Kynurenic acid protects against the homocysteine-induced impairment of endothelial cells.
Journal Title: Pharmacological Reports - Year 2009, Vol 61, Issue 4
Abstract
Kynurenic acid (KYNA) is a tryptophan metabolite produced in the kynurenine pathway. In the central nervous system, KYNA exerts neuroprotective and anticonvulsant effects by mechanisms associated with its antagonist activity against the ionotropic glutamate and alpha-7 nicotinic receptors. Its presence has been documented not only in cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissue, but also in the periphery. However, KYNA's function outside the brain has not been fully elucidated. In this study, experiments performed on bovine aorta endothelial cell cultures showed for the first time that KYNA exerts a protective activity against the homocysteine-induced impairment of endothelial cells. The addition of KYNA significantly increased endothelial cell migration and proliferation, which is diminished by homocysteine. KYNA also protected cells against homocysteine-induced cytotoxicity. Our data suggest that increasing KYNA levels in blood vessels may have a significant impact on the endothelium in hyperhomocysteinemia.
Authors and Affiliations
Katarzyna Wejksza, Wojciech Rzeski, Waldemar Turski
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP96886
- DOI -
- Views 92
- Downloads 0
Inhibition of restraint-induced neuroendocrine and serotonergic responses by buspirone in rats.
The effects of buspirone (0.5 mg/kg) on the neuroendocrine and serotonergic responses to stress were monitored in rats. Exposure to 2-h of restraint stress increased circulating levels of corticosterone, noradrenaline an...
Biotechnology and genetic engineering in the new drug development. Part III. Biocatalysis, metabolic engineering and molecular modelling.
Industrial biotechnology has been defined as the use and application of biotechnology for the sustainable processing and production of chemicals, materials and fuels. It makes use of biocatalysts such as microbial commun...
Epigallocatechin gallate accelerates healing of indomethacin-induced stomach ulcers in mice.
Management of the gastric toxicity of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) remains a crucial problem because the commercially available drugs have side effects and are often expensive. Therefore, we examined th...
Epicutaneous immunization with hapten-conjugated protein antigen alleviates contact sensitivity mediated by three different types of effector cells.
Background: Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is a common clinical condition in industrialized countries and often causes occupational diseases. Animal model of contact sensitivity (CS) is commonly used to study ACD in m...
Therapeutic tricyclic antidepressant drug monitoring in younger and older depressive patients.
The present study shows the evaluation of clinical state and serum level of tricyclic antidepressants in thirty-eight depressive younger and elderly patients during 8-week observation. We observed no statistically signif...