Glufosinate ammonium induces convulsion through N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in mice.

Neurosci Lett 2001 May 18;304(1-2):123-125 18may01

Matsumura N, Takeuchi C, Hishikawa K, Fujii T, Nakaki T. Department of Pharmacology, Teikyo University School of Medicine, 2-11-1 Kaga, Itabashi-ku, 173-8605, Tokyo, Japan.

Glufosinate ammonium, a broad-spectrum herbicide, causes convulsion in rodents and humans. Because of the structural similarities between glufosinate and glutamate, the convulsion induced by glufosinate ammonium may be ascribed to glutamate receptor activation. Three N-methyl-D-asparate (NMDA) receptor antagonists, dizocilpine, LY235959, and Compound 40, and an alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA)/kainate receptor antagonist, NBQX, were coadministrated with glufosinate ammonium (80 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) in mice. Statistical analyses showed that the NMDA receptor antagonists markedly inhibited the convulsions, while the AMPA/kainate receptor antagonist had no effect on the convulsion. These results suggest that the convulsion caused by glufosinate ammonium is mediated through NMDA receptors.