3-Nitropropionic acid toxicity in hippocampus: protection through N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonism.

The over-activation of glutamate receptors can lead to excitotoxic cell death and is believed to be involved in the progression of neurodegenerative events in the vulnerable hippocampus. Here, we used an in vitro slice model to study toxicity produced in the hippocampus by the mitochondrial toxin 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP). The organotypic slice cultures exhibit native cellular organization as well as dense arborization of neuronal processes and synaptic contacts.