Selective vulnerability of the CA1 region of hippocampus to the indirect excitotoxic effects of malonic acid

The CA1 region of hippocampus is selectively vulnerable to a variety of insults, including hypoxia-ischemia and Alzheimer's disease, but the basis of this regional susceptibility is poorly understood. We examined the regional hippocampal sensitivity to mitochondrial metabolic disruption induced by malonate, an inhibitor of succinate dehydrogenase. The CA1 region was exquisitely sensitive to malonate and the dentate gyrus was extremely resistant; the CA3 region had intermediate sensitivity. This pattern of vulnerability is reminiscent of hypoxic-ischemic damage. Malonate damage was blocked by the N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) antagonist, MK-801, but regional susceptibility to malonate did not correlate with the density of NMDA receptors. Instead, malonate toxicity was inversely correlated with activity of succinate dehydrogenase. Our results suggest that regional metabolic capacity may help to determine sensitivity to metabolic/excitotoxic insults such as hypoxia-ischemia.