NR2B subunit blockade does not affect motor symptoms induced by 3-nitropropionic acid

1. Neurol Res. 2011 May;33(4):444-7. doi: 10.1179/1743132810Y.0000000002.

NR2B subunit blockade does not affect motor symptoms induced by 3-nitropropionic
acid.

Fantin M(1), Morari M, Tison F, Fernagut PO.

Author information:
(1)Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Section of Pharmacology,
University of Ferrara, Italy.

Broad-spectrum N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists, although proposed in
therapies for several pathologies including Huntington’s disease (HD), can
produce dramatic side-effects. Thus, the therapeutic potential of subunit
selective NMDA receptor antagonists warrants investigation. Overactivation of
NMDA receptors containing the NR2B subunit plays a pathogenic role in HD,
suggesting a neuroprotective potential of selective NR2B blockade. In the
present study, we investigated whether the selective NR2B receptor antagonist,
R-(R*,S*)-alpha-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-beta-methyl-4-(phenylmethyl)-1-piperidinepropanol,
could also affect motor symptoms in mice intoxicated with 3-nitropropionic acid
(3-NP), a phenotypic model of HD. NR2B subunit acute blockade had no effect on
spontaneous activity, HD-like symptoms (clinical scale), and sensorimotor
performances (beam task) in 3-NP intoxicated mice. These results suggest that
selective NR2B antagonism has no acute symptomatic effect on motor and
sensorimotor impairments due to 3-NP-induced striatal injury.

DOI: 10.1179/1743132810Y.0000000002
PMID: 21535946 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

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