Role of glutamatergic system in nerve agent intoxication

Our recent studies concerning soman-induced seizures mechanisms and subsequent brain damage are reviewed. (1) Seizure activity was associated with transient increases of extracellular concentrations of acetylcholine (ACh) and with long-lasting releases of glutamate (Glu) in all limbic areas studied. (2) Preventive intraseptal application of atropine abolished the hippocampal increases of extracellular AChi and Glu indicating a key role of septum in triggering seizure activity. (3) Early increases of hippocampal AMPA receptor binding occurred before activation of NMDA receptors. (4) Pretreatment with NBQX, an antagonist of AMPA receptor, prevented convulsions and brain damage even without atropine. In the same conditions, no protection was afforded by TCP, a non-competitive antagonist of the NMDA receptor. (5) On the contrary, in the presence of pyridostigmine and atropine, TCP blocked the seizures induced by 2 x LD50 of soman. The anticonvulsant potency of TCP was particularly obvious when administered curatively. (6) Mossy fibers sprouting takes place in the supragranular-molecular layers of rat hippocampus long after brain injury associated with abnormal neuronal excitability. (7) Altogether, it appears that an AMPA component is involved in combination with cholinergic mechanisms in initiating seizures. A subsequent and long-lasting recruitment of NMDA receptors is then essential in sustaining the seizures.more » New anticonvulsant and neuroprotective approaches using Glu antagonists against nerve agents intoxication are discussed.« less