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Published on: August 18, 2008
Interaction of gacyclidine enantiomers with 'non-NMDA' binding sites in the rat central nervous system
H Hirbec1, J M Kamenka, A Privat
1INSERM U336 DPVSN, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie, 8, rue de l'école normale, 34296, cedex 5, Montpellier, France.
Abstract:
Gacyclidine, a channel blocker of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR), exhibits potent neuroprotective properties and a low self-neurotoxicity. Preventing its interaction with NMDARs we demonstrate, through the use of its enantiomers, that gacyclidine also interacts with other ('non-NMDA') binding sites. The autoradiographic study showed that these sites displayed a uniform specific binding in the forebrain and a more discrete distribution in the molecular layer of the cerebellum. The 'non-NMDA' binding sites could exert a modulatory control on glutamatergic neurotransmission.
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