Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is endogenously produced from sulfur containing amino acids, including homocysteine and exerts neuroprotective effects. An increase of homocysteine during pregnancy impairs fetal growth and development of the offspring due to severe oxidative stress. We analyzed the effects of the H2S donor—sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) administered to female rats with hyperhomocysteinemia (hHcy) on behavioral impairments and levels of oxidative stress of their offspring. Rats born from females fed with control or high methionine diet, with or without H2S donor injections were investigated. Rats with maternal hHcy exhibit increased levels of total locomotor activity and anxiety, decreased muscle endurance and motor coordination, abnormalities of fine motor control, as well as reduced spatial memory and learning. Oxidative stress in brain tissues measured by activity of glutathione peroxidases and the level of malondialdehyde was higher in rats with maternal hHcy. Concentrations of H2S and the activity and expression of the H2S generating enzyme—cystathionine-beta synthase—were lower compared to the control group. Administration of the H2S donor to females with hHcy during pregnancy prevented behavioral alterations and oxidative stress of their offspring. The acquisition of behavioral together with biochemical studies will add to our knowledge about homocysteine neurotoxicity and proposes H2S as a potential agent for therapy of hHcy associated disorders.

Homocysteine is a sulfur-containing endogenous amino acid leading to neurotoxic effects at high concentrations. Population studies suggest an association between plasma homocysteine levels and the risk of migraine headaches. The aim of this study was to analyze the sensitivity of rats with prenatal hyperhomocysteinemia (hHCY) in respect of the development of behavioral correlates of headache and spreading cortical depolarization (CSD) in a migraine model induced by the administration of the nitric oxide (NO) donor nitroglycerin. Animals with hHCY were characterized by migraine-related symptoms such as mechanical hyperalgesia, high-level anxiety, photophobia, as well as an enhanced level of neuronal activity in the somatosensory cortex along with a lower threshold of CSD generation. Likewise, acute or chronic intermittent administration of nitroglycerin also induced the development of mechanical allodynia, photophobia and anxiety in control groups. However, these symptoms were more pronounced in rats with hHCY. Unlike hHCY, nitroglycerin administration did not affect the threshold of CSD generation, but like hHCY, increased the background neuronal activity in layers 2/3 and 4 of the cerebral cortex. The latter was more pronounced in animals with hHCY. Thus, the migraine profile associated with hHCY can be further exaggerated in conditions with enhanced levels of migraine triggering the gaseous transmitter NO. Our data are consistent with the view that high levels of plasma homocysteine can act as a risk factor for the development of migraine.

Nitric oxide is one of the endogenous molecules that play a key role in migraine. However, the interaction between NO and the main players in the nociceptive activity of the meningeal trigeminal afferents—TRPV1 and P2X3 receptors—remains unstudied. In the current project, the effects of acute and chronic NO administration on the activity of TRPV1 and P2X3 receptors in the peripheral afferents were studied using electrophysiological recording of action potentials of the trigeminal nerve in the rat hemiskull preparations. The data obtained indicate that exogenous and endogenous NO increased the activity of the trigeminal nerve independent on the inhibition of the TRPV1 and P2X3 receptors. The activity of the trigeminal nerve triggered by ATP changed neither in acute incubation in the NO donor—sodium nitroprusside (SNP) nor in the chronic nitroglycerine (NG)-induced migraine model. Moreover, the chronic NG administration did not increase in the number of degranulated mast cells in the rat meninges. At the same time, the capsaicin-induced activity of the trigeminal nerve was higher with chronic NO administration or after acute NO application, and these effects were prevented by N-ethylmaleimide. In conclusion, we suggested that NO positively modulates the activity of TRPV1 receptors by S-nitrosylation, which may contribute to the pro-nociceptive action of NO and underlie the sensitization of meningeal afferents in chronic migraine.

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