INHIBITION OF PROTEIN-SYNTHESIS BY THE NMDA CHANNEL BLOCKER MK-801

MK-801 rs a selective non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) channel blocker which has been extensively used in order to determine the properties of NMDA receptors and their role in epilepsy and ischaemic cell death. We now report that MK-801 (10 mu M) inhibits [S-35]methionine incorporation into polypeptides by 45 +/- 7.5% in adult rat hippocampal slices and by 35 +/- 10% in cultured glial cells. This effect is NMDA-receptor independent since (i) only high doses of MK-801 induced such an effect and (ii) APV (50 mu M), a competitive NMDA receptor antagonist, or Mg2+ (10 mM), a NMDA channel blocker, did not reduce protein synthesis.