Neurotoxicity in Rat Cortical Cells Caused by N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) and gp120 of HIV-1: Induction and Pharmacological Intervention

Incubation of highly enriched neurons from rat cerebral cortex with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) coat protein gpl20 for 18 h results in fragmentation of DNA at internucleosomal linkers, a feature of apoptosis. We report that neurons respond to exposure to gp120 with an increased release of arachidonic acid via activation of phospholipase A2. This process is not inhibited by antagonists of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor channels. To investigate the influence of arachidonic acid on the sensitivity of NMDA receptor towards its aganist, low concentrations of NMDA were coadministered with arachidonic acid. Under these conditions the NMDA-mediated cytotoxicity was enh…