Conversion of 4-aminobutyraldehyde to gamma-aminobutyric acid in striatum treated with semicarbazide and kainic acid.

4-Aminobutyraldehyde (ABAL) has been shown to cross the blood-brain barrier and to be converted rapidly to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in various regions of the brain. In this paper, the formation of GABA from ABAL was studied with striatum that had suffered a lesion to GABA synthesis via glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD). The GABA formation from ABAL was invariably observed in striatum in which GAD was severely inhibited by semicarbazide or kainic acid. Thus, this is another pathway for GABA formation.