Invalidity of criticisms of the deoxyglucose method based on alleged glucose-6-phosphatase activity in brain

The observations made by Sacks et al. [Neurochem. Res. 8, 661-685 (1983)] on which they based their criticisms of the deoxyglucose method have been examined and found to have no relationship to the conclusions drawn by them. (1) The observations of Sacks et al. (1983) of constant concentrations of [14C]deoxyglucose and [14C]deoxyglucose-6-phosphate, predominantly in the form of product, reflects only the postmortem phosphorylation of the precursor during the dissection of the brain in their experiments. When the brains are removed by freeze-blowing, the time courses of the [14C]deoxyglucose and [14C]deoxyglucose-6-phosphate concentrations in brain during the 45 min after the intravenous pulse are close to those predicted by the model of the deoxyglucose method. (2) Their observation of a reversal of the cerebral arteriovenous difference from positive to negative for [14C]deoxyglucose and not for [14C]glucose after an intravenous infusion of either tracer is, contrary to their conclusions, not a reflection of glucose-6-phosphatase activity in brain but the consequence of the different proportions of the rate constants for efflux and phosphorylation for these two hexoses in brain and is fully predicted by the model of the deoxyglucose method. (3) It is experimentally demonstrated that there is no significant arteriovenous difference for glucose-6-phosphate in brain, that infusion of [32P]glucose-6-phosphate results in no labeling of brain, and that the blood-brain barrier is impermeable to glucose-6-phosphate. Glucose-6-phosphate cannot, therefore, cross the blood-brain barrier, and the observation by Sacks and co-workers [J. Appl. Physiol. 24, 817-827 (1968); Neurochem. Res. 8, 661-685 (1983)] of a positive cerebral arteriovenous difference for [14C]glucose-6-phosphate and a negative arteriovenous difference for [14C]glucose cannot possibly reflect glucose-6-phosphatase activity in brain as concluded by them. Each of the criticisms raised by Sacks et al. has been demonstrated to be devoid of validity.

Local cerebral glucose utilization in Long-Evans and Brattleboro rats during acute dehydration

The quantitative autoradiographic deoxyglucose method was used to study the effects of acute dehydration on local cerebral glucose utilization in Long-Evans and homozygous Brattleboro rats. Water-sated Brattleboro rats had high rates of glucose utilization in the subfornical organ, habenular complex, septal triangular nucleus and pituitary neural lobe. Deprivation of water for 16-18 h enhanced glucose utilization in these structures, more intensely in the Brattleboro rats, and activated others, particularly those connected to the subfornical organ. In Long-Evans rats, water deprivation increased metabolic activity in the subfornical organ, in several structures with which it is connected, and in other brain regions putatively involved in maintaining fluid balance.

DNA repair by articular chondrocytes. III. Unscheduled DNA synthesis following ultraviolet light irradiation of resting cartilage

Unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) was demonstrated both in fresh slices of rabbit articular cartilage and in resting chondrocytes dissociated from it. Uptake of [3H]thymidine by chondrocytes treated with 10 mM hydroxyurea and irradiated with 254 nm ultraviolet light (20 J/m2) was measured by autoradiography. The UDS in the resting chondrocytes was minuscule compared with that of chondrocytes growing in monolayer culture. It was greater in resting cells from 3- than in 18-month old rabbits but persisted in animals up to 52 months of age. In both resting and cultured chondrocytes, UDS was greatly inhibited by aphidicolin (5 micrograms/ml). The finding of age-related decrease in UDS of resting chondrocytes, contrasted with previously demonstrated lack of it in dividing ones, raises questions about in vitro artefacts in studies of cellular senescence.

Differential effects of electrical stimulation of sciatic nerve on metabolic activity in spinal cord and dorsal root ganglion in the rat

Electrical stimulation of the proximal stump of the transected sciatic nerve produces a frequency-dependent activation of glucose utilization, measured with the autoradiographic deoxy [14C]glucose method, in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord but produces no change in glucose utilization in the dorsal root ganglion cells. These results suggest that axon terminals and not the cell bodies are the sites of enhanced metabolic activity during increased functional activity of this pathway.

Local cerebral glucose utilization in normal female rats: variations during the estrous cycle and comparison with males

The quantitative 2-[14C]deoxyglucose autoradiographic method was used to study the fluctuations of energy metabolism in discrete brain regions of female rats during the estrous cycle. A consistent though statistically nonsignificant cyclic variation in average glucose utilization of the brain as a whole was observed. Highest levels of glucose utilization occurred during proestrus and metestrus, whereas lower rates were found during estrus and diestrus. Statistically significant fluctuations were found specifically in the hypothalamus and in some limbic structures. Rates of glucose utilization in the female rat brain were compared with rates in normal male rats. Statistically significant differences between males and females at any stage of the estrous cycle were confined mainly to hypothalamic areas known to be involved in the control of sexual behavior. Glucose utilization in males and females was not significantly different in most other cerebral structures.

Reexamination of glucose-6-phosphatase activity in the brain in vivo: no evidence for a futile cycle

Glucose-6-phosphatase activity in the rat brain in vivo was estimated by measuring the differential loss of tritium and carbon-14 from the glucose pool labeled by a mixture of [2-3H]glucose and [U-14C]glucose. The results provide no evidence of significant dephosphorylation of glucose-6-phosphate and do not support the hypothesis of a futile cycle involving glucose-6-phosphatase activity in the brain.

Effects of lateral habenular lesions on local cerebral glucose utilization in the rat

The autoradiographic 2-[14C]deoxyglucose method was employed to map the distribution of the changes in local cerebral glucose utilization following unilateral and bilateral electrolytic lesions of the lateral habenula nucleus. Local cerebral glucose utilization was measured one week after the placement of the lesions. Unilateral lesions of the nucleus had no effect on the rates of glucose utilization in the 79 brain structures examined. Bilateral lesions, however, produced selective reductions in glucose utilization in several structures compared to the results in sham-operated animals. Reductions were found in the dorsal and median raphe nuclei and the ventral and dorsal tegmental nuclei which receive projecting fibers mainly from the medial part of the lateral habenula nucleus. The rates of glucose metabolism in the interpeduncular nucleus and mamillary body were also reduced by the bilateral habenular lesions. No anatomic structures rostral to the lesions were metabolically affected.

Metabolic activation of specific postsynaptic elements in superior cervical ganglion by antidromic stimulation of external carotid nerve

Using the rat superior cervical ganglion in vivo as a model of the central nervous system, we have sought to determine whether postsynaptic elements as well as terminal processes are metabolically activated during impulse activity. The rate of glucose utilization in the ganglion was found to be stimulated by antidromic stimulation of the external carotid nerve. This stimulation was frequency-dependent and was confined only to the region in the caudal portion of the ganglion corresponding to the location of the cell bodies of origin of the external carotid nerve.

Induction of bone xenografts of rabbit growth plate chondrocytes in the nude mouse

Subcutaneous transplantation of growth plate chondrocytes isolated enzymatically from the proximal tibia of 6-week-old rabbits into athymic (nu/nu) mice resulted in the formation of cartilaginous nodules. Calcification of the matrix was first seen after 48 hrs, and endochondral ossification at 12 days. The mineral first occurred about hypertrophic cells. Histochemical alkaline phosphatase activity was concentrated in pericellular collars at the same location. Immunofluorescence examination with rabbit anti-mouse lymphocyte serum disclosed that the bulk of the osteoblasts was derived from the mouse. A small quantity of mouse antigen was present in the cartilage matrix at its junction with bone. It presumably diffused into the cartilaginous interface from the host, but the possibility that some chondrocytes were of murine origin has not been excluded. Five of six grafts of cells grown to confluence in monolayer culture for 10 to 14 days became ossified. The ability to induce mineralization declined in subculture. Chondrocytes killed by heating to 56 degrees did not induce calcified cartilage or bone.

Alterations of local cerebral glucose utilization during chronic dehydration in rats

The quantitative autoradiographic deoxyglucose method was used to study changes in local cerebral glucose utilization in conscious dehydrated rats. Animals were either given saline to drink or were deprived of water for 5 days. Saline ingestion did not alter the rates of glucose metabolism in any brain region when compared to the rates of glucose metabolism in animals which had free access to water. Glucose utilization was increased by 140%, however, in the pituitary neural lobe. Water deprivation produced both increases and decreases in glucose metabolism, depending on the particular structure. In 20 of 44 brain structures analyzed, there were significant decreases from -18 to -34% in glucose utilization. Four forebrain structures, the subfornical organ, septal triangular nucleus, and hypothalamic paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei, had increases in glucose utilization of 30-73%. The rate of glucose utilization in the pituitary neural lobe was increased by 367% in water-deprived rats. The results demonstrate that metabolic activity is stimulated in some, but not all, of the structures participating in fluid regulation during an intense thirst challenge. Many brain regions have depressed metabolism in chronic severe dehydration.

Influence of gamma-hydroxybutyrate on the relationship between local cerebral glucose utilization and local cerebral blood flow in the rat brain

The relationship between local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU) and local CBF (LCBF) was examined during the action of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) (900 mg/kg i.v.) in conscious rats. GHB induced discrepant effects on blood flow and metabolism. LCGU was markedly depressed in all structures examined, whereas LCBF was differently affected in that no related changes were observed. Global glucose utilization was markedly depressed (-51%), whereas global blood flow was not significantly altered. The marked dissociation between the changes in global glucose utilization and global blood flow induced by GHB is reflected only to a minor degree in the local values inasmuch as the correlation between LCGU and LCBF was only slightly weakened and its heterogeneity was increased.

Metabolic and kinetic considerations in the use of [125I]HIPDM for quantitative measurement of regional cerebral blood flow

The metabolic degradation and the kinetics of the cerebral uptake of N,N,N'-trimethyl-N'-(2-hydroxy-3-methyl-5-[125I]iodobenzyl)-1, 3-propanediamine ([125I]HIPDM) have been studied in conscious, adult male Sprague-Dawley rats to determine its suitability as a tracer for the quantitative measurement of regional CBF (rCBF). rCBF was calculated by the indicator fractionation and the tissue equilibration methods in experiments of different durations up to 1 h. The values of rCBF obtained with [125I]HIPDM were compared with those obtained in concurrent measurements with [14C]iodoantipyrine in the same animals. Results of the experiments demonstrate that [125I]HIPDM is an inadequate tracer for use with the indicator fractionation method and that any method that employs [125I]HIPDM for the determination of rCBF must take into account its metabolic degradation, diffusion limitations, and bidirectional flux across the blood-brain barrier. With the tissue equilibration method, consistent determinations of rCBF may be possible with [125I]HIPDM by measurement of the time course of its concentration in arterial blood, corrected for the presence of 125I-labeled metabolic products, and its concentration in the brain at any time up to 1 h after its administration. The method may be adapted to measure rCBF in humans by means of single-photon emission tomography with [123I]HIPDM.

Effects of ageing on local rates of cerebral protein synthesis in Sprague-Dawley rats

The effects of ageing on local rates of protein synthesis in 39 brain structures in resting conscious rats have been examined. Young adult rats (aged 6 months) have been compared with a group of middle-aged/aged rats (aged 15-23 months). The results show that ageing is associated with significant decreases in rates of protein synthesis in the brain as a whole as well as in several specific brain regions. Brain regions involved in visual and auditory function were selectively affected, perhaps due to a chronic lack of sensory input. Several regions involved in motor function and two areas in the limbic system had significantly decreased rates of protein synthesis in the old rats. Notably, there was a significant age-related decrease in protein synthesis in the locus coeruleus which contains the cell bodies of origin of the major ascending noradrenergic innervation of the cortex.

Pathologic features of the femoral head in Mseleni disease

Severe but atypical osteoarthritic deformities were found in each of 12 femoral heads removed during total hip arthroplasty for Mseleni disease. Although degenerative and regenerative changes were present throughout the cartilage, there was a paucity of eburnation. Histomorphometric analysis of bone at the line of excision indicated that mild osteomalacia was present in four of the 12 specimens. The percentage of the endosteum occupied by osteoid was 9.7 +/- 7.96 (SD) in the patients with Mseleni disease, compared with 5.6 +/- 4.33 in seven African black and 4.1 +/- 2.13 in 13 American white control subjects. The mean thickness of the osteoid seams was not increased. The findings suggest that osteomalacia is not a major pathogenetic factor in Mseleni disease.

Selective metabolic stimulation of the subfornical organ and pituitary neural lobe by peripheral angiotensin II

The subfornical organ is a major receptor area for one of the principal stimuli of thirst, the octapeptide, angiotensin II. In conscious water-sated rats, we examined the effects of intravenous infusion of angiotensin II on the rate of glucose utilization in the subfornical organ and in structures anatomically and functionally connected with it. Angiotensin II produced pressor and drinking responses and increased glucose utilization selectively in the subfornical organ and pituitary neural lobe and in no other brain structure. Treatment with the angiotensin II antagonist, sar1-leu8-angiotensin II, before intravenous administration of angiotensin II prevented metabolic stimulation of the subfornical organ and neural lobe. Captopril, an inhibitor of angiotensin-converting enzyme, was administered to homozygous Brattleboro rats, which normally have elevated rates of glucose utilization in the subfornical organ. Captopril reduced subfornical organ glucose metabolism to a level similar to that found in control animals. These results demonstrate that peripheral angiotensin II stimulates glucose metabolism in the subfornical organ under conditions in which it provokes drinking and pressor responses. The findings suggest that circulating angiotensin II is responsible for the high rate of glucose utilization observed in the subfornical organ of Brattleboro rats homozygous for diabetes insipidus.

Metabolic and behavioral consequences of lidocaine-kindled seizures

Daily administration of lidocaine results in progressive increases in frequency and duration of convulsions in response to a dose of drug which was previously subconvulsive--a pharmacological kindling phenomenon. The effects of such lidocaine-kindling on local cerebral glucose utilization were determined by the 2-[14C]deoxyglucose method. Lidocaine-treated animals, in the absence of convulsions, exhibited decreased glucose utilization in most brain structures compared to saline-treated animals and showed no increase in aggressive behavior. In animals displaying lidocaine-kindled convulsions there were marked increases in glucose utilization in either the hippocampus and amygdala or in perirhinal cortical areas during the seizure administration; these animals also displayed long-lasting increases in irritable behavior. Seizure duration was positively correlated with the rate of glucose utilization in the hippocampus, amygdala and septum, but inversely correlated in several non-limbic areas. These data suggest that lidocaine-kindled seizures are highly localized to limbic and perirhinal structures and are associated with important behavioral consequences.

Human brain glucose utilization and cognitive function in relation to age

Brain oxidative metabolism was examined with positron emission tomography and [18F]2-deoxy-D-glucose in 40 healthy men aged 21 to 83 years, under conditions of reduced visual and auditory stimulation. The mean cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (CMRglc) equaled 4.6 to 4.7 mg X 100 gm-1 X min-1 and did not correlate significantly with age (p greater than 0.05). Regional cerebral metabolic rates for glucose (rCMRglc) and Q ratios (rCMRglc/CMRglc), which had lower coefficients of variation than did rCMRglc, also did not correlate with age. Hyperfrontality of cerebral metabolism was absent at all ages. Age decrements were demonstrated in the error score on the Benton Revised Visual Retention Test and in the Performance Subtest scaled score of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) but not in the Verbal Subtest scaled score of the WAIS. The cognitive test scores did not correlate with brain metabolic rates. The results indicate that brain oxidative metabolism, when measured under resting conditions with reduced sensory input, is not reduced in relation to age in healthy men. Furthermore, no significant relations between intelligence and resting cerebral metabolism are evident.

Quantitative receptor autoradiography: tissue defatting eliminates differential self-absorption of tritium radiation in gray and white matter of brain

A four-fold greater absorption (quenching) of tritium emissions by white matter relative to gray matter produces a false 'contrast' effect in autoradiographs of 3H-ligand binding to brain sections. The differential absorption is eliminated by tissue defatting prior to autoradiographic exposure.

Stimulation of protein synthesis and glucose utilization in the hypoglossal nucleus induced by axotomy

The metabolic responses of rat hypoglossal nuclei to unilateral section of the 12th cranial nerve have been studied. Changes in the rates of protein synthesis and glucose utilization in the regenerating nucleus were determined with two quantitative autoradiographic techniques, the L-[1-14C]leucine method and the [14C] deoxyglucose method, respectively. The results show that both of these processes increase in the nucleus ipsilateral to the sectioned nerve and are unaffected in the contralateral nucleus as compared with sham-operated animals. The time courses of these metabolic changes have been compared with that of the return of functional innervation of the tongue. An increase in glucose utilization is first detected 24 hr postaxotomy. It is maximal between 1 and 3 days postaxotomy and constitutes an 84% increase over the rate in the contralateral control nucleus. The increase in protein synthesis is of smaller magnitude than that of glucose utilization. It is maximal at 48 hr after axotomy and constitutes a 25% increase over the rate in the contralateral nucleus. The increases in both of these metabolic processes persist even after functional recovery of the tongue at 21 days postaxotomy. Protein synthesis and glucose utilization return to normal levels between 24 and 35 days postaxotomy. Although the time courses of the changes in protein synthesis and glucose utilization are similar, the magnitude of the increase in glucose utilization is too large to be accounted for by the energy requirements of the relatively small increase in protein synthesis and probably reflects other processes as well, including altered function of the soma-dendritic membrane of regenerating neurons.

Attempts to combine 2-deoxyglucose autoradiography and tyrosine hydroxylase immunohistochemistry

The possibilities were analysed to combine the 2-deoxyglucose technique and indirect immunofluorescence histochemistry using tyrosine hydroxylase antiserum, with the aim to study functional activity in immunohistochemically characterized single neurons. Since the product measured with the 2-deoxyglucose method is water soluble and since immunohistochemistry requires that sections repeatedly run through aqueous media, the 2-deoxyglucose method was carried out before fixation and immunohistochemistry. The routine rapid thaw-mounting at + 60 degrees C of sections for 2-deoxyglucose autoradiography was found not to be compatible with immunohistochemistry. Instead a new mounting technique based on "gluing" the sections on to the object slide with a mixture of a standard mounting medium (Permount) and xylene was used to avoid diffusion at this stage. Two procedures were outlined, both starting with unfixed brains cut on a cryostat. In Method I autoradiographic sheet film was used. After autoradiographic exposure, the section was immersion-fixed in formalin, processed for immunohistochemistry, analysed and photographed in a fluorescence microscope and the results compared with the autoradiographic distribution patterns on the film. However, only the low resolution of the routine 2-deoxyglucose technique was obtained, which did not allow analysis of activity in single cells. In Method II, liquid emulsion applied by the loop technique was used. After exposure, autoradiographic developing and fixation, dehydration, mounting, analysis and photography of autoradiographs in the light microscope, the cover-slip was removed, the sections rehydrated and processed for indirect immunofluorescence histochemistry. With this procedure single autoradiographically labeled cells were observed, some of which contained tyrosine hydroxylase. Thus, with Method II it may in the future be possible to monitor functional activity in single immunohistochemically identified neuronal cell bodies. In order to obtain a useful and reliable method for this purpose, however, further extensive work with regard to, for example, quantification will be required.

2-Deoxyglucose incorporation into rat brain glycogen during measurement of local cerebral glucose utilization by the 2-deoxyglucose method

The incorporation of 14C into glycogen in rat brain has been measured under the same conditions that exist during the measurement of local cerebral glucose utilization by the autoradiographic 2-[14C]deoxyglucose method. The results demonstrate that approximately 2% of the total 14C in brain 45 min after the pulse of 2-[14C]deoxyglucose is contained in the glycogen portion, and, in fact, incorporated into alpha-1-4 and alpha-1-6 deoxyglucosyl linkages. When the brain is removed by dissection, as is routinely done in the course of the procedure of the 2-[14C]deoxyglucose method to preserve the structure of the brain for autoradiography, the portion of total brain 14C contained in glycogen falls to less than 1%, presumably because of postmortem glycogenolysis which restores much of the label to deoxyglucose-phosphates. In any case, the incorporation of the 14C into glycogen is of no consequence to the validity of the autoradiographic deoxyglucose method, not because of its small magnitude, but because 2-[14C]deoxyglucose is incorporated into glycogen via [14C]deoxyglucose-6-phosphate, and the label in glycogen represents, therefore, an additional "trapped" product of deoxyglucose phosphorylation by hexokinase. With the autoradiographic 2-[14C]deoxyglucose method, in which only total 14C concentration in the brain tissue is measured by quantitative autoradiography, it is essential that all the labeled products derived directly or indirectly from [14C]deoxyglucose phosphorylation by hexokinase be retained in the tissue; their chemical identity is of no significance.

A comparison of local rates of glucose utilization in spinal cord and brain in conscious and nitrous oxide- or pentobarbital-treated rats

Local rates of glucose utilization in the spinal cord and brain were measured with the 2-[14C]deoxyglucose method in conscious and in paralyzed and mechanically ventilated pentobarbital- or 70% nitrous oxide-treated rats. In conscious animal lumbar spinal cord glucose utilization is only 40-50% that of the cerebral cortex and shows little laminar heterogeneity. Pentobarbital reduces and nitrous oxide increases the cerebral glucose utilization of most structures. The effect of paralysis and nitrous oxide analgesia on lumbar spinal cord glucose utilization is quantitatively similar to that produced in brain; 15-25% increases occur in most spinal cord laminae and cerebral structures. In contrast, the 10-20% reduction in spinal cord gray matter metabolism in the paralyzed and pentobarbital-treated animals is considerably less than the 20-50% depression measured in most brain structures. From these data the authors conclude that, relative to that of most cerebral structures, spinal cord metabolism is less sensitive to depression by barbiturates and suggest that differences in the cell populations of these tissues may account partially for this observation.

Correlation of dose-dependent effects of acute amphetamine administration on behavior and local cerebral metabolism in rats

Rates of local cerebral glucose utilization were measured by means of the quantitative autoradiographic 2-[14C]deoxyglucose technique in conscious rats following the acute administration of D-amphetamine (0.2-5.0 mg/kg, i.v.). Changes in locomotor and stereotypic behavior in similarly treated rats were examined as well. Administration of low doses (0.2 and 0.5 mg/kg) of amphetamine resulted in increased locomotor activity, accompanied by elevations in glucose utilization limited mainly to the nucleus accumbens. A moderate dose of D-amphetamine (1.0 mg/kg) produced locomotion and stereotypic sniffing. Metabolic activity at this dose was increased in the nucleus accumbens, throughout neocortical areas, and in components of the extrapyramidal system. A high dose of amphetamine (5.0 mg/kg) produced stereotypic gnawing and licking and was associated with significant increases in glucose utilization in the extrapyramidal system, most prominently in the subthalamic nucleus. These data demonstrate that the acute administration of D-amphetamine produces effects on local cerebral glucose utilization and on behavior that differ with dose. The results also show a strong coupling between locomotion and the level of metabolic activity in the nucleus accumbens and demonstrate that the different forms of stereotypic behavior elicited by high and moderate doses of amphetamine are correlated with distinct patterns of distribution of local cerebral glucose utilization, indicating mediation by different neuronal circuits.