Quinolinic acid accumulation during neuroinflammation. Does it imply excitotoxicity?

Effects of neuroactive metabolites of the tryptophan pathway on working memory and cortical thickness in schizophrenia

A number of tryptophan metabolites known to be neuroactive have been examined for their potential associations with cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Among these metabolites, kynurenic acid (KYNA), 5-hydroxyindole (5-HI), and quinolinic acid (QUIN) are documented in their diverse effects on α-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) and/or N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR), two of the receptor types thought to contribute to cognitive impairment in schizophrenia. In this study, serum levels of KYNA, 5-HI, and QUIN were measured in 195 patients with schizophrenia and in 70 healthy controls using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; cognitive performance in MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery and cortical thickness measured by magnetic resonance imaging were obtained. Patients with schizophrenia had significantly lower serum KYNA (p < 0.001) and QUIN (p = 0.02) levels, and increased 5-HI/KYNA (p < 0.001) and QUIN/KYNA ratios (p < 0.001) compared with healthy controls. Multiple linear regression showed that working memory was positively correlated with serum 5-HI levels (t = 2.10, p = 0.04), but inversely correlated with KYNA concentrations (t = -2.01, p = 0.05) in patients. Patients with high 5-HI and low KYNA had better working memory than other subgroups (p = 0.01). Higher 5-HI levels were associated with thicker left lateral orbitofrontal cortex (t = 3.71, p = 2.94 × 10^-4) in patients. The different effects of 5-HI and KYNA on working memory may appear consistent with their opposite receptor level mechanisms. Our findings appear to provide a new insight into the dynamic roles of tryptophan pathway metabolites on cognition, which may benefit novel therapeutic development that targets cognitive impairment in schizophrenia.

Role of Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide and Related Precursors as Therapeutic Targets for Age-Related Degenerative Diseases: Rationale, Biochemistry, Pharmacokinetics, and Outcomes

Significance: Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is an essential pyridine nucleotide that serves as an essential cofactor and substrate for a number of critical cellular processes involved in oxidative phosphorylation and ATP production, DNA repair, epigenetically modulated gene expression, intracellular calcium signaling, and immunological functions. NAD+ depletion may occur in response to either excessive DNA damage due to free radical or ultraviolet attack, resulting in significant poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) activation and a high turnover and subsequent depletion of NAD+, and/or chronic immune activation and inflammatory cytokine production resulting in accelerated CD38 activity and decline in NAD+ levels. Recent studies have shown that enhancing NAD+ levels can profoundly reduce oxidative cell damage in catabolic tissue, including the brain. Therefore, promotion of intracellular NAD+ anabolism represents a promising therapeutic strategy for age-associated degenerative diseases in general, and is essential to the effective realization of multiple benefits of healthy sirtuin activity. The kynurenine pathway represents the de novo NAD+ synthesis pathway in mammalian cells. NAD+ can also be produced by the NAD+ salvage pathway. Recent Advances: In this review, we describe and discuss recent insights regarding the efficacy and benefits of the NAD+ precursors, nicotinamide (NAM), nicotinic acid (NA), nicotinamide riboside (NR), and nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), in attenuating NAD+ decline in degenerative disease states and physiological aging. Critical Issues: Results obtained in recent years have shown that NAD+ precursors can play important protective roles in several diseases. However, in some cases, these precursors may vary in their ability to enhance NAD+ synthesis via their location in the NAD+ anabolic pathway. Increased synthesis of NAD+ promotes protective cell responses, further demonstrating that NAD+ is a regulatory molecule associated with several biochemical pathways. Future Directions: In the next few years, the refinement of personalized therapy for the use of NAD+ precursors and improved detection methodologies allowing the administration of specific NAD+ precursors in the context of patients' NAD+ levels will lead to a better understanding of the therapeutic role of NAD+ precursors in human diseases.

Microglia activation contributes to quinolinic acid-induced neuronal excitotoxicity through TNF-α

It has been reported that activation of NF-κB is involved in excitotoxicity; however, it is not fully understood how NF-κB contributes to excitotoxicity. The aim of this study is to investigate if NF-κB contributes to quinolinic acid (QA)-mediated excitotoxicity through activation of microglia. In the cultured primary cortical neurons and microglia BV-2 cells, the effects of QA on cell survival, NF-κB expression and cytokines production were investigated. The effects of BV-2-conditioned medium (BCM) on primary cortical neurons were examined. The effects of pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC), an inhibitor of NF-κB, and minocycline (MC), an inhibitor of microglia activation, on QA-induced excitotoxicity were assessed. QA-induced NF-κB activation and TNF-α secretion, and the roles of TNF-α in excitotoxicity were studied. QA at the concentration below 1 mM had no apparent toxic effects on cultured primary neurons or BV-2 cells. However, addition of QA-primed BCM to primary neurons did aggravate QA-induced excitotoxicity. The exacerbation of QA-induced excitotoxicity by BCM was partially ameliorated by inhibiting NF-κB and microglia activation. QA induced activation of NF-κB and upregulation of TNF-α in BV-2 cells. Addition of recombinant TNF-α mimicked QA-induced excitotoxic effects on neurons, and neutralizing TNF-α with specific antibodies partially abolished exacerbation of QA-induced excitotoxicity by BCM. These studies suggested that QA activated microglia and upregulated TNF-α through NF-κB pathway in microglia. The microglia-mediated inflammatory pathway contributed, at least in part, to QA-induced excitotoxicity.

The interplay between cytokines and the Kynurenine pathway in inflammation and atherosclerosis

The kynurenine pathway (KP) is the major metabolic route of tryptophan (Trp) metabolism. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO1), the enzyme responsible for the first and rate-limiting step in the pathway, as well as other enzymes in the pathway, have been shown to be highly regulated by cytokines. Hence, the KP has been implicated in several pathologic conditions, including infectious diseases, psychiatric disorders, malignancies, and autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases. Additionally, recent studies have linked the KP with atherosclerosis, suggesting that Trp metabolism could play an essential role in the maintenance of immune homeostasis in the vascular wall. This review summarizes experimental and clinical evidence of the interplay between cytokines and the KP and the potential role of the KP in cardiovascular diseases.

The role of inflammation in brain cancer

Malignant brain tumors are among the most lethal of human tumors, with limited treatment options currently available. A complex array of recurrent genetic and epigenetic changes has been observed in gliomas that collectively result in derangements of common cell signaling pathways controlling cell survival, proliferation, and invasion. One important determinant of gene expression is DNA methylation status, and emerging studies have revealed the importance of a recently identified demethylation pathway involving 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC). Diminished levels of the modified base 5hmC is a uniform finding in glioma cell lines and patient samples, suggesting a common defect in epigenetic reprogramming. Within the tumor microenvironment, infiltrating immune cells increase oxidative DNA damage, likely promoting both genetic and epigenetic changes that occur during glioma evolution. In this environment, glioma cells are selected that utilize multiple metabolic changes, including changes in the metabolism of the amino acids glutamate, tryptophan, and arginine. Whereas altered metabolism can promote the destruction of normal tissues, glioma cells exploit these changes to promote tumor cell survival and to suppress adaptive immune responses. Further understanding of these metabolic changes could reveal new strategies that would selectively disadvantage tumor cells and redirect host antitumor responses toward eradication of these lethal tumors.

Ianthellamide A, a selective kynurenine-3-hydroxylase inhibitor from the Australian marine sponge Ianthella quadrangulata

Ianthellamide A (1), a novel octopamine derivative, was isolated from the Australian marine sponge Ianthella quadrangulata. Compound 1 selectively inhibited the activity of kynurenine 3-hydroxylase with an IC(50) value of 1.5 μM. It also significantly increased the level of endogenous kynurenic acid in rat brain and hence has the potential as a neuroprotective agent in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

Kynurenine metabolites and migraine: experimental studies and therapeutic perspectives

Migraine is one of the commonest neurological disorders. Despite intensive research, its exact pathomechanism is still not fully understood and effective therapy is not always available. One of the key molecules involved in migraine is glutamate, whose receptors are found on the first-, second- and third-order trigeminal neurones and are also present in the migraine generators, including the dorsal raphe nucleus, nucleus raphe magnus, locus coeruleus and periaqueductal grey matter. Glutamate receptors are important in cortical spreading depression, which may be the electrophysiological correlate of migraine aura. The kynurenine metabolites, endogenous tryptophan metabolites, include kynurenic acid (KYNA), which exerts a blocking effect on ionotropic glutamate and α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Thus, KYNA and its derivatives may act as modulators at various levels of the pathomechanism of migraine. They can give rise to antinociceptive effects at the periphery, in the trigeminal nucleus caudalis, and may also act on migraine generators and cortical spreading depression. The experimental data suggest that KYNA or its derivatives might offer a novel approach to migraine therapy.

Effects of caffeic acid, rofecoxib, and their combination against quinolinic acid-induced behavioral alterations and disruption in glutathione redox status

OBJECTIVE

The neuroprotective roles of cyclooxygenase (COX) and lipooxygenase (LOX) inhibitors have been well documented. Quinolinic acid (QA) is a well-known excitotoxic agent that could induce behavioral, morphological and biochemical alterations similar with symptoms of Huntington's disease (HD), by stimulating NMDA receptors. However, the exact roles of COX and LOX inhibitors in HD have not yet been explained. The present study aims to elucidate the effects of caffeic acid (a specific inhibitor for LOX), rofecoxib (a specific inhibitor for COX-2), and their combination in ameliorating QA-induced neurotoxicity in rats.

METHODS

QA was injected into the right striatum of rats to induce neurotoxicity. Caffeic acid and rofecoxib were then orally administered separately. In the combination study, caffeic acid and rofecoxib were administered together. After that, a series of behavioral assessments were conducted to determine the effects of caffeic acid and rofecoxib, respectively, and the co-effect of caffeic acid and rofecoxib, against QA-induced neurotoxicity.

RESULTS

Intrastriatal QA administration (300 nmol) not only induced a significant reduction in body weight and motor incoordination, but also altered the redox status (decreased glutathione and increased oxidized glutathione level) in striatum, as compared to the sham group. Moreover, chronic treatment with caffeic acid (5 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg, respectively, p.o.) or rofecoxib (10 mg/kg, p.o.) could significantly attenuate QA-induced behavioral alterations and restore the redox status in striatum. However, at the dose of 2.5 mg/kg, caffeic acid did not show any significant effects on these parameters in QA-treated rats. Furthermore, the combination of rofecoxib (10 mg/kg) and caffeic acid (5 mg/kg) could significantly protect against QA neurotoxicity.

CONCLUSION

The in vivo study indicates that excitotoxic injury to the brain might affect oxidant/antioxidant equilibrium by eliciting changes in glutathione. Moreover, the LOX and the COX pathways may be both involved in quinolinic-induced neurotoxicity, which provides a promising target for HD treatment.

Evidence that quinolinic acid severely impairs energy metabolism through activation of NMDA receptors in striatum from developing rats

In the present study we investigated the effect of intrastriatal administration of 150 nmol quinolinic acid to young rats on critical enzyme activities of energy production and transfer, as well as on 14CO2 production from [1-14C]acetate at distinct periods after quinolinic acid injection. We observed that quinolinic acid injection significantly inhibited complexes II (50%), III (46%) and II-III (35%), as well as creatine kinase (27%), but not the activities of complexes I and IV and citrate synthase in striatum prepared 12 h after treatment. In contrast, no alterations of these enzyme activities were observed 3 or 6 h after quinolinic acid administration. 14CO2 production from [1-14C]acetate was also significantly inhibited (27%) by quinolinic acid in rat striatum prepared 12 h after injection. However, no alterations of these activities were observed in striatum homogenates incubated in the presence of 100 microm quinolinic acid . Pretreatment with the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 and with creatine totally prevented all inhibitory effects elicited by quinolinic acid administration. In addition, alpha-tocopherol plus ascorbate and the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor l-NAME completely abolished the inhibitions provoked by quinolinic acid on creatine kinase and complex III. Furthermore, pyruvate pretreatment totally blocked the inhibitory effects of quinolinic acid injection on complex II activity and partially prevented quinolinic acid-induced creatine kinase inhibition. These observations strongly indicate that oxidative phosphorylation, the citric acid cycle and cellular energy transfer are compromised by high concentrations of quinolinic acid in the striatum of young rats and that these inhibitory effects were probably mediated by NMDA stimulation.

Deprenyl enhances the striatal neuronal damage produced by quinolinic acid

We have tested the effect of deprenyl on the neurotoxicity induced by the injection of quinolinic acid within the striatum. Deprenyl was unable to prevent these quinolinic acid-induced damages, but enhanced the loss of several gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) positive subpopulations, the loss of the astroglial population and the activation of microglia produced by quinolinic acid. These effects are produced by deprenyl potentiation of dopamine actions since dopamine depletion produced by previous injection of the dopaminergic toxin 6-hydroxydopamine within the medial forebrain bundle overcomes deprenyl effects and the involvement of dopamine in the quinolinic acid-induced toxicity in striatum. In these conditions, quinolinic acid toxic action in striatum is significantly lower and similar in the animals treated with or without deprenyl. All these data justify why deprenyl worsen some pathological signals of disorders involving excitotoxicity. This also may be involved in other secondary effects described for deprenyl.

Quinolinic acid reduces the antioxidant defenses in cerebral cortex of young rats

Quinolinic acid (QA), the major metabolite of the kynurenine pathway, is found at increased concentrations in brain of patients affected by various common neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Recently, a role for QA in the pathophysiology of glutaric acidemia type I (GAI) was postulated. Considering that oxidative stress has been recently involved in the pathophysiology of the brain injury in these neurodegenerative disorders; in the present study, we investigated the in vitro effect of QA on various parameters of oxidative stress, namely total radical-trapping antioxidant potential (TRAP), total antioxidant reactivity (TAR), glutathione (GSH) levels, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBA-RS) measurement and chemiluminescence in cerebral cortex of 30-day-old rats. QA diminished the brain non-enzymatic antioxidant defenses, as determined by the reduced levels of TRAP, TAR and GSH. We also observed that QA significantly increased TBA-RS and chemiluminescence. Therefore, in vitro QA-treatment of rat cortical supernatants induced oxidative stress by reducing the tissue antioxidant defenses and increasing lipid oxidative damage, probably as a result of free radical generation. In addition, we examined the effect of QA on TBA-RS levels in the presence of glutaric acid (GA) and 3-hydroxyglutaric acid (3HGA), which are accumulated in GAI, as well as in the presence of 3-hydroxykynurenine (3HK), a tryptophan metabolite of the kynurenine pathway with antioxidant properties. It was verified that the single addition of QA or GA plus 3HGA to the incubation medium significantly stimulated in vitro lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, 3HK completely prevented the TBA-RS increase caused by the simultaneous addition of QA, GA and 3HGA. Taken together, it may be presumed that QA induces oxidative stress in the brain, which may be associated, at least in part, with the pathophysiology of central nervous system abnormalities of neurodegenerative diseases in which QA accumulates.

Astrocytosis, microglia activation, oligodendrocyte degeneration, and pyknosis following acute spinal cord injury

Glial activation and degeneration are important outcomes in the pathophysiology of acute brain and spinal cord injury (SCI). Our main goal was to investigate the pattern of glial activation and degeneration during secondary degeneration in both gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) following SCI. Adult rats were deeply anesthetized and injected with 20 nmol of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) into the ventral horn of rat spinal cord (SC) on T7. Animals were perfused after survival times of 1, 3, and 7 days. Ten-micrometer sections were submitted to immunocytochemistry for activated macrophages/microglia, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and myelin. Astrocyte activation was more intense in the vacuolated white matter than in gray matter and was first noticed in this former region. Microglial activation was more intense in the gray matter and was clear by 24 h following NMDA injection. Both astrocytosis and microglial activation were more intense in the later survival times. Conspicuous WM vacuolation was present mainly at the 3-day survival time and decreased by 7 days after the primary damage. Quantitative analysis revealed an increase in the number of pyknotic bodies mainly at the 7-day survival time in both ventral and lateral white matter. These pyknotic bodies were frequently found inside white matter vacuoles like for degenerating oligodendrocytes. These results suggest a differential pattern of astrocytosis and microglia activation for white and gray matter following SCI. This phenomenon can be related to the different pathological outcomes for this two SC regions following acute injury.

S-Allylcysteine, a garlic-derived antioxidant, ameliorates quinolinic acid-induced neurotoxicity and oxidative damage in rats

Excitotoxicity elicited by overactivation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors is a well-known characteristic of quinolinic acid-induced neurotoxicity. However, since many experimental evidences suggest that the actions of quinolinic acid also involve reactive oxygen species formation and oxidative stress as major features of its pattern of toxicity, the use of antioxidants as experimental tools against the deleterious effects evoked by this neurotoxin becomes more relevant. In this work, we investigated the effect of a garlic-derived compound and well-characterized free radical scavenger, S-allylcysteine, on quinolinic acid-induced striatal neurotoxicity and oxidative damage. For this purpose, rats were administered S-allylcysteine (150, 300 or 450 mg/kg, i.p.) 30 min before a single striatal infusion of 1 microl of quinolinic acid (240 nmol). The lower dose (150 mg/kg) of S-allylcysteine resulted effective to prevent only the quinolinate-induced lipid peroxidation (P < 0.05), whereas the systemic administration of 300 mg/kg of this compound to rats decreased effectively the quinolinic acid-induced oxidative injury measured as striatal reactive oxygen species formation (P < 0.01) and lipid peroxidation (P < 0.05). S-Allylcysteine (300 mg/kg) also prevented the striatal decrease of copper/zinc-superoxide dismutase activity (P < 0.05) produced by quinolinate. In addition, S-allylcysteine, at the same dose tested, was able to reduce the quinolinic acid-induced neurotoxicity evaluated as circling behavior (P < 0.01) and striatal morphologic alterations. In summary, S-allylcysteine ameliorates the in vivo quinolinate striatal toxicity by a mechanism related to its ability to: (a) scavenge free radicals; (b) decrease oxidative stress; and (c) preserve the striatal activity of Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn-SOD). This antioxidant effect seems to be responsible for the preservation of the morphological and functional integrity of the striatum.

Brain plasticity and microglia: is transsynaptic glial activation in the thalamus after limb denervation linked to cortical plasticity and central sensitisation?

Microglia are a subset of tissue-macrophages that are ubiquitously distributed throughout the entire CNS. In health, they remain largely dormant until activated by a pathological stimulus. The availability of more sensitive detection techniques has allowed the early measurement of the cell responses of microglia in areas with few signs of active pathology. Subtle neuronal injury can induce microglial activation in retrograde and anterograde projection areas remote from the primary lesion focus. There is also evidence that in cases of long-standing abnormal neuronal activity, such as in patients after limb amputation with chronic pain and phantom sensations, glial activation may occur transsynaptically in the thalamus. Such neuronally driven glial responses may be related to the emergence central sensitisation in chronic pain states or plasticity phenomena in the cerebral cortex. It is suggested, that such persistent low-level microglial activation is not adequately described by the traditional concept of phagocyte-mediated tissue damage that largely evolved from studies of acute brain lesion models or acute human brain pathology. Due to the presence of signal molecules that can act on neurons and microglia alike, the communication between neurons and microglia is likely to be bi-directional. Persistent subtle microglial activity may modulate basal synaptic transmission and thus neuronal functioning either directly or through the interaction with astrocytes. The activation of microglia leads to the emergence of microstructural as well as functional compartments in which neurokines, interleukins and other signalling molecules introduce a qualitatively different, more open mode of cell-cell communication that is normally absent from the healthy adult brain. This 'neo-compartmentalisation', however, occurs along predictable neuronal pathways within which these glial changes are themselves under the modulatory influence of neurons or other glial cells and are subject to the evolving state of the pathology. Depending on the disease state, yet relatively independent of the specific disease cause, fluctuations in the modulatory influence by non-neuronal cells may form the cellular basis for the variability of brain plasticity phenomena, i.e. the plasticity of plasticity.