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Other names | trans-4-hydroxycrotonic acid |
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Formula | C4H6O3 |
Molar mass | 102.089 g·mol−1 |
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trans-4-Hydroxycrotonic acid (T-HCA), also known as γ-hydroxycrotonic acid (GHC), is an agent used in scientific research to study the GHB receptor.[1] It is an analogue of γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), as well as an active metabolite of GHB.[2][3][4] Similarly to GHB, T-HCA has been found to be endogenous to the rat central nervous system, and as a metabolite of GHB, is almost certain to be endogenous to humans as well.[3][5] T-HCA binds to the high-affinity GHB receptor with 4-fold greater affinity than GHB itself,[6] where it acts as an agonist,[1][7] but does not bind to the low-affinity GHB binding site, the GABAB receptor.[3][8] Because of this, T-HCA does not produce sedation. T-HCA has been shown to cause receptor activation-evoked increases in extracellular glutamate concentrations, notably in the hippocampus.[8]