Despite its widespread use, the mechanisms of valproic acid (VPA) action are not fully understood. In the current study, we have examined the peripheral and central effects of VPA administration on the metabolic pathway of tryptophan (TRP): concentration of its centrally active metabolites, kynurenine (KYN) and kynurenic acid (KYNA). Moreover, the role of a displacement of TRP from serum albumin binding sites, and changes in the peripheral and central concentration of amino acid including glutamate (GLU), GABA, alanine (ALA), glutamine (GLTM), glycine (GLY), aspartate (ASP), were also studied. We found that VPA administration produced a progressive and strong increase in the central concentration of KYNA, KYN and TRP. Simultaneously, TRP concentration in plasma declined while the peripheral increase of KYNA in plasma was weaker and occurred earlier than in the hippocampus. We also observed that administration of ibuprofen to rats, a prototypic drug used to study drug binding to serum albumin, strongly increased the amount of a free serum and hippocampal TRP concentration, to a degree similar to the effect of VPA. Moreover, we found that the most pronounced changes in the concentration of amino acids caused by administration of VPA include an increase of GLU and a decrease of ALA in the plasma as well as a decrease of ASP and an increase of GABA in the brain. The factor analysis revealed that the changes in the concentrations of TRP, determined both in the plasma and in the hippocampus grouped strongly with the changes in the plasma concentrations of GLU and the central concentration of ASP. Our results showed that administration of VPA strongly modifies the activity of the kynurenine pathway with significant changes in TRP, KYN and KYNA levels in the CNS. The reason for this may be a strong VPA-induced displacement of TRP from its binding sites to plasma albumin. It appears also that the changes in TRP evoked by VPA administration due to competition for transport into the brain, may result in a shift in the central and peripheral balance between branched-chain (BCAA) and aromatic amino acids (AAA). This may lead to a decrease in BCAA transport to the brain, leading to a deficit of BCAAs as a donor of amino groups to the process of GLU resynthesis from pyruvate. Changes in the BCAA/ AAA ratio, arising as a consequence of changes in the TRP level, could explain an observed increase in the plasma concentrations of GLU and a decrease in the ASP concentrations in the brain that occurred after administration of VPA. In sum, given the neuroprotective role of KYNA, the current study suggests that stimulation of the kynurenine pathway may also apply to the central and peripheral concentration of amino acids. The modification of the activity of the kynurenine pathway may at least in part contribute to the related antiepileptic and neuroprotective mechanisms of VPA action.
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