BMAA as a result of complex reactions under nitrogen stress. Following research, excitotoxicity appears to be the likely mode of action for BMAA which acts as a glutamate agonist, activating AMPA and NMDA receptors and causing damage to cells even at relatively low concentrations of 10 μM. The subsequent uncontrolled influx of Ca2+ then leads to the pathophysiology described above. Further evidence of the role of BMAA as an excitotoxin is rooted in the ability of NMDA antagonists like MK801 to block the action of BMAA. More recently, evidence has been found that BMAA is misincorporated in place of L-serine in human proteins. A considerable portion of the research relating to the toxicity of BMAA has been conducted on rodents. A study published in 2016 with vervets (Chlorocebus sabaeus) in St. Kitts, which are homozygous for the apoE4 (APOE-ε4) allele (a condition which in humans is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease), found that vervets orally administered BMAA developed hallmark histopathology features of Alzheimer's Disease including amyloid beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangle accumulation. Vervets in the trial fed smaller doses of BMAA were found to have correlative decreases in these pathology features. This study demonstrates that BMAA, an environmental toxin, can trigger neurodegenerative disease as a result of a gene/environment interaction. While BMAA has been detected in brain tissue of deceased ALS/PDC patients, further insight is required to trace neurodegenerative pathology in humans to BMAA. See also Glutamatergic system Glutamic acid (flavor) NMDA receptor antagonist Dihydropyridine References Sources Invited Review Food safety Neurochemistry Neurotrauma Toxins