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Axon‐glia interactions in the crayfish: Glial cell oxygen consumption is tightly coupled to axon metabolism
Author(s) -
Hargittai Pa'l T.,
Lieberman Edward M.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
glia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.954
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1098-1136
pISSN - 0894-1491
DOI - 10.1002/glia.440040410
Subject(s) - axon , biology , neuroglia , neuroscience , cell , oxidative phosphorylation , cell type , nervous system , microbiology and biotechnology , nervous tissue , biophysics , central nervous system , biochemistry
Oxygen consumption (Q̇ O 2) of single isolated axons and their associated glial cell sheath was investigated under a variety of conditions to determine the contribution of each cell type to whole tissue Q̇ O 2. It was found that the Q̇ O 2of the sheath, in the absence of a functional axon, represented approximately 30% of the total tissue Q̇ O 2. When the axon was injected with carboxyatractyloside, an inhibitor of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation that is membrane impermeant, electrophysiological properties of the axon were not affected and glial sheath respiratory activity was stimulated by 1.7 to 2.7 times the untreated control level. These results suggest that glial cell metabolic activity is regulated by the metabolic activity of the axon. Depending on the experimental conditions the glial sheath accounts for 30% to nearly 100% of the Q̇ O 2of axon‐glial cell tissue. On the basis of these and morphometric measurements we estimated that in a normally functioning axon‐glial cell system the glial sheath accounts for 90% of the tissue Q̇ O 2.