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Comparison of Freeze‐Blowing and Funnel‐Freezing of Rat Brain for the Measurement of Cerebral Glucose Concentration In Vivo
Author(s) -
Mies Günter,
Cruz Nancy,
Sokoloff Louis
Publication year - 1991
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.1471-4159.1991.tb02066.x
Subject(s) - funnel , in vivo , chemistry , fixation (population genetics) , metabolism , endocrinology , chromatography , medicine , anatomy , biochemistry , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , organic chemistry , gene
The efficacy of funnel‐freezing of rat brain to inactivate metabolic processes and preserve in vivo tissue glucose concentration was validated by comparing the results obtained by funnel‐freezing with those obtained with freeze‐blowing of brain. The arterial plasma glucose level was clamped at 9 m M in halothane‐anesthetized rats to produce identical glucose levels in brain tissue prior to freeze fixation. In funnel‐frozen and freeze‐blown brains, tissue glucose concentrations were 2.47 ± 0.05 and 2.47 ± 0.06 μ M ol/g (means ± SEM), respectively. Lactate levels in funnel‐frozen brains were slightly but significantly higher than those in freeze‐blown brains, i.e., 1.56 ± 0.05 μ M ol/g versus 1.30 ± 0.05 μ M ol/g (means ± SEM; p < 0.05). Regional analysis in funnel‐frozen brains revealed that glucose concentrations in superficial and basal brain areas remained approximately equal at 2.30 ± 0.1 μ M ol/g and 2.31 ± 0.09 μ M ol/g (means ± SEM), respectively. Our findings indicate that in the anesthetized rat, funnel‐freezing of brain is suitable for the measurement of regional in vivo glucose concentrations.