7-NITROINDAZOLE, A SELECTIVE NEURONAL NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE INHIBITOR IN VIVO, PREVENTS KAINATE-INDUCED INTRAHIPPOCAMPAL NEUROTOXICITY

LIDIJA RADENOVIĆ¹, VESNA SELAKOVIĆ², AND BILJANA BOZIĆ¹

¹Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro; ²Institute for Medical Research, Military Medical Academy, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro

Abstract - We investigated the effects of 7-nitroindazole (7-NI), a selective neuronal nitric oxide synthase inhibitor in vivo, on nitrite concentration after kainic acid injection unilaterally into the CA3 region of the rat hippocampus. The accumulation of nitrite, the stable metabolite of NO, was measured by the Griess reaction at different times in hippocampus, forebrain cortex, striatum, and cerebellum homogenates. 7-nitroindazole can effectively inhibit NO synthesis in rat brain after kainate-induced neurotoxicity and suppressed nitrite accumulation. The present results suggest that neuronal NO synthase inhibitors may be useful in the treatment of neurological diseases in which excitotoxic mechanisms play a role.