Actions of D-cycloserine at the N-methyl-D-aspartate-associated glycine receptor site in vivo.

The antibiotic, D-cycloserine has been shown to be a partial agonist at the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-coupled, strychnine-insensitive glycine receptor by in vitro receptor binding. This partial agonism was further investigated in an in vivo system, by monitoring changes in levels of cyclic guanosine-monophosphate (cGMP), a well characterized second messenger response, mediated by the NMDA receptor complex, in the cerebellum of the mouse. Parenteral injections of D-cycloserine produced a biphasic dose-response curve which suggested partial agonism. In support of this contention, when intracerebellar injections were made together with D-serine, a glycine agonist, D-cycloserine attenuated the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-mediated increase in levels of cGMP. Likewise, systemic administration of D-cycloserine attenuated increases in cGMP induced by pentylenetetrazol. These data are relevant to the study of N-methyl-D-aspartate-mediated neurotransmission, since D-cycloserine is a parenterally bioavailable compound, with both agonist and depressant properties at the N-methyl-D-aspartate-associated glycine receptor.