Switching of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-favorite intracellular signal pathways from ERK1/2 protein to p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase leads to developmental changes in NMDA neurotoxicity.

Excitotoxicity mediated by overactivation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) has been implicated in a variety of neuropathological conditions in the central nervous system (CNS). It has been suggested that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) neurotoxicity is developmentally regulated, but the definite pattern of the regulation has been controversial, and the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. Here, we show that NMDA treatment leads to significant cell death in mature (9 and 12 days in vitro) hippocampal neurons or hippocampi of young postnatal day 12 and adult rats but not in immature (3 and 6 days in vitro) neurons or embryonic day 18 and neonatal rat hippocampi. In contrast, NMDA promotes survival of immature neurons against tropic deprivation. Interestingly, it is found that NMDA preferentially activates p38 MAPK in mature neuron and adult rat hippocampus, but it favors ERK1/2 activation in immature neuron and postnatal day 0 rat hippocampus. Moreover, it is shown that NMDA neurotoxicity in mature neuron is mediated via p38 MAPK activation, and neuroprotection in immature neuron is mediated via ERK1/2 activation, whereas all these effects are NR2B-containing NMDAR-dependent, as well as Ca(2+)-dependent. We also revealed that mature and immature neurons showed no difference in the amplitude of NMDA-induced intracellular calcium ([Ca(2+)](i)) increase. However, the basal level of [Ca(2+)](i) is shown to elevate with the maturation of neuron, and this elevation is attributable to the changes in NMDA neurotoxicity but not to the switch of the NMDAR signaling pathway. Taken together, our results suggest that a switch of NMDA receptor-favorite intracellular signal pathways from ERK1/2 to p38 MAPK and the elevated basal level of [Ca(2+)](i) with age might be critical for the developmental changes in NMDA neurotoxicity in the hippocampal neuron.