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The regional enzyme activities of glucose metabolism in the rat brain were investigated. Hexokinase (EC 2.7.1.1) and pyruvate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.4.1), key enzymes for glucose metabolism, showed no changes in activity in all the regions studied of the aging brain as compared with the adult brain. However, the activity of D-3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.30) is low throughout the adult brain and, in contrast with hexokinase and pyruvate dehydrogenase, its activity decreases significantly during aging. Other enzymes that showed significant decreases during aging are aldolase (EC 4.1.2.13), lactate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27), citrate synthase (EC 4.1.3.7), and NAD+-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.41). The catabolic enzyme in cholinergic metabolism, acetylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.7), selected as an example of a non-energy-metabolising enzyme, also showed significant decreases in all regions of the brain in aging, although its highest activity remained in the striatum. These results are discussed with respect to the energy metabolism in various brain regions and their status with aging.

The development of several key enzymes of pyruvate and 3-hydroxybutyrate metabolism and of the tricarboxylic acid cycle was studied in six regions (cerebellum, medulla oblongata and pons, hypothalamus, striatum, mid-brain and cortex) of the neonatal, suckling and adult rat brain (2 days before birth to 60 days after birth). The enzymes whose developmental patterns were studied were: pyruvate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.4.1), 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.30), citrate synthase (EC 4.1.3.7), NAD-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.41) and fumarase (EC 4.2.1.2). Citrate synthase, isocitrate dehydrogenase and pyruvate dehydrogenase develop as a cluster in each region, although the pyruvate dehydrogenase appears to lag slightly behind the others. As with the glycolytic-enzyme cluster [Leong & Clark (1984) Biochem. J. 218, 131-138] the timing of the development of the activity of this group of enzymes varies from region to region; 50% of the adult activity developed first in the medulla oblongata, followed by the hypothalamus, striatum and mid-brain, and then in the cortex and cerebellum respectively. The 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase activity also develops earlier in the medulla oblongata than in the other regions. The results are discussed with respect to the neurophylogenetic development of the brain regions studied and the importance of the development of the enzymes of aerobic glycolysis in relationship to the development of neurological maturation.

The development of key enzyme activities concerned with glucose metabolism was studied in six regions of the rat brain in animals from just before birth (-2 days) through the neonatal and suckling period until adulthood (60 days old). The brain regions studied were the cerebellum, medulla oblongata and pons, hypothalamus, striatum, mid-brain and cortex. The enzymes whose developmental patterns were investigated were hexokinase (EC 2.7.1.1), aldolase (EC 4.1.2.13), lactate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.49). Hexokinase, aldolase and lactate dehydrogenase activities develop as a single cluster in all the regions studied, although the timing of this development varies from region to region. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity, however, declines relative to glycolytic enzyme activity as the brain matures. When the different brain regions are compared, it is clear that the medulla develops its glycolytic potential, as indicated by its potential enzyme activity, considerably earlier than the other regions (hypothalamus, striatum and mid-brain), with the cortex and cerebellar activities developing even later. This enzyme developmental sequence correlates well with the neurophylogenetic development of the brain and adds support to the hypothesis that the development of the potential for glycolysis in the brain is a necessary prerequisite for the development of neurological competence.

The enzyme complement of two different mitochondrial preparations from adult rat brain has been studied. One population of mitochondria (synaptic) is prepared by the lysis of synaptosomes, the other (non-synaptic or free) by separation from homogenates. These populations have been prepared from distinct regions of the brain: cortex, striatum, and pons and medulla oblongata. The following enzymes have been measured: pyruvate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.4.1), citrate synthase (EC 4.1.3.7), NAD-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.41), NADP-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.42), fumarase (EC 4.2.1.2), NAD-linked malate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.37), D-3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.30), and mitochondrially bound hexokinase (EC 2.7.1.1) and creatine kinase (EC 2.7.3.2). The nonsynaptic (free) mitochondria show higher enzyme specific activities in the regions studied than the corresponding values recorded for the synaptic mitochondria. The significance of these observations is discussed in the light of the different metabolic activities of the two populations of mitochondria and the compartmentation of the metabolic activities of the brain.

The development of glutamate dehydrogenase enzyme activity in rat brain regions has been followed from the late foetal stage to the adult and through to the aged (greater than 2 years) adult. In the adult brain the enzyme activity was greatest in the medulla oblongata and pons greater than midbrain = hypothalamus greater than cerebellum = striatum = cortex. In the aged adult brain, glutamate dehydrogenase activity was significantly lower in the medulla oblongata and pons when compared to the 90-day-old adult value, but not in other regions. The enzyme-specific activity of nonsynaptic (free) mitochondria purified from the medulla oblongata and pons of 90-day-old animals was about twice that of mitochondria purified from the striatum and the cortex. The specific activity of the enzyme in synaptic mitochondria purified from the above three brain regions, however, remained almost constant.

Na-K ATPase activity in the brain decreased significantly after diabetes was induced with streptozotocin in rats. Largest decreases were observed in the hippocampus (-30%) and the cerebral cortex (-26%). Smaller decreases were observed in the thalamus (-13%), hypothalamus (-11%) and brain stem (-10%). Na-K ATPase activity in the striatum and the cerebellum were not significantly decreased. The varied decreases suggest that the regional variation of the enzyme is enhanced in the diabetic state. The enzymes of glucose metabolic pathway, namely hexokinase, lactate dehydrogenase and citrate synthase in the brain regions largely remained unchanged although increases in lactate dehydrogenase were observed in some regions. Acetylcholinesterase activity, a marker for the cholinergic system, remains unaltered in the brain during diabetes. The results are discussed with respect to the possible metabolic factors which alter the Na-K ATPase in the brain and its comparison with the peripheral nerve.