Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
2002-5-15
pubmed:abstractText
Phenformin is a biguanide compound that can modulate glucose metabolism and promote weight loss and is therefore used to treat patients with type-2 diabetes. While phenformin may indirectly affect neurons by changing peripheral energy metabolism, the possibility that it directly affects neurons has not been examined. We now report that phenformin suppresses responses of hippocampal neurons to glutamate and decreases their vulnerability to excitotoxicity. Pretreatment of embryonic rat hippocampal cell cultures with phenformin protected neurons against glutamate-induced death, which was correlated with reduced calcium responses to glutamate. Immunoblot analyses showed that levels of the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) subunits NR1 and NR2A were significantly decreased in neurons exposed to phenformin, whereas levels of the AMPA receptor subunit GluR1 were unchanged. Whole-cell patch clamp analyses revealed that NMDA-induced currents were decreased, and AMPA-induced currents were unchanged in neurons pretreated with phenformin. Our data demonstrate that phenformin can protect neurons against excitotoxicity by differentially modulating levels of NMDA receptor subunits in a manner that decreases glutamate-induced calcium influx. These findings show that phenformin can modulate neuronal responses to glutamate, and suggest possible use of phenformin and related compounds in the prevention and/or treatment of neurodegenerative conditions.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/chemical/Adenosine Triphosphate, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/chemical/Calcium, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/chemical/Glutamic Acid, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/chemical/Hypoglycemic Agents, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/chemical/N-Methylaspartate, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/chemical/NR1 NMDA receptor, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/chemical/NR2A NMDA receptor, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/chemical/Neuroprotective Agents, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/chemical/Phenformin, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/chemical/Receptors, AMPA, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/chemical/Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/chemical/alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-iso..., http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/chemical/glutamate receptor ionotropic...
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
May
pubmed:issn
0014-4886
pubmed:author
pubmed:copyrightInfo
Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
175
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
161-7
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-10-13
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:12009768-Adenosine Triphosphate, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-Animals, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-Calcium, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-Cells, Cultured, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-Cytoprotection, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-Glutamic Acid, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-Hippocampus, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-Hypoglycemic Agents, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-Immunoblotting, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-N-Methylaspartate, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-Neurons, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-Neuroprotective Agents, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-Patch-Clamp Techniques, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-Phenformin, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-Rats, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-Rats, Sprague-Dawley, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-Receptors, AMPA, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate, pubmed-meshheading:12009768-alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid
pubmed:year
2002
pubmed:articleTitle
Phenformin suppresses calcium responses to glutamate and protects hippocampal neurons against excitotoxicity.
pubmed:affiliation
Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging Gerontology Research Center, 5600 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article