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Anaplerosis occurs predominately in astroglia through the action of pyruvate carboxylase (PC). The rate of PC (Vpc) has been reported for cerebral cortex (or whole brain) of awake humans and anesthetized rodents, but regional brain rates remain largely unknown and, hence, were subjected to investigation in the current study. Awake male rats were infused with either [2-13C]glucose or [1-13C]glucose (n = 27/30) for 8, 15, 30, 60 or 120 min, followed by rapid euthanasia with focused-beam microwave irradiation to the brain. Blood plasma and extracts of cerebellum, hippocampus, striatum, and cerebral cortex were analyzed by 1H-[13C]-NMR to establish 13C-enrichment time courses for glutamate-C4,C3,C2, glutamine-C4,C3, GABA-C2,C3,C4 and aspartate-C2,C3. Metabolic rates were determined by fitting a three-compartment metabolic model (glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons and astroglia) to the eighteen time courses. Vpc varied by 44% across brain regions, being lowest in the cerebellum (0.087 ± 0.004 µmol/g/min) and highest in striatum (0.125 ± 0.009) with intermediate values in cerebral cortex (0.106 ± 0.005) and hippocampus (0.114 ± 0.005). Vpc constituted 13–19% of the oxidative glucose consumption rate. Combination of cerebral cortical data with literature values revealed a positive correlation between Vpc and the rates of glutamate/glutamine-cycling and oxidative glucose consumption, respectively, consistent with earlier observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Trauma and chronic stress are believed to induce and exacerbate psychopathology by disrupting glutamate synaptic strength. However, in vivo in human methods to estimate synaptic strength are limited. In this study, we established a novel putative biomarker of glutamatergic synaptic strength, termed energy-per-cycle (EPC). Then, we used EPC to investigate the role of prefrontal neurotransmission in trauma-related psychopathology. Methods: Healthy controls (n = 18) and patients with posttraumatic stress (PTSD; n = 16) completed 13C-acetate magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) scans to estimate prefrontal EPC, which is the ratio of neuronal energetic needs per glutamate neurotransmission cycle (VTCA/VCycle). Results: Patients with PTSD were found to have 28% reduction in prefrontal EPC (t = 3.0; df = 32, P =.005). There was no effect of sex on EPC, but age was negatively associated with prefrontal EPC across groups (r = –0.46, n = 34, P =.006). Controlling for age did not affect the study results. Conclusion: The feasibility and utility of estimating prefrontal EPC using 13C-acetate MRS were established. Patients with PTSD were found to have reduced prefrontal glutamatergic synaptic strength. These findings suggest that reduced glutamatergic synaptic strength may contribute to the pathophysiology of PTSD and could be targeted by new treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) studies of rodent and human brain using [1-13C]/[1,6-13C2]glucose as labeled substrate have consistently found a lower enrichment (∼25% to 30%) of glutamine-C4 compared with glutamate-C4 at isotopic steady state. The source of this isotope dilution has not been established experimentally but may potentially arise either from blood/brain exchange of glutamine or from metabolism of unlabeled substrates in astrocytes, where glutamine synthesis occurs. In this study, the contribution of the former was evaluated ex vivo using 1H-[13C]-NMR spectroscopy together with intravenous infusion of [U-13C5]glutamine for 3, 15, 30, and 60 minutes in mice. 13C labeling of brain glutamine was found to be saturated at plasma glutamine levels >1.0 mmol/L. Fitting a blood-astrocyte-neuron metabolic model to the 13C enrichment time courses of glutamate and glutamine yielded the value of glutamine influx, VGln(in), 0.036±0.002 μmol/g per minute for plasma glutamine of 1.8 mmol/L. For physiologic plasma glutamine level (∼0.6 mmol/L), VGln(in) would be ∼0.010 μmol/g per minute, which corresponds to ∼6% of the glutamine synthesis rate and rises to ∼11% for saturating blood glutamine concentrations. Thus, glutamine influx from blood contributes at most ∼20% to the dilution of astroglial glutamine-C4 consistently seen in metabolic studies using [1-13C]glucose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ketone bodies are important alternate brain fuels, but their capacity to replace glucose and support neural function is unclear. In this study, the contributions of ketone bodies and glucose to cerebral cortical metabolism were measured in vivo in halothane-anesthetized rats fasted for 36 hours (n=6) and receiving intravenous [2,4-13C2]-D-β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB). Time courses of 13C-enriched brain amino acids (glutamate-C4, glutamine-C4, and glutamate and glutamine-C3) were measured at 9.4 Tesla using spatially localized 1H-[13C]-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Metabolic rates were estimated by fitting a constrained, two-compartment (neuron-astrocyte) metabolic model to the 13C time-course data. We found that ketone body oxidation was substantial, accounting for 40% of total substrate oxidation (glucose plus ketone bodies) by neurons and astrocytes. D-β-Hydroxybutyrate was oxidized to a greater extent in neurons than in astrocytes (∼70:30), and followed a pattern closely similar to the metabolism of [1-13C]glucose reported in previous studies. Total neuronal tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) flux in hyperketonemic rats was similar to values reported for normal (nonketotic) anesthetized rats infused with [1-13C]glucose, but neuronal glucose oxidation was 40% to 50% lower, indicating that ketone bodies had compensated for the reduction in glucose use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acetate is a well-known astrocyte-specific substrate that has been used extensively to probe astrocytic function in vitro and in vivo. Analysis of amino acid turnover curves from 13C-acetate has been limited mainly for estimation of first-order rate constants from exponential fitting or calculation of relative rates from steady-state 13C enrichments. In this study, we used 1H-[13C]-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy with intravenous infusion of [2-13C]acetate-Na+ in vivo to measure the cerebral kinetics of acetate transport and utilization in anesthetized rats. Kinetics were assessed using a two-compartment (neuron/astrocyte) analysis of the 13C turnover curves of glutamate-C4 and glutamine-C4 from [2-13C]acetate-Na+, brain acetate levels, and the dependence of steady-state glutamine-C4 enrichment on blood acetate levels. The steady-state enrichment of glutamine-C4 increased with blood acetate concentration until 90% of plateau for plasma acetate of 4 to 5 mmol/L. Analysis assuming reversible, symmetric Michaelis–Menten kinetics for transport yielded 27±2mmol/L and 1.3±0.3 μmol/g/min for Kt and Tmax, respectively, and for utilization, 0.17±0.24 mmol/L and 0.14±0.02 μmol/g/min for KM_util and Vmax_util, respectively. The distribution space for acetate was only 0.32±0.12 mL/g, indicative of a large excluded volume. The astrocytic and neuronal tricarboxylic acid cycle fluxes were 0.37±0.03 μmol/g/min and 1.41±0.11 μmol/g/min, respectively; astrocytes thus comprised ∼21%±3% of total oxidative metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A decline in brain function is a characteristic feature of healthy aging; however, little is known about the biologic basis of this phenomenon. To determine whether there are alterations in brain mitochondrial metabolism associated with healthy aging, we combined 13C/1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy with infusions of [1-13C]glucose and [2-13C]acetate to quantitatively characterize rates of neuronal and astroglial tricarboxylic acid cycles, as well as neuroglial glutamate–glutamine cycling, in healthy elderly and young volunteers. Compared with young subjects, neuronal mitochondrial metabolism and glutamate–glutamine cycle flux was ∼30% lower in elderly subjects. The reduction in individual subjects correlated strongly with reductions in N-acetylaspartate and glutamate concentrations consistent with chronic reductions in brain mitochondrial function. In elderly subjects infused with [2-13C]acetate labeling of glutamine, C4 and C3 differed from that of the young subjects, indicating age-related changes in glial mitochondrial metabolism. Taken together, these studies show that healthy aging is associated with reduced neuronal mitochondrial metabolism and altered glial mitochondrial metabolism, which may in part be responsible for declines in brain function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contribution of glutamatergic and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic neurons to oxidative energy metabolism and neurotransmission in the developing brain is not known. Glutamatergic and GABAergic fluxes were assessed in neocortex of postnatal day 10 (P10) and 30 (P30) urethane-anesthetized rats infused intravenously with [1,6-13C2]glucose for different time intervals (time course) or with [2-13C]acetate for 2 to 3 h (steady state). Amino acid levels and 13C enrichments were determined in tissue extracts ex vivo using 1H-[13C]-NMR spectroscopy. Metabolic fluxes were estimated from the best fits of a three-compartment metabolic model (glutamatergic neurons, GABAergic neurons, and astroglia) to the 13C-enrichment time courses of amino acids from [1,6-13C2]glucose, constrained by the ratios of neurotransmitter cycling (Vcyc)-to-tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle flux (VTCAn) calculated from the steady-state [2-13C]acetate enrichment data. From P10 to P30 increases in total neuronal (glutamate plus GABA) TCA cycle flux (3 × ; 0.24±0.05 versus 0.71±0.07 μmol per g per min, P<0.0001) and total neurotransmitter cycling flux (3.1 to 5 × ; 0.07 to 0.11 (±0.03) versus 0.34±0.03 μmol per g per min, P<0.0001) were approximately proportional. Incremental changes in total cycling (ΔVcyc(tot)) and neuronal TCA cycle flux (ΔVTCAn(tot)) between P10 and P30 were 0.23 to 0.27 and 0.47 μmol per g per min, respectively, similar to the ∼1:2 relationship previously reported for adult cortex. For the individual neurons, increases in VTCAn and Vcyc were similar in magnitude (glutamatergic neurons, 2.7 × versus 2.8 to 4.6 × ; GABAergic neurons, ∼5 × versus ∼7 ×), although GABAergic flux changes were larger. The findings show that glutamate and GABA neurons undergo large and approximately proportional increases in neurotransmitter cycling and oxidative energy metabolism during this major postnatal growth spurt.Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism (2007) 27, 1895–1907; doi:10.1038/sj.jcbfm.9600490; published online 18 April 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments have previously shown that glutamatergic neurotransmitter flux (Vcycle(Glu/Gln)) changes proportionately with neuronal glucose oxidation (CMRglc(ox)N) in the nonactivated cortex of anesthetized rats. Positron Emission Tomography measurements of glucose and oxygen uptake during sensory stimulation had shown that the incremental glucose utilization is greater than oxygen leading to the suggestion that the energy required for stimulated neuronal activity arises from nonoxidative glucose metabolism. In this study, the authors used spatially localized 1H-observed, 13C-edited NMR spectroscopy during an infusion of [1,6-13C2]glucose to assess the relationship between changes in Vcycle(Glu/Gln) and glucose utilization (CMRglc(ox)N and CMRglc(nonox)) during the intense cortical activity associated with bicuculline-induced seizures. Metabolic fluxes were determined by model-based analysis of the 13C-enrichment time courses of glutamate-C4 and glutamine-C4 (CMRglc(ox)N, Vcycle(Glu/Gln)) and lactate-C3 (CMRglc(nonox)). The exchange rate between α-ketoglutarate and glutamate was found to be significantly faster than TCA cycle flux both for control (41 μmol·g−1·min−1; 95% CI, 5 to 109 μmol·g−1·min−1) and during seizures (21 μmol·g−1·min−1; 95% CI, 4.4 to 51.8 μmol·g−1·min−1). During seizures, total glucose utilization (CMRglc(ox+nonox)) increased substantially (466% between 0 and 6 minutes; 277% between 6 and 55 minutes). Glucose oxidation (CMRglc(ox)N) also increased (214%; from 0.26 ± 0.02 to 0.57 ± 0.07 μmol·g−1·min−1) but to a lesser degree, resulting in a large increase in cortical lactate concentration. Vcycle(Glu/Gln) increased 233% (from 0.22 ± 0.04 to 0.52 ± 0.07 μmol·g−1·min−1), which was similar to the increase in glucose oxidation. The value of Vcycle(Glu/Gln) and CMRglc(ox)N obtained here lie on the line predicted in a previous study. These results indicate that neuronal glucose oxidation and not total glucose utilization is coupled to the glutamate/glutamine cycle during intense cortical activation.Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism (2004) 24, 972–985; doi:10.1097/01.WCB.0000126234.16188.71 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]