal fluid was sampled fresh from ventricular drains every 12 hours and analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography for the excitatory amino acids. The peak concentrations of glutamate in the CSF of the 12 brain-injured patients ranged from 14 to 474 µM and were significantly higher than those in the three control patients, 4.9 to 17 µM (Mann-Whitney U-test, p < 0.02). Glutamate concentrations in five of the eight patients who were still being sampled on Day 3 were beyond the control group range. The implication of this study is that severely head-injured patients are exposed to high concentrations of a neurotoxic amino acid for days following injury and thus may benefit from antagonist intervention.

scholarly journals Glutamate and psychiatric disorders

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva M. Tsapakis ◽  
Michael J. Travis
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Excitatory Amino Acids ◽  
Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Neuronal Inhibition ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Excitatory Neurotransmission ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Glutamate System

Most of the excitatory neurotransmission in the central nervous system (CNS) is mediated by the endogenous excitatory amino acids (EAAs) glutamate, aspartate and homocysteine. Most of the endogenous inhibitory neurotransmission is mediated by gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). EAAs modulate the firing of almost all neurons in the CNS, as excitatory neurotransmission can result in both neuronal inhibition and excitation. The glutamate system is the best characterised of the EAA systems (Box 1).

scholarly journals Differential Vulnerability to Excitatory Amino Acid-Induced Toxicity and Selective Neuronal Loss in Neurodegenerative Diseases

1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (S3) ◽  
pp. 394-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Weiss ◽  
Dennis W. Choi
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
Excitatory Amino Acids ◽  
Excitatory Amino Acid ◽  
Neuronal Loss ◽  
Intrinsic Vulnerability ◽  
Central Neurons ◽  
Differential Vulnerability

ABSTRACT:Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by selective degeneration of certain biochemically distinct subpopulations of central neurons. Studies of the intrinsic vulnerability of such neurons to injury by excitatory amino acids in vitro, as well as study of neurologic syndromes produced in animals or humans by ingestion of environmental excitatory amino acid neurotoxins may suggest a link between excitotoxicity, and the pathogenesis of certain neurodegenerative diseases.

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