Where does kainic acid come from?
Where does kainic acid come from?
Kainic acid, or kainate, is an acid that naturally occurs in some seaweed. Kainic acid is a potent neuroexcitatory amino acid agonist that acts by activating receptors for glutamate, the principal excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system.
What does kainic acid do?
Kainic acid is an excitatory amino acid, acting on glutamate receptors of the AMPA type, capable of producing electrographic and behavioral seizures when injected systemically or intracerebrally in rats.
Where are glutamate receptors located?
dendrites
Glutamate receptors are the primary mediators of excitatory transmission in the central nervous system and are mostly located on the dendrites of postsynaptic neuronal and glial cells, such as astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.
Why is kainic acid considered a neurotoxin?
Kainic acid. Kainic acid is a direct agonist of the glutamic kainate receptors and large doses of concentrated solutions produce immediate neuronal death by overstimulating neurons to death. Such damage and death of neurons is referred to as an excitotoxic lesion. Thus, in large, concentrated doses kainic acid can be considered a neurotoxin,…
Why is kainic acid used in animal experiments?
Kainic acid is commonly injected into laboratory animal models to study the effects of experimental ablation. Kainic acid is a direct agonist of the glutamic kainate receptors and large doses of concentrated solutions produce immediate neuronal death by overstimulating neurons to death.
Where does kainic acid occur in the body?
Kainic acid, or kainate, is an acid that naturally occurs in some seaweed. Kainic acid is a potent neuroexcitatory amino acid agonist that acts by activating receptors for glutamate, the principal excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system.
What is the molecular formula of kainic acid?
The molecular structure of kainic acid (2-carboxy-4-isopropenylpyrrolidin-3-ylacetic acid, KA). The molecular formula of KA are C 10 H 15 NO 4 and the molar mass of KA is 213.23 g/mol. Two broad categories of glutamate receptors (GluRs), that is, iGluRs and metabotropic GluRs (mGluRs), differ with reference to their functions.