Kynurenine 3-mono-oxygenase inhibitors attenuate post-ischemic neuronal death in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures.

Kynurenine 3-mono-oxygenase (KMO) inhibitors reduce 3-hydroxykynurenine (3-HK) and quinolinic acid (QUIN) neosynthesis and facilitate kynurenine metabolism towards kynurenic acid (KYNA) formation. They also reduce tissue damage in models of focal or transient global cerebral ischemia in vivo. We used organotypic hippocampal slice cultures exposed to oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) to investigate KMO mechanism(s) of neuroprotective activity. Exposure of the slices to 30 min of OGD caused CA1 pyramidal cell death and significantly decreased the amount of KYNA released in the incubation medium. The KMO inhibitors (m-nitrobenzoyl)-alanine (30-100 micro m) or 3,4-dimethoxy-[-N-4-(nitrophenyl)thiazol-2yl]-benzenesulfonamide (1-10 micro m) reduced post-ischemic neuronal death and increased KYNA concentrations in slice incubation media. The maximal concentration of KYNA detected in the incubation media of slices treated with KMO inhibitors was approximately 50 nm and was too low to efficiently interact with alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors or with the glycineb site of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. On the other hand, the addition of either 3-HK or QUIN (1-10 micro m) to OGD-exposed hippocampal slices prevented the neuroprotective activity of KMO inhibitors. Our results suggest that KMO inhibitors reduce the neuronal death found in the CA1 region of organotypic hippocampal slices exposed to 30 min of OGD by decreasing the local synthesis of 3-HK and QUIN.

Activation of mGlu1 but not mGlu5 metabotropic glutamate receptors contributes to postischemic neuronal injury in vitro and in vivo.

In order to investigate the involvement of mGlu1 and mGlu5 metabotropic glutamate receptors in the development of postischemic neuronal death, we examined the effects of selective agonists and antagonists in models of cerebral ischemia in vitro and in vivo. In murine cortical cell cultures and rat organotypic hippocampal slices exposed to oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD), the mGlu1 antagonists 1-aminoindan-1,5-dicarboxylic acid (AIDA; 300 microM), (S)-(+)-2-(3'-carboxybicyclo[1.1.1]pentyl)-glycine (CBPG; 300 microM), 7-hydroxyiminocyclopropan[b]chromen-1a-carboxylic acid ethyl ester (CPCCOEt; 10-30 microM) and (+)-2-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine (LY367385; 30-100 microM) reduced neuronal loss when added to the medium during OGD and the subsequent 24-h recovery period. On the contrary, the potent and selective mGlu5 antagonist methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)-pyridine (MPEP; 0.1-1 microM) did not exhibit neuroprotection in any of these in vitro models. Incubation with the nonselective mGlu1 and mGlu5 agonist 3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine (3,5-DHPG; 300 microM) but not with the mGlu5 agonist (RS)-2-chloro-5-hydroxyphenylglycine (CHPG; 1 mM) enhanced the severity of OGD-induced neuronal damage. In gerbils subjected to global ischemia, intracerebroventricular administration of AIDA (100 nmol two times) or CBPG (300 nmol, two times) afforded consistent protection against CA1 pyramidal cell death, whereas MPEP (10 pmol i.c.v two times and 10 mg/kg i.p two times) failed to reduce postischemic hippocampal damage. Our results suggest that activation of mGlu1 but not mGlu5 receptor contributes to postischemic neuronal injury.