Acetyl-L-carnitine modulates glucose metabolism and stimulates glycogen synthesis in rat brain.
The effects of acetyl-L-carnitine on cerebral glucose metabolism were investigated in rats injected with differently 14C- and 13C-labelled glucose and sacrificed after 15, 30, 45, and 60 min. Acetyl-L-carnitine was found to reduce total 14CO2 release from [U-14C]glucose along with the decrease in [1-13C]glucose incorporation into cerebral amino acids and tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates. However the 13C labelling pattern within different carbon positions of glutamate, glutamine, GABA, and aspartate was unaffected by acetyl-L-carnitine administration. Furthermore, the cerebral levels of newly-synthesized proglycogen were higher in rats treated with acetyl-L-carnitine than in untreated ones. These results suggest that acetyl-L-carnitine was able to modulate cerebral glucose utilization and provide new insights on the mechanisms of action of this molecule in the central nervous system.
Aureli
T
T
Department of Biochemistry, Sigma-Tau Research Labs, Pomezia (RM), Italy.
Di Cocco
M E
ME
Puccetti
C
C
Ricciolini
R
R
Scalibastri
M
M
Miccheli
A
A
Manetti
C
C
Conti
F
F
D000108:Acetylcarnitine / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology*; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006003:Glycogen / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D013997:Time Factors
D000596:Amino Acids; D000108:Acetylcarnitine; D006003:Glycogen; D005947:Glucose