Abstract

The toxicity of l-glutamic acid toward cultured fibroblasts and lymphocytes from age-matched, sex-matched controls, patients with Huntington's disease (HD) and patients with other diseases has been studied. In an initial non-blinded study, l-glutamic acid (15 mM) exerted a significant toxic effect on HD fibroblasts, decreasing viability by approximately 60% after 48 h exposure. The magnitude of the toxic effect on HD fibroblasts as a group was significantly different from the mean effect on the normal control group ( P < 0.003) and non-HD control group ( P < 0.004). However, there was variability in the sensitivity of a given fibroblast culture to l-glutamate. This toxic effect was also seen in several normal control and non-HD control fibroblasts. In a second blinded study using cultured fibroblasts from HD patients and age-matched, sexmatched controls, we were unable to distinguish between HD and control cultures. No difference in l-glutamate toxicity was observed between control and HD lymphocytes in short-term cultures. We conclude that the toxicity of l-glutamate is not specific for HD cells and that this experimental approach will be of little value in identifying cells from patients with HD.

Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call