Pregnenolone sulfate exacerbates NMDA-induced death of hippocampal neurons

Excessive stimulation of the N-methyl- d-aspartate (NMDA)-type glutamate receptor has been implicated in the neuronal death resulting from focal hypoxia–ischemia. Certain neurosteroids, steroids synthesized de novo in the central nervous system (CNS), have been shown to modulate the action of neurotransmitters at their cellular receptors. Pregnenolone sulfate (PS) is an abundant neurosteroid that enhances the current evoked by NMDA. Using the Ca 2+-sensitive fluorescent dye, Fluo-3, AM, and a trypan blue exclusion assay, we evaluated the ability of PS to modulate NMDA-induced changes in intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca 2+] i) and neuronal death in primary cultures of rat hippocampal neurons. The results demonstrate that PS potentiates NMDA-induced increases in [Ca 2+] i by 150%. Further, PS exacerbates the MK-801-sensitive neuronal death produced by acute (PS EC 50=37 μM) or chronic NMDA exposure, reducing the EC 50 of NMDA from 13 to 4 μM under chronic exposure conditions, whereas pregnenolone is ineffective. Our results show that PS, or related sulfated neurosteroids, may play a role in the onset of excitotoxic neuronal death in vivo.