Differential effect of beta-N-oxalylamino-L-alanine, the Lathyrus sativus neurotoxin, and (+/-)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate on the excitatory amino acid and taurine levels in the brain of freely moving rats.

We studied the effect of beta-oxalylamino-L-alanine, a glutamate analog present in Lathyrus sativus seeds and implicated in the etiopathogenesis of neurolathyrism, and (+/-)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate on the extracellular levels of aspartate, glutamate and taurine in the primary motor cortex of freely moving rats. We found that while both neurotoxins increase the level of aspartate and glutamate, only (+/-)-alpha(-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate is able to modulate the level of taurine. GYKI-52466, a non-competitive non-NMDA antagonist, inhibited beta-oxalylamino-L-alanine-induced increase of aspartate, but not that of glutamate. Conversely, this antagonist proved to be very efficient in blocking the stimulating effect of (+/-)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate on all three amino acids. We suggest that beta-oxalylamino-L-alanine increases the level of glutamate in vivo by a mechanism not connected to its effect on the non-NMDA receptors, which might involve the inhibition of glutamate transport. This would allow the excitatory neurotransmitter to reach a concentration sufficient to stimulate the non-NMDA receptors, which in their turn mediate the specific release of aspartate. Although the role of aspartate as a neurotransmitter is still under discussion, it might indeed amplify the excitotoxic cascade through its action on NMDA receptors. We speculate that this sequence of events might represent an important step in the molecular cascade leading to the appearance of the selective motoneuron degeneration in neurolathyrism.