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Early kynurenergic impairment in Huntington's Disease and in a transgenic animal model

  • Paolo Guidetti
  • , P. Hemachandra Reddy
  • , Danilo A. Tagle
  • , Robert Schwarcz

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Several neuroactive metabolites of the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan degradation have been speculatively linked to the pathophysiology of Huntington's Disease (HD). Here we demonstrate that the levels of two of these metabolites, the free radical generator 3-hydroxykynurenine (3HK) and the neuroprotectant kynurenate (KYNA), are increased in the neostriatum of stage 1 HD patients and in the brain of mice transgenic for full-length mutant huntingtin. In both cases, the elevation in 3HK was far more pronounced, resulting in significant increases in the 3HK/KYNA ratios. These data suggest that abnormal kynurenine pathway metabolism may play a role during the early phases of the neurodegenerative process in HD. Copyright (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)233-235
Number of pages3
JournalNeuroscience Letters
Volume283
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 14 2000
Externally publishedYes

Funding

We thank Dr R. McMahon for help with the statistical analysis and Mrs Joyce Burgess for excellent secretarial assistance. This work was supported by USPHS grants NS 28236 (to RS) and MH/NS 31862 (Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center), a grant from the Hereditary Disease Foundation (to DAT), and a fellowship from the Huntington's Disease Society of America (to PHR).

FundersFunder number
Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center
National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental HealthR01MH031862
Huntington's Disease Society of America
Hereditary Disease Foundation
U.S. Public Health ServiceNS 28236, MH/NS 31862

    Keywords

    • 3-Hydroxykynurenine
    • Excitotoxicity
    • Free radicals
    • Huntingtin
    • Kynurenic acid
    • Neurodegeneration

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Neuroscience

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