Elsevier

Neuroscience Letters

Volume 48, Issue 3, 10 August 1984, Pages 273-278
Neuroscience Letters

Kynurenic acid blocks neurotoxicity and seizures induced in rats by the related brain metabolite quinolinic acid

https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3940(84)90050-8Get rights and content

Abstract

Kynurenic acid (KYNA) was tested as an antagonist of the neurotoxic and epileptogenic effects of the metabolically related brain constituent quinolinic acid (QUIN). In the rat striatum, KYNA blocked the neurotoxic effects of QUIN in preference to those of other excitotoxins. In the hippocampus, KYNA antagonized both the neurodegeneration and seizures caused by the local application of QUIN. These properties of KYNA raise the possibility of a functional link between KYNA and QUIN in the brain which may be of relevance for an understanding of human neurodegenerative disorders.

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Permanent address: Istituto Ricerche Farmacologiche ‘Mario Negri’, Milan, Italy.

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