Increased oxyradical production and membrane lipid peroxidation occur in neurons under physiological conditions and in neurodegenerative disorders. Lipid peroxidation can alter synaptic plasticity and may increase the vulnerability of neurons to excitotoxicity, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. We report that 4-hydroxy-2,3-nonenal (4HN), an aldehyde product of lipid peroxidation, exerts a biphasic effect on NMDA-induced current in cultured rat hippocampal neurons with current being increased during the ®rst 2 h and decreased after 6 h. Similarly, 4HN causes an early increase and a delayed decrease in NMDA-induced elevation of intracellular Ca 21 levels. In contrast, 4HN affects neither the ion current nor the Ca 21 response to a-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate (AMPA). The initial enhancement of NMDA-induced current is associated with increased phosphorylation of the NR1 receptor subunit, whereas the delayed suppression of current is associated with cellular ATP depletion and mitochondrial membrane depolarization. Cell death induced by 4HN is attenuated by an NMDA receptor antagonist, but not by an AMPA receptor antagonist. A secreted form of amyloid precursor protein, previously shown to protect neurons against oxidative and excitotoxic insults, prevented each of the effects of 4HN including the early and late changes in NMDA current, delayed ATP depletion, and cell death. These ®ndings show that the membrane lipid peroxidation product 4HN can modulate NMDA channel activity, suggesting a role for this aldehyde in physiological and pathophysiological responses of neurons to oxidative stress. Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, amyloid precursor protein, calcium, excitotoxicity, mitochondrial depolarization, synaptic plasticity. Neurons are subjected to considerable oxidative stress under physiological conditions as the result of oxyradical production that occurs during mitochondrial respiration and activities of enzymes such as nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenases (Dagani et al. 1988;Lipton et al. 1994;Kaufmann et al. 1997). However, excessive oxyradical production may contribute to the dysfunction and death of neurons that occurs in several neurodegenerative disorders (Chan 1996;Lovell et al. 1997;Mattson and Pedersen 1998;Olanow and Tatton 1999;Mattson et al. 2000a). Free radical attack on unsaturated bonds of membrane fatty acids results in an autocatalytic process called membrane lipid peroxidation, which can be triggered by production of hydroxyl, superoxide and nitric oxide radicals (Gutteridge 1995;Traylor and Mayeux 1997;Guo et al. 1999). Lipid peroxidation can impair the function of several membrane transport proteins including the Na 1 /K 1 ATPase (Mark et al. 1995(Mark et al. , 1997a) the Ca 21 -ATPase (Mark et al. 1995) and glucose and glutamate transporters (Mark et al. 1997b;Blanc et al. 1998). The mechanism whereby lipid peroxidation causes dysfunction and death of cells may involve an aldehyde called 4-hydroxy-2,3-nonenal (4HN), which is liberated from peroxidized f...