| Title | Amino acids in cerebrospinal and brain interstitial fluid in experimental pneumococcal meningitis. | | Author(s) | Guerra-Romero L, Tureen JH, Fournier MA, Makrides V, Täuber MG | | Institution | Infectious Diseases Laboratories, San Francisco General Hospital, California. | | Source | Pediatr Res 1993 May; 33(5):510-3. | | MeSH | Amino Acids
Animals
Brain
Disease Models, Animal
Extracellular Space
Glutamates
Glutamic Acid
Meningitis, Pneumococcal
Rabbits
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
| | Abstract | Excitatory amino acids are increasingly implicated in the pathogenesis of neuronal injury induced by a variety of CNS insults, such as ischemia, trauma, hypoglycemia, and epilepsy. Little is known about the role of amino acids in causing CNS injury in bacterial meningitis. Several amino acids were measured in cerebrospinal fluid and in microdialysis samples from the interstitial fluid of the frontal cortex in a rabbit model of pneumococcal meningitis. Cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of glutamate, aspartate, glycine, taurine, and alanine increased significantly in infected animals. Among the amino acids with known excitatory or inhibitory function, interstitial fluid concentrations of glutamate were significantly elevated (by 470%). Alanine, a marker for anaerobic glycolysis, also increased in the cortex of infected rabbits. The elevated glutamate concentrations in the brain extracellular space suggest that excitotoxic neuronal injury may play a role in bacterial meningitis. | | Language | eng | | Pub Type(s) | Journal Article
| | PubMed ID | 8099728 |
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