Effect of acrylamide and related compounds on glycolytic enzymes of rat brain.

The in vitro effect of acrylamide and its analogues on rat brain glycolytic enzymes was examined to elucidate the biochemical lesions responsible for the pathogenesis of acrylamide-induced neuropathy. All test compounds inhibited glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, irrespective of their neurotoxicity, and their inhibitory potency was a linear function of the rate constant with reduced glutathione. Phosphofructokinase was also inhibited by some of the test compounds, independently of their neurotoxicity. The rate-limiting enzymes in glycolysis, hexokinase and pyruvate kinase, were not inhibited by acrylamide.