Effect of Tryptophan and Kynurenine on Cell Proliferation in Tissue Culture of the Cerebral Cortex in Young and Old Rats

Abstract

Metabolism disorders of L-kynurenine, which is an intermediate product of the decomposition of genetically encoded L-tryptophan amino acid, is a component in the development of a number of neuropathological processes. The effect of tryptophan and kynurenine on cell proliferation has been studied in the organotypic culture of cerebral cortex tissue in young and old rats. Tryptophan at an effective concentration (0.05 ng/mL) oppressed cell proliferation in the cerebral cortex in young and old rats by 35 and 18%, respectively. However, cell proliferation was stimulated under the action of kynurenine (1 ng/mL), and it was more pronounced in cerebral cortex explants in old rats (by 22% as compared with the control group). The obtained data on kynurenine properties for the stimulation of cell proliferation in the cerebral cortex in old animals is promising for the creation of new medicinal nootropic drugs in age-associated diseases of the nervous system.