Enhanced hippocampal long-term potentiation in rats after chronic exposure to homocysteine

• Published in: Neuroscience letters Vol. 373; no. 2; pp. 119 - 124
• Main Authors: Christie, Louisa A., Riedel, Gernot, Algaidi, Sami A., Whalley, Lawrence J., Platt, Bettina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 10.01.2005; Elsevier
• Subjects: Alzheimer's disease; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hippocampus; Hippocampus - drug effects; Hippocampus - physiology; Homocysteine - pharmacology; Long-Term Potentiation - drug effects; Long-Term Potentiation - physiology; LTP; Male; Medical sciences; Neurodegeneration; Neurology; Neuronal Plasticity - drug effects; Neuronal Plasticity - physiology; Nutrition; Rats; Synaptic plasticity; Synaptic Transmission - drug effects; Synaptic Transmission - physiology; Time Factors; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; LTP; Nutrition; Neurodegeneration; Alzheimer's disease; Hippocampus; Synaptic plasticity; Nervous system diseases; Rat; Alzheimer disease; Rodentia; Central nervous system; Cerebral disorder; Vertebrata; Chronic; Mammalia; Animal; Central nervous system disease; Degenerative disease; Degeneration
• ISSN: 0304-3940; 1872-7972
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2004.09.072

Homocysteine (HCY) is a sulphur-containing amino acid, which has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, and is widely reported to enhance vulnerability of neurons to oxidative, excitotoxic and apoptotic injury via perturbed calcium homeostasis, activation of N-methyl- d-aspartate (NMDA) and metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of HCY on long-term potentiation (LTP) and synaptic transmission after chronic 4-week systemic exposure to HCY in adult rats, and possible longer-term effects of HCY 4 weeks after exposure had ended. Contrary to expectation, LTP was enhanced, not retarded after chronic HCY exposure relative to controls. Basic synaptic transmission was not affected at this time point. However, after the 4-week wash out period, a decrease in speed of basic synaptic transmission emerged, and LTP was still partially enhanced, particularly for time points >30 min post-tetanus. In summary, we provide first evidence for sustained HCY-induced changes in hippocampal plasticity and a slow-onset disruption in synaptic transmission. These changes may reflect the suggested (excito-)toxicity of HCY and its putative contribution to neurodegenerative disease.