The pharmacological role of mGluR5 receptors in mediating neurodegeneration in the cerebellum of the spastic han wistar rat

Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR) have been implicated as targets for the treatment of neurological diseases linked to glutamate excitotoxicity. Of the three major groups of mGluR, Group I (mGluRl and mGluR5) has been reported to play a role in excitotoxic neurodegeneration. Of particular interest to our lab, mGluR5 has been localized in the cerebellum, hippocampus, and basal ganglia, and has been linked to modulating the excitatory effects of glutamate in these regions. Recent studies have shown that the selective mGluR5 antagonist MPEP produced positive therapeutic effects in rat models suffering from neurodegenerative disorders, and the mGluR5 agonist CHPG caused epileptic seizures. This study was conducted to investigate the potential neuroprotective effects of mGluR5 receptors on the spastic Han-Wistar (sHW) rat, a genetic model of glutamate excitotoxicity. (See more in text.