Abstract
Guanidinoethane sulfonate is a compound which has been recently found to inhibit competitively taurine uptake and thereby decrease the concentration of this amino acid in various organs including the brain in rats1 and mice2,3. Taurine, or 2-aminoethane sulfonate, is an inhibitory amino acid like γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glycine or β-alanine in the central nervous system (CNS) and is known to possess antiepileptic properties against various types of experimentally-induced seizures in mammals (for review see Barbeau and Huxtable4, Huxtable5, Durelli and Mutani6). Interference with GABA or glycine system in the CNS by specific receptor blockers such as bicuculline or strychnine causes convulsions7. Decreased GABA content of the brain caused by inhibiting glutamic acid decarboxylase activity also produces convulsions.In this study we investigate whether a selective decrease in the taurine concentration in the brain produced by guanidinoethane sulfonate can increase the susceptibility to electroshock seizures or modify the anticonvulsive action of phenobarbital or phenytoin against maximal electroshock seizures in mice.
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Izumi, K., Kishita, C., Koja, T., Shimizu, T., Fukuda, T., Huxtable, R.J. (1985). Effects of Guanidinoethane Sulfonate and Taurine on Electroshock Seizures in Mice. In: Mori, A., Cohen, B.D., Lowenthal, A. (eds) Guanidines. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-0752-6_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-0752-6_23
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