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Does pyruvate prevent acrylamide neurotoxicity? Implications for disease pathogenesis

A B Sterman, D J Panasci, W Persons

    Experimental Neurology
    |October 1, 1983
    PubMed

    Insights

    This study investigated if blocking glycolysis causes nerve damage from acrylamide. Treating rats with sodium pyruvate did not significantly prevent acrylamide neurotoxicity, suggesting other mechanisms are involved.

    Area of Science:

    • Neuroscience
    • Toxicology
    • Biochemistry

    Background:

    • Acrylamide monomer is a neurotoxin that causes nerve fiber degeneration.
    • The hypothesis is that this degeneration results from inactivation of axonal glycolytic enzymes.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To evaluate the hypothesis that neurotoxin-induced nerve fiber degeneration results from inactivation of axonal glycolytic enzymes.
    • To determine if sodium pyruvate can ameliorate acrylamide neurotoxicity by bypassing glycolysis blockade.

    Main Methods:

    • Rats were intoxicated with acrylamide monomer.
    • Treated intoxicated rats with sodium pyruvate.
    • Assessed neurobehavioral and morphologic measures of neurotoxicity.
    • Established that pyruvate alone did not affect behavior.

    Main Results:

    • Pyruvate treatment significantly affected only one of eight neurobehavioral measures in acrylamide-intoxicated rats.
    • Other neurobehavioral measures showed similar trends but were not statistically significant.
    • Morphologic examination of dorsal root ganglion cell bodies and peripheral nerves showed no effect of pyruvate.

    Conclusions:

    • Inactivation of glycolytic enzymes alone is not a sufficient explanation for acrylamide-induced neurotoxicity.
    • Further research is needed to elucidate the complete pathogenesis of acrylamide neurotoxicity.

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