It is important to point out that an excessive increase of glutamate concentration in the synaptic cleft may produce neurotoxic effects associated with an over stimulation of the glutamatergic system, a process known as excitotoxicity, leading to cell death. An unbalanced increase or decrease in the glutamatergic system is highly neurotoxic. In fact, a fine tuning of glutamatergic system functioning is essential for proper brain functioning ( Ozawa et al., 1998 and Mattson, 2008). Similar to PEBT, diphenyl diselenide and diphenyl ditelluride click here are able to inhibit [3H]glutamate uptake (Souza et al., 2010). These compounds oxidize sulfhydryl groups

of glutamate transporter proteins, disrupting the glutamatergic system (Moretto et al., 2007). The redox modulation of glutamate transporter proteins has been demonstrated by using agents that oxidize thiol groups, such as 5,5′-dithio-bis-(2-nitrobenzoic) acid Selleck PF-06463922 (DTNB) and dithiol chelating agents. In fact, DTNB and dithiol chelating agents inhibit the glutamate uptake (Trotti et al., 1996, Trotti et al., 1997 and Nogueira et al., 2001). Moreover, ebselen, another organochalcogen compound, selectively modulates the redox site of the NMDA receptor by oxidizing thiol

groups of the receptor in vitro ( Herin et al., 2001) and the peripheral glutamatergic system ( Meotti et al., 2009). Studies of our research group demonstrated that PEBT inhibited in vitro δ-aminolevulinate dehydratase (ALA-D) activity, a sulfhydryl-containing enzyme, in rat brain homogenate. In this study, dithiothreitol restored δ-ALA-D activity ( Souza et al., 2009). Since the mechanism involved in δ-ALA-D inhibition caused by PEBT is related to

their ability to oxidize sulfhydryl groups, it is possible that PEBT inhibits [3H]glutamate uptake Tryptophan synthase by oxidation of SH– groups of glutamate transporter proteins. The specific high affinity Na+-dependent amino acid transporters contain reactive –SH groups in their structure that are modulated by their redox status ( Trotti et al., 1999). From these results it is possible to hypothesize that PEBT alters the redox modulation of reactive amino acids in glutamate transporter proteins. It is important to highlight that the oxidation of sulfhydryl groups of glutamate transporter proteins was spontaneously recovered since cerebral cortex [3H]glutamate uptake inhibition disappeared after 24 h of administration. In conclusion, the present study established, for the first time, that PEBT administration to mice caused cognitive enhancement in the three evaluated memory phases (acquisition, consolidation and retrieval) in the step-down inhibitory avoidance task.