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Failure of Glucose and Branched‐Chain Amino Acids to Normalize Brain Glucose Use in Portacaval Shunted Rats
Author(s) -
Mans Anke M.,
Davis Donald W.,
Biebuyck Julien F.,
Hawkins Richard A.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1986.tb00776.x
Subject(s) - medicine , endocrinology , amino acid , portacaval shunt , phenylalanine , glutamine , monoamine neurotransmitter , serotonin , norepinephrine , chemistry , tryptophan , carbohydrate metabolism , tyrosine , aromatic amino acids , metabolism , biochemistry , dopamine , cirrhosis , receptor , portal hypertension
Several abnormalities in brain and plasma amino acid concentrations caused by portacaval shunting in rats return toward normal after 4 days of intravenous infusion with either glucose or glucose with branched‐chain amino acids. To assess the effect of such treatment on brain energy metabolism, regional brain glucose use was measured using [ 14 C]glucose and autoradiography, 5 weeks after portacaval shunting. In one experiment intravenous glucose or glucose with branched‐chain amino acids was given for 4 days. In a separate experiment the treatment was given orally for 2 weeks, and in addition to glucose use, brain monoamines and amino acids were measured. No other food was provided; the rats had free access to water. Normally fed shunted rats and sham‐operated rats served as controls. Both types of oral treatment lowered the high concentrations of tyrosine, phenylalanine, and glutamine in plasma and brain. Glucose without amino acids normalized brain tryptophan. Levels of brain norepinephrine, 5‐hydroxytryptamine (serotonin), and 5‐hydroxyindoleacetic acid were significantly raised after shunting. Treatment had no effect on norepinephrine but the glucose diet brought the indoles into the normal range. In contrast, neither intravenous nor oral treatment affected brain glucose use, which remained depressed by 25–30% in all brain areas examined.