Kynurenic Acid Levels and Kynurenine Aminotransferase I, II and III Activities in Ganglia, Heart and Liver of Snail Helix Pomatia.

Background/aims: Kynurenic acid (KYNA), a tryptophan metabolite along the kynurenine pathway, is an endogenous antagonist of glutamate ionotropic excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptors and the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). The involvement of KYNA in various pathological conditions and during the aging process is significant. KYNA synthesis from L-kynurenine (L-KYN), through the action of several kynurenine aminotransferases (KATs), is present in the central nervous system (CNS) and periphery of mammals. We were interested in investigating the ability of the brain and peripheral organs of Helix pomatia snails to synthesize KYNA, in an in vitro study. In comparative studies between rat and snail, we looked for the synthesis of KYNA in the liver. We then looked for an effect of age on KYNA synthesis.

Methods: Ten shell parameters of the Helix pomatia snail were used to establish an Age Rating Scale (ARS), i.e. body weight, shell weight, shell length, width and height, shell opening length and width, lip width, number of shell turns and external shell growth rings. An age of the snails was determined according to the ARS and the snails were divided into three groups, i.e. young, middle and old age. Homogenates of dissected regions, i.e. cerebral ganglia (CG), subpharyngeal ganglia (SG) consisting of pedal, visceral and pleural ganglia, heart and liver, were examined. KYNA was measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and KAT activities were measured by an enzymatic method.

Results: With respect to ARS, an evaluation of the age of the snails between young (1-2 years), middle (5-7 years) and old (9-13 years) showed significant differences (p<0.001). Analysis of KYNA levels in different snail tissues, i.e. CG, SG, heart and liver, showed an occurrence in the low femtomolar range. Marked and significant increases of KYNA were found in the liver of middle and old age groups. In the SG, KYNA decreased significantly with age. There were no differences in KYNA levels between groups in CG and heart. The lowest KAT activity was found in CG and SG (5 pmol/mg/h), while in heart and liver the values were visibly higher (between 8 and 80 pmol/mg/h). Only in the liver, and exceptionally only for KAT I, the activity increased significantly with age, i.e. up to 14 years. No age-related changes in KAT I, II and III activities were found in CG and SG. Snail liver shows a different pattern of KAT activities compared to the rat liver.

Conclusion: Regions of the CNS and periphery of the snail Helix pomatia are able to synthesize KYNA due to KAT activities. In the snail liver, KAT I activity increased with age. Notably, there was no age-related increase in KAT activities in the heart and especially in the CNS of Helix pomatia, indicating significant differences from mammals. A moderate KYNA metabolism in the Helix pomatia snail in the periods studied, up to 14 years, could be a physiological phenomenon that protects organs from possible functional insufficiency due to high KYNA levels, as has been suggested. It is reasonable to search for the factor(s) that could regulate the concentration of KYNA in the body of the snail.