Microphotometric determination of enzymes in brain sections. IV. Isocitrate dehydrogenases

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase is enriched in oligodendrocytes of the rat spinal cord. Enzyme histochemical and immunocytochemical studies

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) was localized in rat spinal cord by catalytic enzyme histochemistry and immunocytochemistry. G6PD detected by either method was shown to be strongly enriched in cell bodies and processes of oligodendrocytes, whereas in the compact myelin G6PD was not detected. The enzyme histochemical procedure for the demonstration of G6PD was also adapted for microphotometric measurements of G6PD activity in the spinal cord white matter. There was a linear relationship between G6PD activity and section thickness up to 14 microns and between G6PD activity and reaction time up to 5-6 min as demonstrated by kinetic and end-point measurements. Significantly lower activities were measured in end-point measurements than in kinetic measurements because of formazan loss during rinsing. Methoxyphenazine methosulphate as an exogenous electron carrier and sodium azide as a blocker of the respiratory chain significantly increased the demonstrable G6PD activity. The Km was 0.62 mM and the Vmax 3 mumol glucose-6-phosphate/cm3 wet tissue and per min at 25 degrees C. It is concluded that G6PD in oligodendrocytes may be important for the generation of NADPH required for lipid biosynthesis related to myelogenesis, and reduction of glutathione required for protection of membrane sulphydryl groups.

Metabolic profiles of white and red-intermediate spinal motoneurons in the zebrafish

To study the interactions between the citrate cycle and amino acid metabolism in zebrafish spinal motoneurons, we composed enzyme histochemical profiles from the activities of NAD-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase (NAD-ICDH), glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH). The enzyme assays were performed on serially-sectioned motoneuron somata. The motoneurons were identified by retrograde tracing from the trunk muscle and classified, on the basis of their location in the motor column, as those innervating the white, fast glycolytic fibers (WMNs) or those innervating the red and intermediate slow oxidative fibers (RIMNs). We found the following relationships between enzyme activities in WMNs: GDH correlates with G6PDH activity (r = 0.31; p = 0.02) and NAD-ICDH correlates with GDH activity (r = 0.37; p < 0.01); correlations between NAD-ICDH and SDH and between SDH and GDH are not significant. In RIMNs we found correlations between NAD-ICDH and SDH (r = 0.34; p = 0.03), between NAD-ICDH and GDH (r = 0.41; p < 0.01) and between GDH and SDH (r = 0.50; p < 0.01); the correlation between GDH and G6PDH is not significant. The differences in metabolic profiles between WMNs and RIMNs can be explained in the following way: in WMNs, alpha-ketoglutarate is drawn off from the citrate cycle and is used in amino acid metabolism whereas in RIMNs the removal of alpha-ketoglutarate from the cycle is balanced by formation of alpha-ketoglutarate. The data suggest that the functional role of the citrate cycle differs in the two motoneuron populations: in RIMNs energy generation predominates but in WMNs a role in biosyntheses seems most important.

In situ measurements of enzyme activities in the brain

The present review focuses on enzymes involved in the metabolism of amino acid neurotransmitters and the microphotometric determinations of their activities in various layers of the rat hippocampus. The enzymes are NAD-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase (NAD-ICDH), glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), and GABA transaminase (GABAT), all of which are localized in mitochondria. GDH seems to be restricted to astrocytes, whereas NAD-ICDH and GABAT are localized in neurons as well as in astrocytes. NAD-ICDH is an important enzyme of the tricarboxylic acid cycle and may deliver alpha-ketoglutarate for the formation of glutamate and GABA, which serve as neurotransmitters in the hippocampus. GDH catalyses the interconversion of alpha-ketoglutarate and glutamate, whereas GABAT is the important GABA-degrading enzyme and requires alpha-ketoglutarate for its activity. While differing in their cellular distribution and activity levels, NAD-ICDH, GDH and GABAT are significantly correlated in their hippocampal distribution. Furthermore, developmental and pharmacohistochemical studies suggest that the distribution and activity of astrocytic GDH is correlated with amino-acidergic neurotransmission in the hippocampus. The data reported give further evidence for a metabolic relationship between neurons and astrocytes in the turnover and metabolism of glutamate and GABA.

Microphotometric determination of enzymes in brain sections. V. Glycerophosphate dehydrogenases

An incubation medium was adapted for the microphotometric determination (kinetic and end-point measurements) of the activities of mitochondrial alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) in the rat hippocampus. For comparison, the activities of the cytoplasmic NAD-linked alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase were also measured. The study showed that in the demonstration of both enzymes the use of an exogenous electron carrier is necessary. Both enzymes react to phenazine methosulfate (PMS) which transfers reduction equivalents to the electron acceptor nitroblue tetrazolium chloride (NBT), thus causing a coreaction of GPDH in the demonstration of NAD-GPDH. Therefore, only the NAD-independent GPDH which is stimulated by menadione, can be selectively demonstrated in the histochemical procedure applied. The final incubation medium of GPDH consisted of 15 mM L-glycerol 3-phosphate, 5 mM NBT, 0.4 mM menadione, 7.5% polyvinyl alcohol in 0.5 M Hepes buffer, pH 8; the final pH of the incubation medium was 7.5. A linear response of the reaction lasted about 5 min. There was a linear relationship between section thickness and the formation of reaction product up to a section thickness of 14 microns. The apparent Km value at 25 degrees C was 0.6 mM. It is concluded that using menadione histochemical methods are suited to determine the mitochondrial GPDH activities in brain sections whereas using PMS a coreaction of GPDH takes place in the demonstration of NAD-GPDH, so that a histochemical quantification of NAD-GPDH cannot be recommended.