Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 28, Issue 26, Pages 6670-6678Publisher
SOC NEUROSCIENCE
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1702-08.2008
Keywords
hypoxia-ischemia; human forebrain development; oligodendrocyte; glutamate receptor; stroke; myelin
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Funding
- NICHD NIH HHS [P30 HD18655, P30 HD018655] Funding Source: Medline
- NINDS NIH HHS [R01 NS031718, R56 NS031718, R01 NS031718-08, NS031718, P01 NS038475-050004, NS038475, P01 NS038475] Funding Source: Medline
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Hypoxia-ischemia (H/I) in the premature infant leads to white matter injury termed periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), the leading cause of subsequent neurological deficits. Glutamatergic excitotoxicity in white matter oligodendrocytes (OLs) mediated by cell surface glutamate receptors (GluRs) of the AMPA subtype has been demonstrated as one factor in this injury. Recently, it has been shown that rodent OLs also express functional NMDA GluRs (NMDARs), and overactivation of these receptors can mediate excitotoxic OL injury. Here we show that preterm human developing OLs express NMDARs during the PVL period of susceptibility, presenting a potential therapeutic target. The expression pattern mirrors that seen in the immature rat. Furthermore, the uncompetitive NMDAR antagonist memantine attenuates NMDA-evoked currents in developing OLs in situ in cerebral white matter of immature rats. Using an H/I rat model of white matter injury, we show in vivo that post-H/I treatment with memantine attenuates acute loss of the developing OL cell surface marker O1 and the mature OL marker MBP (myelin basic protein), and also prevents the long-term reduction in cerebral mantle thickness seen at postnatal day 21 in this model. These protective doses of memantine do not affect normal myelination or cortical growth. Together, these data suggest that NMDAR blockade with memantine may provide an effective pharmacological prevention of PVL in the premature infant.
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