title: Glutamine and glutamate transport in cultured neuronal and glial cells.
abstract: The uptake of L-glutamine in neuronal and glial cultures derived from rat cerebral hemispheres was found to be mediated by a low affinity-high capacity mechanism which was concentrative in both cell types; the calculated Km and Vmax were twice as high in glial than in neuronal cultures. In contrast L-glutamate was taken up by a high affinity system which was particularly efficient and concentrative in the glial cells. Different transport mechanisms for L-glutamine appeared to operate in the two cell types: L-glutamine uptake in neurons was sodium-dependent, specifically inhibited by L-glutamine but not affected by high potassium concentrations in the external medium; on the other hand, glial glutamine transport was decreased when potassium concentration increased, was sodium-independent and significantly inhibited by 3 structurally related amino acids. No significant contribution of homoexchange could be detected in either cell type. After [14C]glutamine preincubation, the radioactivity released into the superfusion medium by neuronal cells was increased in the presence of a high potassium concentration; no such effect could be seen in the case of glial cultures. A regulatory mechanism is suggested where astrocyte depolarization and repolarization would channel a flux of glutamine toward the neurons, subsequent to a glutamate flux in the opposite direction.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology*; D004573:Electrolytes / Q000378:metabolism; D005971:Glutamates / Q000378:metabolism*; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D005973:Glutamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004573:Electrolytes; D005971:Glutamates; D005973:Glutamine; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid