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Seizure activity and lesions after intrahippocampal quinolinic acid injection.

Electroencephalographic, behavioral, and neuropathologic changes were monitored after infusions of the endogenous excitatory amino acid, quinolinic acid (QUIN), into the dorsal hippocampus of unanesthetized, freely moving rats. A dose of 120 nmol QUIN was required to reliably precipitate seizures although EEG changes were observed with doses as small as 3 nmol. Seizure episodes were characterized by repetitive periods of high-voltage spiking typically lasting 20 s but occasional longer multicomponent episodes (60 s) were also observed. The latency of specific QUIN-induced seizures was similar for all doses tested (19 to 32 min); however, the total number of seizures and total time in seizures increased in a dose-dependent fashion from 30 to 300 nmol QUIN. Seizure episodes were often associated with a frozen appearance of the animal and intermittent "wet dog shakes". Ataxia was apparent in animals receiving 120 and 300 nmol QUIN. Using light microscopic analyses, pyramidal cell degeneration was observed in the QUIN-injected hippocampus (CA3 and CA1 cells more susceptible than CA2 cells); dentate granule cells showed signs of degeneration only at the largest QUIN dose. No neuropathologic changes were found outside the injected hippocampus. Seizures and neuropathologic changes induced by 120 nmol QUIN were completely blocked by pre- or cotreatment with 12 nmol (-)2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid. Experiments with [3H]QUIN indicated that only 3% of the injected radioactivity was present in the dorsal hippocampus at the average time of seizure onset (25 min), and consisted entirely of unmetabolized QUIN. The potent convulsant properties of QUIN, an endogenous metabolite, may prove to be of relevance for the etiology of human temporal lobe epilepsy.

Animals↗

Kynurenic acid antagonizes hippocampal quinolinic acid neurotoxicity: behavioral and histological evaluation.

In the present study, we evaluate the ability of kynurenic acid to protect hippocampal neurons from the neurotoxicity of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) agonist quinolinic acid. Bilateral intrahippocampal injection of quinolinic acid (120 nmol) led to severe behavioral disturbances and total loss of hippocampal neurons. Intrahippocampal co-injection of kynurenic acid (360 nmol) completely prevented cell loss and behavioral disturbances. However, the protection was incomplete when kynurenic acid was intraperitoneally injected (500 mg/kg, repeated during 4 days). These above results indicate that kynurenic acid can antagonize the neuronal degeneration mediated by excessive stimulation of NMDA receptors in vivo.

Animals↗

Quinolinic acid evokes [3H]acetylcholine release in striatal slices: mediation by NMDA-type excitatory amino acid receptors.

Quinolinic acid evoked the release of [3H]acetylcholine from striatal slices with an EC50 of approximately 2 mM and an efficacy similar to that of N-methyl-D,L-aspartic acid. (+/-)-2-Amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid and (-)-2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid antagonized quinolinic acid-evoked release, while glutamate diethylester and 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid were ineffective as antagonists. Release of [3H]acetylcholine evoked by quinolinic acid was strongly attenuated by the presence of magnesium (1.2 mM) in the medium. The results are consistent with the interaction of quinolinic acid with NMDA-type excitatory amino acid receptors on the striatal cholinergic interneurons.

2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate↗

Effects of mitochondria and o-methoxybenzoylalanine on 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid dioxygenase activity and quinolinic acid synthesis.

The use of o-methoxybenzoylalanine, a selective kynureninase inhibitor, has been proposed with the aim of reducing brain synthesis of quinolinic acid, an excitotoxic tryptophan metabolite. In liver homogenates, however, this compound caused unexpected accumulation of 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid, the product of kynureninase activity and the precursor of quinolinic acid. To explain this observation, we investigated the interaction(s) of o-methoxybenzoylalanine with 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid dioxygenase, the enzyme responsible for quinolinic acid formation. When the purified enzyme or partially purified cytosol preparations were used, o-methoxybenzoylalanine did not affect 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid dioxygenase activity. However, a significant reduction of this enzymatic activity did occur when o-methoxybenzoylalanine was tested in the presence of mitochondria. It is interesting that addition of purified mitochondria to 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid dioxygenase preparations reduced the enzymatic activity and the synthesis of quinolinic acid. In vivo, administration of o-methoxybenzoylalanine significantly reduced quinolinic acid synthesis and content in both blood and brain of mice. Our results suggest that mitochondrial protein(s) interact(s) with soluble 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid dioxygenase and cause(s) modifications in the enzyme resulting in a decrease in its activity. These modifications also allow the enzyme to interact with o-methoxybenzoylalanine, thus leading to a further reduction in quinolinic acid synthesis.

3-Hydroxyanthranilate 3,4-Dioxygenase↗

De novo biosynthesis of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide in Escherichia coli: excretion of quinolinic acid by mutants lacking quinolinate phosphoribosyl transferase.

The excretion of quinolinic acid was studied in growing and resting cells of Escherichia coli K-12 nadC(13). Under optimal conditions, this organism could synthesize quinolinic acid in several-fold excess of the amount which would be required for normal growth. The excretion of quinolinic acid was controlled by the concentration of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) precursors available to the organism either during growth or during incubation in dense cell suspensions. These observations suggest that biosynthesis of NAD de novo is regulated by both repression and feedback inhibition. Analogues of niacin which inhibit bacterial growth also inhibited and repressed the synthesis (excretion) of quinolinic acid. The pH optimum for quinolinic acid excretion agreed favorably with the optimum observed for its synthesis in vitro. The rate of quinolinic acid excretion was strongly influenced by the concentration of ribose or glycerol in the medium.

Amino Acids↗

Murine glial cells regenerate NAD, after peroxide-induced depletion, using either nicotinic acid, nicotinamide, or quinolinic acid as substrates.

The potential for regeneration of intracellular pyridine nucleotide levels from different precursors, after peroxide-induced NAD depletion, in cultured glial cells was investigated. Cultured murine glial cells showed a decrease in intracellular NAD levels of >40% after treatment with H2O2 (100 microM). Removal of the H2O2 followed by a 2-h incubation did not result in NAD recovery in the absence of precursors. However, NAD levels increased significantly in these cells after the following substrate additions, at minimum effective concentrations of 1 mM for quinolinic acid (QUIN), 500 microM for nicotinamide, and 2 microM for nicotinic acid. The regeneration of significant amounts of NAD from nicotinic acid at doses 250 and 500 times lower than either nicotinamide or QUIN indicates a preferred route for NAD biosynthesis in glial cells in vitro, probably via nicotinic acid phosphoribosylation.

Animals↗

Systemic endotoxin increases L-tryptophan, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, 3-hydroxykynurenine and quinolinic acid content of mouse cerebral cortex.

Systemic infections and injection of endotoxin are known to increase L-tryptophan release from skeletal muscle and increase systemic L-tryptophan catabolism through the kynurenine pathway. To investigate the effects of systemically administered endotoxin on brain L-tryptophan metabolites. C57BL6/6NCR mice were given an intraperitoneal injection of 10 micrograms of lipopolysaccharide from Salmonella abortus equii and samples of serum and cerebral cortex collected. After 9 h, serum L-tryptophan concentration was decreased by 51%. At 9 h and 24 h, increases in L-tryptophan metabolites in cerebral cortex were: L-tryptophan, 42% and 39%; 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, 38% and 67%; 3-hydroxykynurenine, 235% and 381%; and quinolinic acid, 76% and 306%. Cortical quinolinic acid concentration was still elevated at 48 h (88%) and 72 h (79%) after lipopolysaccharide. No significant changes in cortical serotonin concentrations were found at the time points examined. When L-tryptophan (0.37 mmol/kg) was administered systemically to either normal or lipopolysaccharide-treated mice, increases in cortical L-tryptophan, serotonin, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and 3-hydroxykynurenine concentrations were largest in mice treated with both lipopolysaccharide and L-tryptophan. These results suggest that disturbances in L-tryptophan metabolism that follow systemic endotoxin administration extend to the central nervous system. The consequences of these changes in L-tryptophan metabolites remain to be determined.

Animals↗