TY - JOUR
T1 - Regional decreases of free D-aspartate levels in Alzheimer's disease
AU - D'Aniello, Antimo
AU - Lee, John M.
AU - Petrucelli, Leonard
AU - Di Fiore, M. Maddalena
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by a grant from CNR, Italy.
Copyright:
Copyright 2007 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 1998/6/19
Y1 - 1998/6/19
N2 - N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors have been shown to be involved in learning and memory processes. In Alzheimer's disease, there is a reduction of NMDA receptors. Since D-aspartate is an endogenous agonist for the NMDA receptor we hypothesized that if there are reduced levels of this amino acid in the AIzheimer's brain this could raise the reduction of NMDA receptor signal transduction system and contribute to the marked memory deficits seen in these patients. Therefore, using a chromatographic HPLC method, the regional distribution of free D-aspartate levels in post, mortem human brain samples from patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n = 5) and age-matched controls (n = 5) were determined. We found that the levels of D-aspartate are significantly lower in Alzheimer's patients compared to controls (range: from -35 to -47%; P < 0.01). However, no differences were found in the cerebellum, a region spared from the neuropathological changes of AD. These data suggest that decreased levels of D-aspartate could contribute to a lower NMDA receptor function and consequently contribute to the memory deficits seen in AD.
AB - N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors have been shown to be involved in learning and memory processes. In Alzheimer's disease, there is a reduction of NMDA receptors. Since D-aspartate is an endogenous agonist for the NMDA receptor we hypothesized that if there are reduced levels of this amino acid in the AIzheimer's brain this could raise the reduction of NMDA receptor signal transduction system and contribute to the marked memory deficits seen in these patients. Therefore, using a chromatographic HPLC method, the regional distribution of free D-aspartate levels in post, mortem human brain samples from patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n = 5) and age-matched controls (n = 5) were determined. We found that the levels of D-aspartate are significantly lower in Alzheimer's patients compared to controls (range: from -35 to -47%; P < 0.01). However, no differences were found in the cerebellum, a region spared from the neuropathological changes of AD. These data suggest that decreased levels of D-aspartate could contribute to a lower NMDA receptor function and consequently contribute to the memory deficits seen in AD.
KW - Alzheimer's disease
KW - High performance liquid chromatography
KW - N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptors
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U2 - 10.1016/S0304-3940(98)00451-0
DO - 10.1016/S0304-3940(98)00451-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 9697936
AN - SCOPUS:0344301898
SN - 0304-3940
VL - 250
SP - 131
EP - 134
JO - Neuroscience Letters
JF - Neuroscience Letters
IS - 2
ER -