Highlighted paper selected by Editor-in-chief Nicergoline Enhances Glutamate Uptake via Glutamate Transporters in Rat Cortical Synaptosomes

To elucidate the mechanisms of neuroprotective action of nicergoline, we examined its effect on glutamate transport in rat cortical synaptosomes and cloned glutamate transporters. In synaptosomes, nicergoline enhanced the glutamate uptake at 1-10 μM in standard medium and suppressed the increase of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin 2004, Vol.27 (6), p.817-820
Main Authors: Atsushi NISHIDA, Hiroshi IWATA, Yukitsuka KUDO, Tsutomu KOBAYASHI, Yuzo MATSUOKA, Yoshikatsu KANAI, Hitoshi ENDOU
Format: Article
Language:Japanese
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:To elucidate the mechanisms of neuroprotective action of nicergoline, we examined its effect on glutamate transport in rat cortical synaptosomes and cloned glutamate transporters. In synaptosomes, nicergoline enhanced the glutamate uptake at 1-10 μM in standard medium and suppressed the increase of extracellular glutamate by reversed transport in low Na+ medium. Apparent increase of extracellular glutamate concentration by dihydrokinate, an inhibitor of glial glutamate transporter GLT-1, was antagonized by nicergoline. In Xenopus oocytes expressing mouse neuronal glutamate transporter (mEAAC1), the glutamate-induced inward current was enhanced by nicergoline. These results suggest that nicergoline reduces the extracellular glutamate concentration through its effect on glutamate transporters.
ISSN:0918-6158