Simultaneous Measurement of Neuronal and Astroglial Metabolism in Mouse Brain

Anant Bahadur Patel¹, Puneet Bagga¹, K.S. Varadarajan¹, T.V. Rohith¹

In this study we have used a novel approach of co-infusion of [U-¹³C₆]glucose and [2-¹³C]acetate in mice to study neuronal and astroglial metabolism simultaneously. ¹H-[¹³C]- and ¹³C-[¹H]-NMR spectroscopy were used to analyze the neurotransmitter turnover from labeled substrates in different brain regions. Half time for Glu_C4 and GABA_C2 increased in the order; Cortex-SubCortex-Cerebellum while that of Gln_C4 from [2-¹³C]acetate is in the order; SubCortex-Cortex-Cerebellum. Further, the initial synthesis rate of glutamate and GABA from glucose decreased in the order: Cortex-SubCortex-Cerebellum while that of glutamine from acetate increased in the order: Cortex-SubCortex-Cerebellum.