TAMOXIFEN, A CHLORIDE CHANNEL BLOCKER, REDUCES GLUTAMATE AND ASPARTATE RELEASE FROM THE ISCHEMIC CEREBRAL-CORTEX

The effects of the anti-estrogen, anion channel blocker, tamoxifen on amino acid release from the ischemic rat cerebral cortex was investiga ted using a cortical cup technique. Tamoxifen (20 mu M in artificial c erebrospinal fluid), applied topically, inhibited the ischemia-evoked efflux of aspartate, glutamate, taurine and phosphoethanolamine. Reduc tions in the ischemia-evoked levels of these amino acids suggest that tamoxifen may attenuate chloride-related osmotic cell swelling and the associated regulatory volume decrease (RVD) release of amino acids. ( C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.