Kainic acid stimulation of cerebellar cyclic GMP levels: potentiation by glutamate and related amino acids.

A number of excitatory amino acids (including kainate and other "excitotoxic" amino acids, (+/-)-ibotenate, and N-methyl-D-aspartate) are able to increase levels of cyclic GMP in cerebellar slices from immature (8-day-old) rats. The response to kainate is markedly potentiated by glutamate and a restricted number of analogues. This phenomenon is not seen with either (+/-)-ibotenate or N-methyl-D-aspartate, and may have implications for the possible mechanisms of cytotoxicity for kainate.