Toxic synergism between quinolinic acid and organic acids accumulating in glutaric acidemia type I and in disorders of propionate metabolism in rat brain synaptosomes: Relevance for metabolic acidemias.

The brain of children affected by organic acidemias develop acute neurodegeneration linked to accumulation of endogenous toxic metabolites like glutaric (GA), 3-hydroxyglutaric (3-OHGA), methylmalonic (MMA) and propionic (PA) acids. Excitotoxic and oxidative events are involved in the toxic patterns elicited by these organic acids, although their single actions cannot explain the extent of brain damage observed in organic acidemias. The characterization of co-adjuvant factors involved in the magnification of early toxic processes evoked by these metabolites is essential to infer their actions in the human brain. Alterations in the kynurenine pathway (KP) - a metabolic route devoted to degrade tryptophan to form NAD(+) - produce increased levels of the excitotoxic metabolite quinolinic acid (QUIN), which has been involved in neurodegenerative disorders. Herein we investigated the effects of subtoxic concentrations of GA, 3-OHGA, MMA and PA, either alone or in combination with QUIN, on early toxic endpoints in rat brain synaptosomes. To establish specific mechanisms, we pre-incubated synaptosomes with different protective agents, including the endogenous N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist kynurenic acid (KA), the antioxidant S-allylcysteine (SAC) and the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME). While the incubation of synaptosomes with toxic metabolites at subtoxic concentrations produced no effects, their co-incubation (QUIN+GA, +3-OHGA, +MMA or +PA) decreased the mitochondrial function and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and lipid peroxidation. For all cases, this effect was partially prevented by KA and l-NAME, and completely avoided by SAC. These findings suggest that early damaging events elicited by organic acids involved in metabolic acidemias can be magnified by toxic synergism with QUIN, and this process is mostly mediated by oxidative stress, and in a lesser extent by excitotoxicity and nitrosative stress. Therefore, QUIN can be hypothesized to contribute to the pathophysiology of brain degeneration in children with metabolic acidemias.

Evidence for oxidative stress in tissues derived from succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase-deficient mice.

Animal models of inborn errors of metabolism are useful for investigating the pathogenesis associated with the corresponding human disease. Since the mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase (SSADH) deficiency (Aldh5a1; OMIM 271980) are still not established, in the present study we evaluated the tissue antioxidant defences and lipid peroxidation in various cerebral structures (cortex, cerebellum, thalamus and hippocampus) and in the liver of SSADH-deficient mice. The parameters analysed were total radical-trapping antioxidant potential (TRAP) and glutathione (GSH) levels, the activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), as well as thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS). We first observed that the tissue nonenzymatic antioxidant defences were significantly reduced in the SSADH-deficient animals, particularly in the liver (decreased TRAP and GSH) and in the cerebral cortex (decreased GSH), as compared to the wild-type mice. Furthermore, SOD activity was significantly increased in the liver and cerebellum, whereas the activity of CAT was significantly higher in the thalamus. In contrast, GPx activity was significantly diminished in the hippocampus. Finally, we observed that lipid peroxidation (TBARS levels) was markedly increased in the liver and cerebral cortex, reflecting a high lipid oxidative damage in these tissues. Our data showing an imbalance between tissue antioxidant defences and oxidative attack strongly indicate that oxidative stress is involved in the pathophysiology of SSADH deficiency in mice, and likely the corresponding human disorder.