Abstract
Glucose and oxygen (O2) are vital to the brain. Glucose metabolism and mitochondria play a pivotal role in this process, culminating in the increase of reactive O2 species. Hexokinase (HK) is a key enzyme on glucose metabolism and is coupled to the brain mitochondrial redox modulation by recycling ADP for oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). GABA shunt is an alternative pathway to GABA metabolism that increases succinate levels, a Krebs cycle intermediate. Although glucose and GABA metabolisms are intrinsically connected, their interplay coordinating mitochondrial function is poorly understood. Here, we hypothesize that the HK and the GABA shunt interact to control mitochondrial metabolism differently in the cortex and the hypothalamus. The GABA shunt stimulated mitochondrial O2 consumption and H2O2 production higher in hypothalamic synaptosomes (HSy) than cortical synaptosomes (CSy). The GABA shunt increased the HK coupled to OXPHOS activity in both population of synaptosomes, but the rate of activation was higher in HSy than CSy. Significantly, malonate and vigabatrin blocked the effects of the GABA shunt in the HK activity coupled to OXPHOS. It indicates that the glucose phosphorylation is linked to GABA and Krebs cycle reactions. Together, these data shed light on the HK and SDH role on the metabolism of each region fed by GABA turnover, which depends on the neurons' metabolic route.
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Abbreviations
- α-KG :
-
Alpha ketoglutarate
- ΔΨm :
-
Mitochondrial membrane potential
- 2-DG :
-
2-Deoxyglucose
- Ap5A :
-
P1,P5-Di(adenosine-5') pentaphosphate
- CSy :
-
Cortical synaptosome
- ETS :
-
Electron transport system
- FCCP :
-
Carbonyl cyanide-4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenylhydrazone
- GABA-t :
-
Gamma transaminase
- GAD :
-
Glutamate decarboxylase
- GDH :
-
Glutamate dehydrogenase
- Glc :
-
Glucose
- G6P :
-
Glucose-6-phosphate
- HK :
-
Hexokinase
- HSy :
-
Hypothalamic synaptosome
- mROS :
-
Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species
- mt-HK :
-
Mitochondrial-bound hexokinase
- NAG :
-
N-Acetyl-Glucosamine
- OXPHOS :
-
Oxidative phosphorylation
- SDH :
-
Succinate dehydrogenase
- SSADH :
-
Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase
- Succ :
-
Succinate
- TCA :
-
Tricarboxylic acid cycle
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES/Brazil; scholarship number 88887.335745/2019-00 to JPCA), Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ/Brazil; grant number E-26/203.004/2017 to AG), Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia-Excitotoxicidade e Neuroproteção (INCT-EN) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico.
Funding
João Paulo Cavalcanti-de-Albuquerque is currently supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES/Brazil; scholarship number 88887.335745/2019–00). Antonio Galina is a fellow from FAPERJ-CNE Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), Cientista do Nosso Estado (grant numbers E-26/203.004/2017) and Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia-Excitotoxicidade e Neuroproteção (INCT-EN). The study was supported by research grants from CNPq, FAPERJ and CAPES.
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JPCA—Responsible for the development, organization, execution and the writing of the study. ESF—Assisted in animal handling, oxygen consumption and in the hexokinase and citrate synthase activity experiments. DPC—Intellectual contribution. AG—Intellectual contribution and writing.
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Cavalcanti-de-Albuquerque, J.P., de-Souza-Ferreira, E., de Carvalho, D.P. et al. Coupling of GABA Metabolism to Mitochondrial Glucose Phosphorylation. Neurochem Res 47, 470–480 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-021-03463-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-021-03463-2