title: Blood-brain barrier permeability to sodium. Modification by glucose or insulin?
abstract: In order to explore the pathogenetic mechanism underlying the changes in blood-brain barrier sodium transport in experimental diabetes, the effects of hyperglycemia and of hypoinsulinemia were studied in nondiabetic rats. In untreated diabetes, the neocortical blood-brain barrier permeability for sodium decreased by 20% (5.6 +/- 0.7 versus 7.0 +/- 0.8 X 10(5) ml/g/s) as compared to controls. Intravenous infusion of 50% glucose for 2 h was associated with a decrease in the blood-brain barrier permeability to sodium (5.4 +/- 1.2 X 10(5) ml/g/s), whereas rats treated with an inhibitor of insulin-secretion (SMS 201-995, a somatostatin-analogue) had normal sodium permeability (7.3 +/- 2.0 X 10(5) ml/g/s). Acute insulin treatment of diabetic rats normalized the sodium permeability within a few hours as compared to a separate control group (7.7 +/- 1.1 versus 6.9 +/- 1.4 X 10(5) ml/g/s). To elucidate whether the abnormal blood-brain barrier passage is caused by a metabolic effect of glucose or by the concomitant hyperosmolality, rats were made hyperosmolar by intravenous injection of 50% mannitol. Although not statistically significant, blood-brain barrier sodium permeability increased in hyperosmolar rats as compared to the control rats (8.3 +/- 1.0 and 7.0 +/- 1.9 X 10(5) ml/g/s, respectively). It is concluded that either hyperglycemia per se or a glucose metabolite is responsible for the blood-brain barrier abnormality which occurs in diabetes. Further, we suggest that the specific decrease of sodium permeability could be the result of glucose-mediated inhibition of the Na+K+-ATPase localized at the blood-brain barrier.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Clinic, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Knudsen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jakobsen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000503:physiopathology; D005947:Glucose / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D010539:Permeability; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012964:Sodium / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin; D012964:Sodium; D005947:Glucose