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Acute Carnosine Administration Increases Respiratory Chain Complexes and Citric Acid Cycle Enzyme Activities in Cerebral Cortex of Young Rats

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Abstract

Carnosine (β-alanyl-l-histidine) is an imidazole dipeptide synthesized in excitable tissues of many animals, whose biochemical properties include carbonyl scavenger, anti-oxidant, bivalent metal ion chelator, proton buffer, and immunomodulating agent, although its precise physiological role(s) in skeletal muscle and brain tissues in vivo remain unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the in vivo effects of acute carnosine administration on various aspects of brain bioenergetics of young Wistar rats. The activity of mitochondrial enzymes in cerebral cortex was assessed using a spectrophotometer, and it was found that there was an increase in the activities of complexes I–III and II–III and succinate dehydrogenase in carnosine-treated rats, as compared to vehicle-treated animals. However, quantitative real-time RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) data on mRNA levels of mitochondrial biogenesis-related proteins (nuclear respiratory factor 1 (Nrf1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator 1-α (Ppargc1α), and mitochondrial transcription factor A (Tfam)) were not altered significantly and therefore suggest that short-term carnosine administration does not affect mitochondrial biogenesis. It was in agreement with the finding that immunocontent of respiratory chain complexes was not altered in animals receiving carnosine. These observations indicate that acute carnosine administration increases the respiratory chain and citric acid cycle enzyme activities in cerebral cortex of young rats, substantiating, at least in part, a neuroprotector effect assigned to carnosine against oxidative-driven disorders.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by resources from The Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. GMT Oliveira was recipient of fellowships from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). LWK is recipient of fellowship CAPES/PNPD Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Erros Inatos do Metabolismo, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense, Criciúma, SC, Brazil

    Levy W. Macedo, José H. Cararo, Soliany G. Maravai & Patrícia F. Schuck

  2. Laboratório de Bioenergética, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense, Criciúma, SC, Brazil

    Cinara L. Gonçalves & Emilio L. Streck

  3. Laboratório de Biologia Genômica e Molecular, Faculdade de Biociências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Giovanna M. T. Oliveira, Luiza W. Kist & Maurício R. Bogo

  4. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Medicina e Ciências da Saúde, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Giovanna M. T. Oliveira, Luiza W. Kist & Maurício R. Bogo

  5. Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Camila Guerra Martinez & Eleonora Kurtenbach

  6. School of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, The University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK

    Alan R. Hipkiss

  7. Laboratório de Bioenergética, Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Av. Carlos Chagas Filho, 373, Cidade Universitária – Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-902, Brazil

    Gustavo C. Ferreira

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Macedo, L.W., Cararo, J.H., Maravai, S.G. et al. Acute Carnosine Administration Increases Respiratory Chain Complexes and Citric Acid Cycle Enzyme Activities in Cerebral Cortex of Young Rats. Mol Neurobiol 53, 5582–5590 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-015-9475-9

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