1. Astrocytic glycogen metabolism in the healthy and diseased brain
- Author
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Arne Schousboe, Anne B. Walls, Lasse K. Bak, and Helle S. Waagepetersen
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Glutamine ,Biology ,Biochemistry ,Isozyme ,03 medical and health sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Glycogen phosphorylase ,0302 clinical medicine ,Alzheimer Disease ,Memory ,Internal medicine ,Cyclic AMP ,medicine ,Animals ,Humans ,Learning ,Neurotransmitter ,Molecular Biology ,Neurotransmitter Agents ,Thematic Minireviews ,Glycogen ,Glycogen Phosphorylase ,Brain ,Cell Biology ,medicine.disease ,Isoenzymes ,030104 developmental biology ,Endocrinology ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ,chemistry ,Astrocytes ,Potassium ,Calcium ,Signal transduction ,Alzheimer's disease ,Sleep ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Signal Transduction ,Astrocyte - Abstract
The brain contains a fairly low amount of glycogen, mostly located in astrocytes, a fact that has prompted the suggestion that glycogen does not have a significant physiological role in the brain. However, glycogen metabolism in astrocytes is essential for several key physiological processes and is adversely affected in disease. For instance, diminished ability to break down glycogen impinges on learning, and epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, and type 2 diabetes are all associated with abnormal astrocyte glycogen metabolism. Glycogen metabolism supports astrocytic K(+) and neurotransmitter glutamate uptake and subsequent glutamine synthesis—three fundamental steps in excitatory signaling at most brain synapses. Thus, there is abundant evidence for a key role of glycogen in brain function. Here, we summarize the physiological brain functions that depend on glycogen, discuss glycogen metabolism in disease, and investigate how glycogen breakdown is regulated at the cellular and molecular levels.
- Published
- 2018