Transport of alpha-keto analogues of amino acids across blood-brain barrier in rats

1982 ◽  
Vol 243 (4) ◽  
pp. E272-E277
Author(s):  
A. R. Conn ◽  
R. D. Steele

The transport of 14C-labeled alpha-keto acids across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) was studied in rats anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital using a modification of a single-injection dual-isotope technique. alpha-Keto acids were found to cross the BBB via a saturable carrier-mediated transport system that may be specific based on lack of inhibition by glucose, isoleucine, and ketone bodies on the uptake of tracer levels of 14C-labeled alpha-keto acids. alpha-Ketobutyrate and alpha-keto-gamma-methiolbutyrate, both straight chain keto acids, and alpha-ketoisocaproate, a branched-chain keto acid, appeared to cross the barrier by a common carrier based on cross-inhibition studies. Aromatic keto acids had no effect on the uptake of tracer levels of these 14C-keto acids. The Km of transport of alpha-ketobutyrate, alpha-ketoisocaproate, and alpha-keto-gamma-methiolbutyrate, was 0.11, 0.60, and 0.33 mM, respectively. The corresponding Vmax was 15.7, 73.3, and 30.2 nmol . g-1 . min-1. Phenylpyruvate was found not to cross the BBB. Inhibition of brain uptake of alpha-keto acids by propionate and pyruvate, and not by DL-beta-hydroxybutyrate suggests that alpha-keto acids and monocarboxylic acids are transported either via a common system independent of ketone bodies or share an affinity with a monocarboxylic acid and an alpha-keto acid transport system.

1983 ◽  
Vol 245 (3) ◽  
pp. E253-E260 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Conn ◽  
D. I. Fell ◽  
R. D. Steele

The transport of keto acids, monocarboxylic acids, and ketone bodies was studied in barbiturate-anesthetized, adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. [1-14C]propionate and D-3-[3-14C]hydroxybutyrate were found to cross the blood-brain barrier with brain uptake indexes of 43.53 and 7.10%, respectively. Transport of both of these substrates was saturable, with the values of transport Km being 2.03 and 6.54 mM, respectively. A Ki of 0.68 mM was derived from competition data measuring the uptake of [1-14C]alpha-ketoisocaproate in the presence of unlabeled alpha-ketobutyrate. This finding and results from classical inhibition studies support competition for transport of keto acids for a common carrier. The brain uptake of [1-14C]propionate was significantly reduced by keto acids and ketone bodies and the transport of D-3-[3-14C]hydroxybutyrate was significantly inhibited by unlabeled monocarboxylic acids, keto acids, and acetoacetate. Evidence for competitive transport of alpha-keto acids, monocarboxylic acids, and ketone bodies is presented in the form of classical double-reciprocal inhibition plots and of labeled monocarboxylic acids and ketone bodies by an increasing concentration of unlabeled alpha-ketoisocaproate, the latter method yielding Ki values of 0.29 and 0.63 mM, respectively. The brain uptake of labeled propionate was inhibited by unlabeled D-3-hydroxybutyrate. A Ki of 6.43 mM, derived from this data, approximated the Km of transport of D-3-hydroxybutyrate, suggesting that ketone bodies and monocarboxylic acids compete for transport via the same carrier that is operative for keto acids.


1991 ◽  
Vol 261 (5) ◽  
pp. E647-E652 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Hawkins ◽  
A. M. Mans

The permeability of the blood-brain barrier to ketone bodies, substrates of the monocarboxylic acid carrier, was measured in individual brain structures of control and portacaval-shunted rats. The measurements were made 5-7 wk after the shunt or sham operation by quantitative autoradiography. Portacaval shunting caused the permeability to ketone bodies to decrease throughout the brain by approximately 70%. There was a striking change in the transport pattern in the cerebral cortex; deeper cortical layers were affected more than superficial layers. Ketone body consumption by brain is limited by the transport capacity of the monocarboxylic acid system. Therefore, in portacaval-shunted rats the very low activity of this system makes it unlikely that ketone bodies can make a substantial contribution during situations such as fasting. Likewise, other substrates of the monocarboxylic acid system, e.g., lactate and pyruvate, will have greatly restricted access to the brain after portacaval shunting. If the carrier is symmetrical, another consequence will be that exit of endogenously produced lactate will be retarded.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 934 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romain Versele ◽  
Mariangela Corsi ◽  
Andrea Fuso ◽  
Emmanuel Sevin ◽  
Rita Businaro ◽  
...  

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by the abnormal accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides in the brain. The pathological process has not yet been clarified, although dysfunctional transport of Aβ across the blood–brain barrier (BBB) appears to be integral to disease development. At present, no effective therapeutic treatment against AD exists, and the adoption of a ketogenic diet (KD) or ketone body (KB) supplements have been investigated as potential new therapeutic approaches. Despite experimental evidence supporting the hypothesis that KBs reduce the Aβ load in the AD brain, little information is available about the effect of KBs on BBB and their effect on Aβ transport. Therefore, we used a human in vitro BBB model, brain-like endothelial cells (BLECs), to investigate the effect of KBs on the BBB and on Aβ transport. Our results show that KBs do not modify BBB integrity and do not cause toxicity to BLECs. Furthermore, the presence of KBs in the culture media was combined with higher MCT1 and GLUT1 protein levels in BLECs. In addition, KBs significantly enhanced the protein levels of LRP1, P-gp, and PICALM, described to be involved in Aβ clearance. Finally, the combined use of KBs promotes Aβ efflux across the BBB. Inhibition experiments demonstrated the involvement of LRP1 and P-gp in the efflux. This work provides evidence that KBs promote Aβ clearance from the brain to blood in addition to exciting perspectives for studying the use of KBs in therapeutic approaches.


Life Sciences ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 66 (7) ◽  
pp. 649-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshiharu Deguchi ◽  
Yoshinari Yokoyama ◽  
Tatsuichiro Sakamoto ◽  
Hideki Hayashi ◽  
Takafumi Naito ◽  
...  

1995 ◽  
Vol 268 (6) ◽  
pp. E1161-E1166 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. G. Hasselbalch ◽  
G. M. Knudsen ◽  
J. Jakobsen ◽  
L. P. Hageman ◽  
S. Holm ◽  
...  

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability for glucose and beta-hydroxybutyrate (beta-OHB) was studied by the intravenous double-indicator method in nine healthy subjects before and after 3.5 days of starvation. In fasting, mean arterial plasma glucose decreased and arterial concentration of beta-OHB increased, whereas cerebral blood flow remained unchanged. The permeability-surface area product for BBB glucose transport from blood to brain (PS1) increased by 55 +/- 31%, whereas no significant change in the permeability from brain back to blood (PS2) was found. PS1 for beta-OHB remained constant during starvation. The expected increase in PS1 due to the lower plasma glucose concentration was calculated to be 22% using previous estimates of maximal transport velocity and Michaelis-Menten affinity constant for glucose transport. The determined increase was thus 33% higher than the expected increase and can only be partially explained by the decrease in plasma glucose. It is concluded that a modest upregulation of glucose transport across the BBB takes place after starvation. Brain transport of beta-OHB did not decrease as expected from the largely increased beta-OHB arterial level. This might be interpreted as an increase in brain transport of beta-OHB, which could be caused by induction mechanisms, but the large nonsaturable component of beta-OHB transport makes such a conclusion difficult. However, beta-OHB blood concentration and beta-OHB influx into the brain increased by > 10 times. This implies that the influx of ketone bodies into the brain is largely determined by the amount of ketones present in the blood, and any condition in which ketonemia occurs will lead to an increased ketone influx.


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