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Effects of D-(-)-aminophosphonovalerate on behavioral and histological changes induced by systemic kainic acid
W Lason1, J N Simpson, J F McGinty
1Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858-4354.
Neuroscience Letters
|April 22, 1988
Abstract:
In rats, the seizures induced by systemic kainic acid (KA) are followed by extensive neuronal damage, notably in the hippocampal region. We report that the specific N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, D-(-)-aminophosphonovalerate (D(-)APV), given i.c.v. prior to or 2 h after i.p. KA injection markedly protected CA1 but not other hippocampal neurons against degeneration. In contrast, D(-)APV had no effect on KA-induced wet dog shakes or on behavioral seizures. We conclude that NMDA receptors participate in the neurotoxic but not in the behavioral effects of systemic KA.