Agmatine and Glutamate Induced Primary Neuron Damage: In Vitro Study

The aim of this study is to show the effects of agmatine, which is shown to be promising as a preventive (neuroprotective) agent on glutamate induced neuron damage in newborn rat brain cortex. The newborn 4 rats were rapidly decapitated and the cortex were taken surgically and stored immediately in the prepared neurobasal solution. Low doses of agmatine prevent cell death against glutamate and have a stronger neuroactive effect. Increased TOC level and decreased TAC level were significantly improved with low dose agmatine. The application of agmatinin brought caspase 3 levels closer to the control group. In particular, agmatine administration significantly downregulate caspase 9 mRNA expression compared to the control group. In our study, the best results were obtained with low dose of agmatine. In light of all this information, agmatine, a potent NMDA receptor antagonist, prevented glutamate-induced neurotoxicity.