# Testing the KYNA Hypothesis in Translationally Relevant Studies using Miniature Pigs

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · 2022 · $794,425

## Abstract

Project 2 Summary
Based on the central hypothesis of all research conducted in this Conte Center, Project 2 will establish a two
developmentally-dissociable insult (“double-hit”) model to study the effects of timed intervention with a
kynurenine aminotransferase (KAT) II inhibitor. This project will bridge knowledge from Project 1 (mice) to
Projects 3 and 4 (humans) through an intermediary translational animal model - miniature pigs (Sus scrofa
domestica). Miniature pigs have large gyrencephalic brains and a developmental trajectory similar to humans,
providing the opportunity for human-equivalent invasive neuroscience techniques and neuroimaging brain
assessments. Project 2 will mirror the experiments in Project 1 by mapping the effects of chronic elevations in
kynurenic acid (KYNA) during the second trimester of pregnancy (1st hit) and in adolescence (2nd hit) using
neuroimaging and electrophysiology protocols identical to those used in Projects 3 and 4. The assessment
protocols, analytical workflows and multimodal brain atlases developed in this project will be disseminated in
an effort to accelerate the use of pig models in neuropsychiatric research.
1

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10425362
- **Project number:** 5P50MH103222-09
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE
- **Principal Investigator:** PETER V. KOCHUNOV
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $794,425
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-05-09 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10425362

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10425362, Testing the KYNA Hypothesis in Translationally Relevant Studies using Miniature Pigs (5P50MH103222-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10425362. Licensed CC0.

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