H. Ramachandran, Rajadhyaksha
Jul 1, 2007
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Quality indicators
Journal
Toxicology International
Abstract
Lithium, a drug used for several decades for the treatment of manic depression, is a well known modulator of embryonic development. In the last decade lithium has been extensively reported to be neuroprotective in vitro and in vivo systems and is likely to be more widely used against neurodegenerative diseases. Despite its use for several years, the exact mechanism of action of lithium in modulating the physiological parameters of the brain has remained elusive. Though the details of its effects on second messenger systems and regulation of gene expression have been investigated actively, not much has been reported on its effects on the down stream molecules, such as the neuronal enzymes, that play a major role in cellular responses during physiological functions. We have, therefore, investigated the effect of lithium on three key neuronal enzymes relevant to cell differentiation and connectivity, Na+K+ATPase, acetyl cholinesterase (AChE) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) using chick developing brain as a model. Lithium causes significant increase in specific activity of AChE and NOS while decreasing the specific activity of Na+K+ATPase indicating that lithium action results in change in pathophysiology of the brain by altering the biochemical milieu of the embryonic chick neuronal tissue.