The neuroprotective properties of the superoxide dismutase mimetic tempol correlate with its ability to reduce pathological glutamate release in a rodent model of stroke.

The contribution of oxidative stress to ischemic brain damage is well established. Nevertheless, for unknown reasons, several clinically tested antioxidant therapies have failed to show benefits in human stroke. Based on our previous in vitro work, we hypothesized that the neuroprotective potency of antioxidants is related to their ability to limit the release of the excitotoxic amino acids glutamate and aspartate. We explored the effects of two antioxidants, tempol and edaravone, on amino acid release in the brain cortex, in a rat model of transient occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCAo). Amino acid levels were quantified using a microdialysis approach, with the probe positioned in the ischemic penumbra as verified by a laser Doppler technique. Two-hour MCAo triggered a dramatic increase in the levels of glutamate, aspartate, taurine, and alanine. Microdialysate delivery of 10mM tempol reduced the amino acid release by 60-80%, whereas matching levels of edaravone had no effect. In line with these data, an intracerebroventricular injection of tempol but not edaravone (500 nmol each, 15 min before MCAo) reduced infarction volumes by ~50% and improved neurobehavioral outcomes. In vitro assays showed that tempol was superior at removing superoxide anion, whereas edaravone was more potent at scavenging hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical, and peroxynitrite. Overall, our data suggest that the neuroprotective properties of tempol are probably related to its ability to reduce tissue levels of the superoxide anion and pathological glutamate release and, in such a way, limit progression of brain infarction within ischemic penumbra. These new findings may be instrumental in developing new antioxidant therapies for treatment of stroke.

DCPIB, the proposed selective blocker of volume-regulated anion channels, inhibits several glutamate transport pathways in glial cells.

4-(2-Butyl-6,7-dichloro-2-cyclopentyl-indan-1-on-5-yl) oxobutyric acid (DCPIB) was identified as the selective blocker of volume-regulated anion channels (VRAC). VRAC are permeable to small inorganic and organic anions, including the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. In recent years DCPIB has been increasingly used for probing the physiologic and pathologic roles of VRAC and was found to potently suppress pathologic glutamate release in cerebral ischemia. Because ischemic glutamate release can be mediated by a plethora of mechanisms, in this study we explored the selectivity of DCPIB toward the majority of previously identified glutamate transporters and permeability pathways. l-[(3)H]glutamate, d-[(3)H]aspartate, and l-[(14)C]cystine were used to trace amino acid release and uptake. We found that in addition to its well-characterized effect on VRAC, DCPIB potently inhibited glutamate release via connexin hemichannels and glutamate uptake via the glutamate transporter GLT-1 in rat glial cells. In contrast, DCPIB had no direct effect on vesicular glutamate release from rat brain synaptosomes or the cystine/glutamate exchange in astrocytes. The compound did not affect the astrocytic glutamate transporter GLAST, nor did it block glutamate release via the P2X(7)/pannexin permeability pathway. The ability of DCPIB to directly block connexin hemichannels was confirmed using a gene-specific siRNA knockdown approach. Overall, our data demonstrate that DCPIB influences several glutamate transport pathways and that its effects on VRAC in vivo should be verified using additional pharmacological controls.