title: Early deficits in glycolysis are specific to striatal neurons from a rat model of huntington disease.
abstract: In Huntington disease (HD), there is increasing evidence for a link between mutant huntingtin expression, mitochondrial dysfunction, energetic deficits and neurodegeneration but the precise nature, causes and order of these events remain to be determined. In this work, our objective was to evaluate mitochondrial respiratory function in intact, non-permeabilized, neurons derived from a transgenic rat model for HD compared to their wild type littermates by measuring oxygen consumption rates and extracellular acidification rates. Although HD striatal neurons had similar respiratory capacity as those from their wild-type littermates when they were incubated in rich medium containing a supra-physiological glucose concentration (25 mM), pyruvate and amino acids, respiratory defects emerged when cells were incubated in media containing only a physiological cerebral level of glucose (2.5 mM). According to the concept that glucose is not the sole substrate used by the brain for neuronal energy production, we provide evidence that primary neurons can use lactate as well as pyruvate to fuel the mitochondrial respiratory chain. In contrast to glucose, we found no major deficits in HD striatal neurons' capacity to use pyruvate as a respiratory substrate compared to wild type littermates. Additionally, we used extracellular acidification rates to confirm a reduction in anaerobic glycolysis in the same cells. Interestingly, the metabolic disturbances observed in striatal neurons were not seen in primary cortical neurons, a brain region affected in later stages of HD. In conclusion, our results argue for a dysfunction in glycolysis, which might precede any defects in the respiratory chain itself, and these are early events in the onset of disease.
authors.affiliation: Trophos, Parc Scientifique de Luminy, Luminy Biotech Entreprises, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gouarné
authors.forename: Gwenaëlle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tardif
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tracz
authors.forename: Virginie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Latyszenok
authors.forename: Magali
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Michaud
authors.forename: Laura Emily
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Clemens
authors.forename: Libo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yu-Taeger
authors.forename: Huu Phuc
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bordet
authors.forename: Rebecca M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Pruss
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019069:Cell Respiration; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005110:Extracellular Space / Q000378:metabolism; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006019:Glycolysis; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000378:metabolism*; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D019289:Pyruvic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D055647:Rats, Transgenic
chemical_list: D019344:Lactic Acid; D019289:Pyruvic Acid; D005947:Glucose