Novel mechanism of hypoxic neuronal injury mediated by non-excitatory amino acids and astroglial swelling

In ischemic stroke and post-traumatic brain injury (TBI), blood-brain barrier disruption leads to leaking plasma amino acids (AA) into cerebral parenchyma. Bleeding in hemorrhagic stroke and TBI also release plasma AA. Although excitotoxic AA were extensively studied, little is known about non-excitatory AA during hypoxic injury. Hypoxia-induced synaptic depression in hippocampal slices becomes irreversible with non-excitatory AA, alongside their intracellular accumulation and increased tissue electrical resistance. Four non-excitatory AA (l-alanine, glycine, l-glutamine, l-serine: AGQS) at plasmatic concentrations were applied to slices from mice expressing EGFP in pyramidal neurons or astrocytes during normoxia or hypoxia. Two-photon imaging, light transmittance (LT) changes, and electrophysiological field recordings followed by electron microscopy in hippocampal CA1 st. radiatum were used to monitor synaptic function concurrently with cellular swelling and injury. During normoxia, AGQS-induced increase in LT was due to astroglial but not neuronal swelling. LT raise during hypoxia and AGQS manifested astroglial and neuronal swelling accompanied by a permanent loss of synaptic transmission and irreversible dendritic beading, signifying acute damage. Neuronal injury was not triggered by spreading depolarization which did not occur in our experiments. Hypoxia without AGQS did not cause cell swelling, leaving dendrites intact. Inhibition of NMDA receptors prevented neuronal damage and irreversible loss of synaptic function. Deleterious effects of AGQS during hypoxia were prevented by alanine-serine-cysteine transporters (ASCT2) and volume-regulated anion channels (VRAC) blockers. Our findings suggest that astroglial swelling induced by accumulation of non-excitatory AA and release of excitotoxins through antiporters and VRAC may exacerbate the hypoxia-induced neuronal injury.

In vivo regulation of intestinal absorption of amino acids by leptin

Leptin is secreted by the gastric mucosa and is able to reach the intestinal lumen and bind to its receptors located in the apical membranes of enterocytes. We have previously demonstrated that apical leptin inhibits uptake of amino acids in rat intestine in vitro and in Caco-2 cells. The aim of the present work was to investigate the effect of leptin on absorption of amino acids using in vivo techniques, which generate situations closer to physiological conditions. In vivo intestinal absorption of amino acids in rats was measured by isolating a jejunal loop and using the single-pass perfusion system. Disappearance of glutamine (Gln), proline (Pro), and β-alanine (β-Ala) from the perfusate, in the absence or presence of leptin, was measured using a radioactivity method. Luminal leptin (25 nM) inhibited the absorption of 2 mM Pro, 5 mM β-Ala, and 5 mM Gln by approximately 45% after 5-15 min; the effect remained constant until the end of the experiment (80 min) and was rapidly and completely reversed when leptin was removed from the perfusion medium. Moreover, leptin was able to regulate the absorption of galactose and Gln in the same animal, indicating a direct action of the hormone on the specific transporters implicated in the uptake of each nutrient. The results of the present work indicate that luminal leptin decreases absorption of amino acids in vivo in a short-term manner and in a reversible way. These results, together with our previous findings, make it evident that leptin can be considered as a hormone which provides the intestine with a control mechanism to handle absorption of nutrients.