Effects of sodium phenylpyruvate on amino acid formation in brain

Rat brain cortex slices were incubated with glucose-U-C14in normal Krebs–Ringer phosphate media and also media 105 mM in potassium ions. Intracellular labelling of amino acids, such as glutamic acid, glutamine, γ-aminobutyric acid, aspartic acid, and alanine, was estimated by radioautography according to the method of Kini and Quastel. The respiration of brain cortex slices was little affected by the presence of phenylpyruvate. However, the formation of these amino acids was strongly suppressed. Moreover, in high-potassium media, the inhibitory effects of phenylpyruvate were greatly magnified. The addition of phenylalanine had no significant effect either on the oxygen consumption or on the amino acid formation when brain cortex slices were incubated with glucose-U-C14.