Acute and long-term effects of intracerebroventricular administration of α-ketoisocaproic acid on oxidative stress parameters and cognitive and noncognitive behaviors.

Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD) is biochemically characterized by elevated levels of leucine, isoleucine and valine, as well as their corresponding transaminated branched-chain α-keto acids in tissue and biological fluids. Neurological symptoms and cerebral abnormalities, whose mechanisms are still unknown, are typical of this metabolic disorder. In the present study, we evaluated the early effects (1 h after injection) and long-term effects (15 days after injection) of a single intracerebroventricular administration of α-ketoisocaproic acid (KIC) on oxidative stress parameters and cognitive and noncognitive behaviors.

Intracerebroventricular administration of α-ketoisocaproic acid decreases brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor levels in brain of young rats.

Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) is an inherited aminoacidopathy resulting from dysfunction of the branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase complex, leading to accumulation of the branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) leucine, isoleucine and valine as well as their corresponding transaminated branched-chain α-ketoacids. This disorder is clinically characterized by ketoacidosis, seizures, coma, psychomotor delay and mental retardation whose pathophysiology is not completely understood. Recent studies have shown that oxidative stress may be involved in neuropathology of MSUD.

Evidence that 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaric and 3-methylglutaric acids induce DNA damage in rat striatum.

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA lyase (HL) deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive disorderaffecting the final step of leucine degradation and ketogenesis and biochemically characterized by the predominant accumulation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaric (HMG) and 3-methylglutaric (MGA) acids in biological fluids and tissues of affected patients. Considering that previous studies reported that HMG and MGA have pro oxidant properties, the present study evaluated the ex vivo and in vitro effects of HMG and MGA on frequency and index of DNA damage in cerebral cortex and striatum of young rats. The ex vivo effects of both organic acids on 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (OHdG) levels and their in vitro effects on 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin (DCFH) oxidation and glutathione (GSH) concentrations in rat striatum were also determined.

The role of microglia activation in the development of sepsis-induced long-term cognitive impairment.

Oxidative stress and inflammation is likely to be a major step in the development of sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) and long-term cognitive impairment. To date, it is not known whether brain inflammation and oxidative damage are a direct consequence of systemic inflammation or whether these events are driven by brain resident cells, such as microglia. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of minocycline on behavioral and neuroinflammatory parameters in rats submitted to sepsis.