title: Characterization of cerebral glutamine uptake from blood in the mouse brain: implications for metabolic modeling of 13C NMR data.
abstract: (13)C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) studies of rodent and human brain using [1-(13)C]/[1,6-(13)C2]glucose as labeled substrate have consistently found a lower enrichment (∼25% to 30%) of glutamine-C4 compared with glutamate-C4 at isotopic steady state. The source of this isotope dilution has not been established experimentally but may potentially arise either from blood/brain exchange of glutamine or from metabolism of unlabeled substrates in astrocytes, where glutamine synthesis occurs. In this study, the contribution of the former was evaluated ex vivo using (1)H-[(13)C]-NMR spectroscopy together with intravenous infusion of [U-(13)C5]glutamine for 3, 15, 30, and 60 minutes in mice. (13)C labeling of brain glutamine was found to be saturated at plasma glutamine levels >1.0 mmol/L. Fitting a blood-astrocyte-neuron metabolic model to the (13)C enrichment time courses of glutamate and glutamine yielded the value of glutamine influx, VGln(in), 0.036±0.002 μmol/g per minute for plasma glutamine of 1.8 mmol/L. For physiologic plasma glutamine level (∼0.6 mmol/L), VGln(in) would be ∼0.010 μmol/g per minute, which corresponds to ∼6% of the glutamine synthesis rate and rises to ∼11% for saturating blood glutamine concentrations. Thus, glutamine influx from blood contributes at most ∼20% to the dilution of astroglial glutamine-C4 consistently seen in metabolic studies using [1-(13)C]glucose.
authors: NMR Microimaging and Spectroscopy, CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India.
authors: Puneet
authors: P
authors: Bagga
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
authors: Kevin L
authors: KL
authors: Behar
authors: 1] Department of Psychiatry, Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA [2] Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
authors: Graeme F
authors: GF
authors: Mason
authors: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
authors: Henk M
authors: HM
authors: De Feyter
authors: 1] Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA [2] Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
authors: Douglas L
authors: DL
authors: Rothman
authors: NMR Microimaging and Spectroscopy, CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India.
authors: Anant B
authors: AB
authors: Patel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism*; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D005973:Glutamine / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008954:Models, Biological
chemical_list: D005973:Glutamine