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CrossTalk opposing view: lack of evidence supporting an astrocyte‐to‐neuron lactate shuttle coupling neuronal activity to glucose utilisation in the brain
Author(s) -
Bak Lasse K.,
Walls Anne B.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1113/jp274945
Subject(s) - crosstalk , neuroscience , astrocyte , neuron , premovement neuronal activity , coupling (piping) , chemistry , biology , physics , central nervous system , materials science , optics , metallurgy
In 1993, Dringen et al. concluded that ‘glycogen in astrocytes can be considered as a store for lactate rather than for glucose’, and suggested that lactate derived from the breakdown of glycogen in astrocytes may serve the energetic needs of neighbouring cells. The following year, Pellerin and Magistretti (1994) published their now famed astrocyte-to-neuron lactate shuttle hypothesis in which the transfer of lactate from astrocytes to neurons, in this case derived from extracellular glucose rather than glycogen, is coupled to uptake of neurotransmitter glutamate (i.e. neuronal activity). According to this hypothesis, glycolysis and lactate production are astrocytic phenomena while oxidative metabolism of lactate takes place in neurons. The astrocyte-to-neuron lactate shuttle hypothesis as proposed by Pellerin and Magistretti (1994) has gained widespread acceptance, and its popularity is not surprising due to its conceptually simple and compelling idea of an activity-based coupling between neuronal synaptic activity and astrocyte metabolism. We will argue that the biochemical and physiological