HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by LOUZADA, P. R. Articles by FERREIRA, S. T. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by LOUZADA, P. R. Articles by FERREIRA, S. T.

Taurine prevents the neurotoxicity of ß-amyloid and glutamate receptor agonists: activation of GABA receptors and possible implications for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders

PAULO ROBERTO LOUZADA, ANDRÉA C. PAULA LIMA, DAYDE L. MENDONÇA-SILVA^*, FRANÇOIS NOËL^*, FERNANDO G. DE MELLO and SÉRGIO T. FERREIRA¹

Departamento de Bioquímica Médica and
^* Departamento de Farmacologia Básica e Clínica, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas,
Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-590, Brasil

¹Correspondence: Departamento de Bioquímica Médica, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-590, Brasil. E-mail: ferreira{at}bioqmed.ufrj.br

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and several other neurological disorders have been linked to the overactivation of glutamatergic transmission and excitotoxicity as a common pathway of neuronal injury. The ß-amyloid peptide (Aß) is centrally related to the pathogenesis of AD, and previous reports have demonstrated that the blockade of glutamate receptors prevents Aß–induced neuronal death. We show that taurine, a ß-amino acid found at high concentrations in the brain, protects chick retinal neurons in culture against the neurotoxicity of Aß and glutamate receptor agonists. The protective effect of taurine is not mediated by interaction with glutamate receptors, as demonstrated by binding studies using radiolabeled glutamate receptor ligands. The neuroprotective action of taurine is blocked by picrotoxin, an antagonist of GABA_A receptors. GABA and the GABA_A receptor agonists phenobarbital and melatonin also protect neurons against Aß-induced neurotoxicity. These results suggest that activation of GABA receptors decreases neuronal vulnerability to excitotoxic damage and that pharmacological manipulation of the excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter tonus may protect neurons against a variety of insults. GABAergic transmission may represent a promising target for the treatment of AD and other neurological disorders in which excitotoxicity plays a relevant role.—Louzada, P. R., Lima, A. C. P., Mendonça-Silva, D. L., Noël, F., de Mello, F. G., Ferreira, S. T. Taurine prevents the neurotoxicity of ß-amyloid and glutamate receptor agonists: activation of GABA receptors and possible implications for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders.

Key Words: amyloid • neuroprotection

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F. Jia, M. Yue, D. Chandra, A. Keramidas, P. A. Goldstein, G. E. Homanics, and N. L. Harrison Taurine Is a Potent Activator of Extrasynaptic GABAA Receptors in the Thalamus J. Neurosci., January 2, 2008; 28(1): 106 - 115. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. Cantarella, C. Bucolo, G. Di Benedetto, S. Pezzino, L. Lempereur, R. Calvagna, S. Clementi, P. Pavone, L. Fiore, and R. Bernardini Protective effects of the sigma agonist Pre-084 in the rat retina Br. J. Ophthalmol., October 1, 2007; 91(10): 1382 - 1384. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. Szegedi, G. Juhasz, E. Rozsa, G. Juhasz-Vedres, Z. Datki, L. Fulop, Z. Bozso, A. Lakatos, I. Laczko, T. Farkas, et al. Endomorphin-2, an endogenous tetrapeptide, protects against A{beta}1-42 in vitro and in vivo FASEB J, June 1, 2006; 20(8): 1191 - 1193. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. H. Magdesian, A. A. Nery, A. H. B. Martins, M. A. Juliano, L. Juliano, H. Ulrich, and S. T. Ferreira Peptide Blockers of the Inhibition of Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors by Amyloid {beta} J. Biol. Chem., September 2, 2005; 280(35): 31085 - 31090. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]