N-Acetyl-L-aspartyl-L-glutamate changes functional and structural properties of rat blood-brain barrier.

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Pliss L, Jezova D, Mares V, Balcar VJ, St'astny F

N-Acetyl-L-aspartyl-L-glutamate changes functional and structural properties of rat blood-brain barrier.

Neurosci Lett. 2002 Jan 11;317(2):85-8.

PubMed ID

11755246 [ View in PubMed

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Abstract

Intracerebroventricular administration of N-acetyl-L-aspartyl-L-glutamate (NAAG), an agonist at group II metabotropic and NR1/NR2D-containing N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) ionotropic glutamate receptors, increased the permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to serum albumin in the striatum, but produced no similar effects in the entorhinal cortex or in the hippocampal formation. Electron microscopy showed that NAAG, but not its hydrolytic products L-glutamate and N-acetyl-L-aspartate, increased the number of transport vesicles in the hippocampal endothelial cells. Furthermore, immunocytochemistry detected NR2D subunits on hippocampal capillaries. Consequently, NAAG may have influenced the vesicular transport via NMDA receptors. There was, however, no correlation with the regional pattern of BBB changes (increased permeability in the striatum) that, in turn, could not be directly related to the NAAG-induced neurodegeneration described previously in the hippocampus where no significant changes in BBB permeability were detected.

DrugBank Data that Cites this Article

Drug Targets

Drug	Target	Kind	Organism	Pharmacological Action	Actions
Glutamic acid	Glutamate receptor ionotropic, NMDA 2D	Protein	Humans	Unknown	Not Available	Details