title: The impact of genetic removal of GFAP and/or vimentin on glutamine levels and transport of glucose and ascorbate in astrocytes.
abstract: The importance of the intermediate filament (IF) proteins glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and vimentin for astrocyte function was studied by investigating astrocytes prepared from GFAP-/- and/or vimentin-/- mice. The rate of glucose uptake through facilitative hexose transporters was not affected by depletion of GFAP or vimentin. Similarly, the absence of these IF proteins did not affect ascorbate uptake, under control or cyclic AMP-stimulated conditions, or ascorbate efflux through volume-sensitive organic anion channels. However, compared with wild-type astrocytes, glutamine concentrations were increased up to 200% in GFAP-/- astrocytes and up to 150% in GFAP+/- astrocytes and this increase was not dependent on the presence of vimentin. GFAP-/- astrocytes in culture still contain IFs (made of vimentin and nestin), whereas GFAP-/- vim-/- cultured astrocytes lack IFs. Thus, glutamine levels appear to correlate inversely with GFAP, rather than depend on the presence of IFs per se. Furthermore, the effect of GFAP is dose-dependent since the glutamine concentration in GFAP+/- astrocytes falls between those in wild-type and GFAP-/- astrocytes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Milos.Pekny@medkem.gu.se
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pekny
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eliasson
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Siushansian
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pekna
authors.forename: J X
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hamberger
mesh_terms: D017878:4,4'-Diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-Disulfonic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D001692:Biological Transport; D003994:Bucladesine / Q000494:pharmacology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000494:pharmacology; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000502:physiology; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D005973:Glutamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D014746:Vimentin / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D007473:Ion Channels; D014746:Vimentin; D005973:Glutamine; D003994:Bucladesine; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D005947:Glucose; D001205:Ascorbic Acid; D017878:4,4'-Diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-Disulfonic Acid