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Regional brain GABA metabolism and release during hepatic coma produced in rats chronically treated with carbon tetrachloride

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Abstract

Hepatic coma was induced in rats chronically treated with CCl4, by means of a single injection of ammonium acetate. The activities of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) and GABA transaminase (GABA-T), as well as the synaptosomal uptake and release of [3H]GABA, were measured in the following brain areas of the comatose rats: cortex, striatum, hypothalamus, hippocampus, midbrain and cerebellum. Hepatic coma was associated with a general decrease of GAD activity, whereas GABA-T activity was diminished only in the hypothalamus, striatum and midbrain. During hepatic coma, the K+-stimulated [3H]GABA release was notably diminished in the striatum and cerebellum, whereas a significant increase was observed in the hippocampus. [3H]GABA uptake increased in most regions after CCl4 treatment, independently of the presence of coma. The results indicate that GABAergic transmission seems to be decreased in most cerebral regions during hepatic coma.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departmento de Neurociencias, Instituto de Fisiologia Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70-600, 04510, México, D. F., México

    Mauricio Díaz-Muñoz & Ricardo Tapia

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  1. Mauricio Díaz-Muñoz
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  2. Ricardo Tapia
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Díaz-Muñoz, M., Tapia, R. Regional brain GABA metabolism and release during hepatic coma produced in rats chronically treated with carbon tetrachloride. Neurochem Res 13, 37–44 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00971852

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