Glutamine and alanine metabolism in lungs of septic rats

1991 ◽  
Vol 81 (5) ◽  
pp. 603-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Salleh M. Ardawi

1. The metabolism of glutamine and alanine in the lung was studied in rats made septic by a caecal ligation and puncture technique. 2. The blood glucose concentration was not significantly different in septic rats, but blood pyruvate, lactate, glutamine and alanine concentrations were markedly increased as compared with sham-operated rats. Conversely, blood ketone body and plasma cholesterol concentrations were significantly decreased in septic rats. Both plasma insulin and plasma glucagon concentrations were markedly elevated in response to sepsis. Sepsis resulted in a negative nitrogen balance. 3. Sepsis increased the rates of production of glutamine (52.5%, P <0.001), alanine (38.9%, P <0.001) and glutamate (48.6%, P <0.001) by lung slices incubated in vitro. 4. Sepsis increased lung blood flow by 27.6% (P <0.05). Blood flow and arteriovenous concentration difference measurement across the lung of septic rats showed an increase in the net exchange rates of glutamine (142.5%, P <0.001), alanine (129.4%, P <0.001), glutamate (100.9%, P <0.001) and ammonia (138.0%, P <0.001) as compared with sham-operated control rats. 5. Sepsis produced significant decreases in the lung concentrations of glutamine (36.8%), glutamate (20.8%), 2-oxoglutarate (64.8%) and AMP (18.3%). The lung concentrations of alanine (95.9%), ammonia (67.7%) and pyruvate (89.7%) were increased. 6. The maximal activities of glutamine synthetase (20.4%, P <0.05), phosphate-dependent glutaminase (18.9%, P <0.05) and alanine aminotransferase (25.5%, P <0.05) were increased, but there was no marked change in that of glutamate dehydrogenase, in the lungs of septic rats. 7. It is concluded that there are enhanced rates of production of glutamine and alanine from lungs of septic rats (both in vitro and in vivo). This may be due to changes in efflux and/or increased intracellular biosynthesis of both glutamine and alanine; these suggestions are discussed.

1987 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 683-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo R.L. De Vasconcelos ◽  
Michael G. W. Kettlewell ◽  
Dermot H. Williamson

1. The time course (12, 24 and 48 h) of changes in blood metabolites, and in gluconeogenesis and ketogenesis, in isolated hepatocytes from rats made septic by caecal ligation and puncture was measured. 2. Blood glucose was not significantly different in septic rats, but lactate was increased at 12, 24 and 48 h; pyruvate and alanine were increased at 48 h. The blood ketone body concentrations were decreased at all times studied after induction of sepsis. These changes were accompanied by increased plasma insulin in the septic rats. 3. The rate of hepatic lipogenesis in vivo was increased at 24 and 48 h. 4. There were appreciable increases in the hepatic concentrations of alanine (200%), lactate (200%) and pyruvate (100%) as well as other intermediates in the gluconeogenic pathway. The hepatic concentrations of acetyl-CoA and ketone bodies were decreased. 5. The rate of gluconeogenesis from added lactate, pyruvate, alanine and glutamine was depressed in isolated hepatocytes from septic rats at 24 and 48 h. 6. The basal rate of ketogenesis or the rate from butyrate in isolated hepatocytes was not significantly altered by sepsis, whereas the rate from oleate was decreased at all time points. 7. It is concluded that there is an impairment of the capacity for gluconeogenesis and ketogenesis in livers of septic rats. The latter may be due to decreased entry of long-chain acyl-CoA into the mitochondria for oxidation. The possibility that these changes are in part brought about by the hyperinsulinaemia associated with the sepsis is discussed.


1991 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Salleh ◽  
M. Ardawi

1. The effect of dexamethasone (30 μg day−1 100 g−1 body weight) on the regulation of glutamine metabolism was studied in the lungs of rats after 9 days of treatment. 2. Dexamethasone resulted in a negative nitrogen balance, and produced decreases in the blood concentrations of glutamine (32.3%) and glutamate (25.3%) but an increase in the blood concentration of alanine (33.9%). 3. Dexamethasone treatment increases the rates of production of glutamine and alanine by lung slices incubated in vitro. 4. Blood flow and arteriovenous concentration difference measurement across the lungs exhibited an increase in the net exchange rates of glutamine (131.6%) and alanine (113.2%) in dexamethasone-treated rats compared with corresponding pair-fed controls. 5. Dexamethasone treatment produced significant decreases in the lung concentrations of glutamine (47.2%), glutamate (30.9%) and 2-oxoglutarate (57.3%). The concentrations of alanine (52.1%), ammonia (24.7%) and pyruvate (43.7%) were increased. 6. The maximal activity of glutamine synthetase was increased (21.5%), but there was no marked change in that of glutaminase, in the lungs of dexamethasone-treated rats. 7. It is concluded that glucocorticoid administration enhances the rates of production of glutamine and alanine from lungs of rats (both in vitro and in vivo). This may be due to changes in efflux and/or increased intracellular biosynthesis of glutamine and alanine.


2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. S198-S198
Author(s):  
Joseph R Meno ◽  
Thien-son K Nguyen ◽  
Elise M Jensen ◽  
G Alexander West ◽  
Leonid Groysman ◽  
...  

Stroke ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yedan Liu ◽  
Shaoxun Wang ◽  
Ya Guo ◽  
Huawei Zhang ◽  
Richard Roman ◽  
...  

Diabetes is the primary pathological factor attributed to Alzheimer’s disease and vascular cognitive impairment. Previous studies demonstrated that hyperglycemia promoted oxidative stress in the cerebral vasculature. Cerebrovascular pericytes contribute to maintaining blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity and regulating cerebral blood flow (CBF). However, whether hyperglycemia diminishes the contractile capability of pericytes, impairs CBF autoregulation and increases BBB permeability are unclear. In the present study, we examined the role of pericytes in cerebrovascular function and cognition in diabetes using cell culture in vitro , isolated penetrating arterioles ex vivo and CBF autoregulation in vivo . Reactive oxygen species were elevated in high glucose (HG, 30 mM) treated vs. normal glucose (NG, 5.5 mM) treated pericytes. Further, mitochondrial superoxide production was increased in HG-treated vs. NG-treated group (13.24 ± 1.01 arbitrary unit (a.u.)/30min vs. 6.98 ± 0.36 a.u./30min). Mitochondrial respiration decreased in HG-treated vs. NG-treated pericytes (3718 ± 185.9 pmol/min/mg, n=10 vs. 4742 ± 284.5 pmol/min/mg, n=10) as measured by a Seahorse XFe24 analyzer. HG-treated pericytes displayed fragmented mitochondria in association with increased fission protein (DRP1) and decreased fusion protein (OPA1) expression. HG-treated pericytes displayed lower contractile capability than NG-treated cells (20.23 ± 7.15% vs. 29.46 ± 9.41%). The myogenic response was impaired in penetrating arterioles isolated from diabetic rats in comparison with non-diabetic rats. Autoregulation of CBF measured by a laser Doppler flowmeter was impaired in diabetic rats compared with non-diabetic rats. Diabetic rats exhibited greater BBB leakage than control rats. The cognitive function was examined using an eight-arm water maze. Diabetic rats took longer time to escape than the non-diabetic rats indicating learning and memory deficits. In conclusion, hyperglycemia induces pericyte dysfunction by altering mitochondrial dynamics and diminishing contractile capability, which promotes BBB leakage, decreases CBF autoregulation and contributes to diabetes-related dementia.


2011 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 695-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle J. McCullough ◽  
Robert T. Davis ◽  
James M. Dominguez ◽  
John N. Stabley ◽  
Christian S. Bruells ◽  
...  

With advancing age, there is a reduction in exercise tolerance, resulting, in part, from a perturbed ability to match O2 delivery to uptake within skeletal muscle. In the spinotrapezius muscle (which is not recruited during incline treadmill running) of aged rats, we tested the hypotheses that exercise training will 1) improve the matching of O2 delivery to O2 uptake, evidenced through improved microvascular Po2 (PmO2), at rest and throughout the contractions transient; and 2) enhance endothelium-dependent vasodilation in first-order arterioles. Young (Y, ∼6 mo) and aged (O, >24 mo) Fischer 344 rats were assigned to control sedentary (YSED; n = 16, and OSED; n = 15) or exercise-trained (YET; n = 14, and OET; n = 13) groups. Spinotrapezius blood flow (via radiolabeled microspheres) was measured at rest and during exercise. Phosphorescence quenching was used to quantify PmO2 in vivo at rest and across the rest-to-twitch contraction (1 Hz, 5 min) transition in the spinotrapezius muscle. In a follow-up study, vasomotor responses to endothelium-dependent (acetylcholine) and -independent (sodium nitroprusside) stimuli were investigated in vitro. Blood flow to the spinotrapezius did not increase above resting values during exercise in either young or aged groups. Exercise training increased the precontraction baseline PmO2 (OET 37.5 ± 3.9 vs. OSED 24.7 ± 3.6 Torr, P < 0.05); the end-contracting PmO2 and the time-delay before PmO2 fell in the aged group but did not affect these values in the young. Exercise training improved maximal vasodilation in aged rats to acetylcholine (OET 62 ± 16 vs. OSED 27 ± 16%) and to sodium nitroprusside in both young and aged rats. Endurance training of aged rats enhances the PmO2 in a nonrecruited skeletal muscle and is associated with improved vascular smooth muscle function. These data support the notion that improvements in vascular function with exercise training are not isolated to the recruited muscle.


1986 ◽  
Vol 251 (5) ◽  
pp. R851-R858
Author(s):  
S. J. Wickler ◽  
B. A. Horwitz ◽  
J. S. Stern

The Zucker obese rat is characterized by decreased capacity for diet-induced and for nonshivering thermogenesis. This decrease is due, in large part, to reduced thermogenesis in depots of brown adipose tissue, a major source of heat production in rats. Adrenalectomy retards the weight gain observed in the obese rats and also normalizes brown fat guanosine 5'-diphosphate (GDP) binding, an in vitro measure of brown fat thermogenic capacity. This study examined the effect of adrenalectomy on brown fat blood flow, an in vivo measure of the tissue's function, and on norepinephrine-induced O2 consumption (NST) of 11-wk-old obese (fa/fa) and lean (Fa/?) rats. Adrenalectomy had little effect on weight gain, NST, or norepinephrine-stimulated blood flow to brown fat in lean rats. However, adrenalectomy produced profound changes in the obese animals, preventing the weight gain normally occurring in the obese rats and normalizing both NST capacity and norepinephrine-stimulated blood flow to brown fat. These findings provide further support for the importance of brown fat thermogenesis and glucocorticoids in modulating the obesity of the Zucker rat.


2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 335-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-xing Fei ◽  
Tian-hong Zhang ◽  
Jing Zhao ◽  
He Ren ◽  
Ya-nan Du ◽  
...  

Objective To investigate the effect of hypothermia on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of nimodipine in rabbits using in vivo and in vitro methods. Methods Five healthy New Zealand rabbits received a single dose of nimodipine (0.5 mg/kg) intravenously under normothermic and hypothermic conditions. Doppler ultrasound was used to monitor cerebral blood flow, vascular resistance, and heart rate. In vitro evaluations of protein binding, hepatocyte uptake and intrinsic clearance of liver microsomes at different temperatures were also conducted. Results Plasma concentrations of nimodipine were significantly higher in hypothermia than in normothermia. Nimodipine improved cerebral blood flow under both conditions, but had a longer effective duration during the hypothermic period. Low temperature decreased the intrinsic clearance of liver microsomes, with no change in protein binding or hepatocyte uptake of nimodipine. Conclusion Nimodipine is eliminated at a slower rate during hypothermia than during normothermia, mainly due to the decreased activity of cytochrome P450 enzymes. This results in elevated system exposure with little enhancement in pharmacological effect.


2001 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 168-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Edvinsson ◽  
Peter J. Goadsby ◽  
Rolf Uddman

Amylin and adrenomedullin are two peptides structurally related to calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). We studied the occurrence of amylin in trigeminal ganglia and cerebral blood vessels of the cat with immunocytochemistry and evaluated the role of amylin and adrenomedullin in the cerebral circulation by in vitro and in vivo pharmacology. Immunocytochemistry revealed that numerous nerve cell bodies in the trigeminal ganglion contained CGRP immunoreactivity (-ir); some of these also expressed amylin-ir but none adrenomedullin-ir. There were numerous nerve fibres surrounding cerebral blood vessels that contained CGRP-ir. Occasional fibres contained amylin-ir while we observed no adrenomedullin-ir in the vessel walls. With RT-PCR and Real-Time�PCR we revealed the presence of mRNA for calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CLRL) and receptor-activity-modifying proteins (RAMPs) in cat cerebral arteries. In vitro studies revealed that amylin, adrenomedullin, and CGRP relaxed ring segments of the cat middle cerebral artery. CGRP and amylin caused concentration-dependent relaxations at low concentrations of PGF2a-precontracted segment (with or without endothelium) whereas only at high concentration did adrenomedullin cause relaxation. CGRP8-37 blocked the CGRP and amylin induced relaxations in a parallel fashion. In vivo studies of amylin, adrenomedullin, and CGRP showed a brisk reproducible increase in local cerebral blood flow as examined using laser Doppler flowmetry applied to the cerebral cortex of the a-chloralose�anesthetized cat. The responses to amylin and CGRP were blocked by CGRP8-37. The studies suggest that there is a functional sub-set of amylin-containing trigeminal neurons which probably act via CGRP receptors.


2006 ◽  
Vol 91 (9) ◽  
pp. 3633-3638 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Hickey ◽  
G. Krikun ◽  
P. Kodaman ◽  
Frederick Schatz ◽  
C. Carati ◽  
...  

Abstract Context: Because of their safety and efficacy, long-term progestin-only contraceptives (LTPOCs) are well-suited for women with restricted access to health care. However, abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) causes half of all users to discontinue therapy within 12 months. Endometria of LTPOC-treated patients display aberrant angiogenesis with abnormally enlarged, thin-walled, fragile blood vessels, inflammation, and focal hemorrhage. In this study, similar effects were observed with a new third-generation implantable LTPOC. Objective: We hypothesized that LTPOC reduces uterine and endometrial blood flow, leading to hypoxia/reperfusion, which triggers the generation of reactive oxygen species. The latter induce aberrant angiogenesis, causing AUB. Design: Endometrial perfusion was measured by laser-Doppler fluxmetry in women requesting LTPOCs. Endometrial biopsies were obtained for in vivo and in vitro experiments. Setting: The study was conducted in the Yale University School of Medicine and Family-Planning Center in Western Australia. Patients: Seven women 18 yr or older requesting implantable LTPOCs were recruited in Western Australia. Intervention: Women received etonorgestrel implants. Main Outcome: LTPOC treatment resulted in reduced endometrial perfusion and increased endometrial oxidative damage. Conclusions: We propose that LTPOCs result in hypoxia reperfusion, which leads to aberrant angiogenesis resulting in AUB.


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