The toxin kainic acid: a study of avian nerve and glial cell response utilizing tritiated kainic acid and electron microscopic autoradiography

SIRT4 prevents excitotoxicity via modulating glutamate metabolism in glioma cells

Excitotoxicity is the presence of excessive glutamate, which is normally taken up by glutamate transporters on astrocytes. Glutamate transporter 1 (GLT-1) is the major transporter on glia cells clearing more than 90% of the glutamate. Sirtuin 4 (SIRT4) is a mitochondrial sirtuin which is expressed in the brain. Previously, it was shown that loss of SIRT4 leads to a more severe reaction to kainic acid, an excitotoxic agent, and also decreased GLT-1 expression in the brain. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether overexpression of SIRT4 is protective against excitotoxicity in glia cells. We overexpressed SIRT4 in A172 glioma cell line and treated with kainic acid in order to induce excitotoxicity. We observed that SIRT4 overexpression increased the cell viability after kainic acid treatment. In addition, reduced glutamate was detected in glutamate assay with overexpression of SIRT4 after kainic acid treatment since SIRT4 decreased cell death by preventing excitotoxicity. Our results show that overexpression of SIRT4 increased the protein levels of GLT-1 and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) after kainic acid (KA) treatment so that excess glutamate can be absorbed. However, overexpression of SIRT4 decreased glutamine synthetase (GS) levels. These results demonstrate that, by inhibiting GS, SIRT4 prevents glutamine formation, which will be converted to glutamate in neurons. SIRT4 prevents excitotoxicity via upregulating glutamate metabolism. Finally, our results may show that SIRT4 might prevent excitotoxicity and related cell death via reducing GS expression and upregulating GLT-1 and GDH levels. Therefore, it is important to develop therapeutics against excitotoxicity through SIRT4-related pathways in the cell.

Probing the molecular mechanisms of neuronal degeneration: importance of mitochondrial dysfunction and calcineurin activation

Cerebral injury is a critical aspect of the management of patients in intensive care. Pathological conditions induced by cerebral ischemia, hypoxia, head trauma, and seizure activity can result in marked residual impairment of cerebral function. We have investigated the potential mechanisms leading to neuronal cell death in pathological conditions, with the aim of discovering therapeutic targets and methods to minimize neuronal damage resulting from insults directed at the central nervous system (CNS). Over the years, deeper understanding of the mechanisms of neuronal cell death has indeed evolved, enabling clinical critical care management to salvage neurons that are at the brink of degeneration and to support recovery of brain function. However, no substantial breakthrough has been achieved in the quest to develop effective pharmacological neuroprotective therapy directed at tissues of the CNS. The current situation is unacceptable, and preservation of function and protection of the brain from terminal impairment will be a vital medical issue in the twenty-first century. To achieve this goal, it is critical to clarify the key mechanisms leading to neuronal cell death. Here, we discuss the importance of the calcineurin/immunophilin signal transduction pathway and mitochondrial involvement in the detrimental chain of events leading to neuronal degeneration.

Immediate early gene activation during the initial phases of the excitotoxic cascade

Direct brain injections of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor agonist quinolinic acid (QA) trigger an excitotoxic cascade characterized by rapid neuronal death and glial/immune cell activation. The present study compared the timing of immediate early gene (IEG; c-fos, c-jun, jun-B, and zif/268) induction with the response of neuronal transcripts during the first 24 hr of a QA lesion within the rodent striatum. Following QA exposure, IEG mRNA induction periods extended from 30 min to 24 hr. Several characteristics of this prolonged transcriptional response suggest that separate cell populations (neuronal vs. glial) originate individual IEG phases during the first day of the lesion. The first IEG phase was rapid and peaked at 60 min. This initial IEG phase, likely neuronal in origin, was dominated by robust increases in the expression of c-fos, jun-B, and zif/268 mRNAs in contrast to small increases in c-jun expression. A second, delayed IEG phase was initiated after the first hour and extended to 24 hr. This IEG phase was more intense and continued beyond the period of neuronal survival as detected by the loss of neurotransmitter-specific mRNAs (preprotachykinin, preproenkephalin, and glutamic acid decarboxylase). During this phase, c-jun mRNA levels coordinately increased with c-fos. Interestingly, the transcriptional peak of the delayed IEG phase occurred between 4 and 12 hr, the time which corresponded to the rapid decline of neuronal transcripts.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)