CNS glycogen, contained predominantly in astrocytes, can be converted to a monocarboxylate and transported to axons as an energy source during aglycaemia. We analysed glycogen regulation and the role of glycogen in supporting neural activity in adult mouse optic nerve, a favourable white matter preparation. Axon function was quantified by measuring the compound action potential (CAP) area. During aglycaemia, axon function persisted for 20 min, then declined in conjunction with glycogen content. Lactate fully supported CAPs in the absence of glucose, but was unable to sustain glycogen content; thus, axon failure occurred rapidly when lactate was withdrawn. Glycogen content in the steady state was directly proportional to bath glucose concentration. Increasing [K + ] o to 10 mM caused a rapid decrease in glycogen content. Latency to onset of CAP failure during aglycaemia was directly proportional to glycogen content and varied from about 2 to 30 min. Intense neural activity reduced glycogen content in the presence of 10 mM bath glucose and CAP area gradually declined. CAP area declined more rapidly during high frequency stimulation if monocarboxylate transport was inhibited. This suggested that astrocytic glycogen was broken down to a monocarboxylate(s) that was used by rapidly discharging axons. Likewise, depleting glycogen by brief periods of high frequency axon stimulation accelerated onset of CAP decline during aglycaemia. In summary, these experiments indicated that glycogen content was under dynamic control and that glycogen was used to support the energy needs of CNS axons during both physiological as well as pathological processes.

We developed an in situ model to investigate the hypothesis that AMPA/kainate (AMPA/KA) receptor activation contributes to hypoxic-ischemic white matter injury in the adult brain. Acute coronal brain slices, including corpus callosum, were prepared from adult mice. After exposure to transient oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD), white matter injury was assessed by electrophysiology and immunofluorescence for oligodendrocytes and axonal neurofilaments. White matter cellular components and the stimulus-evoked compound action potential (CAP) remained stable for 12 hr after preparation. OGD for 30 min resulted in an irreversible loss of the CAP as well as structural disruption of axons and subsequent loss of neurofilament immunofluorescence. OGD also caused widespread oligodendrocyte death, demonstrated by the loss of APC labeling and the gain of pyknotic nuclear morphology and propidium iodide labeling. Blockade of AMPA/KA receptors with 30 M NBQX or the AMPA-selective antagonist 30 M GYKI 52466 prevented OGD-induced oligodendrocyte death.Oligodendrocytes also were preserved by the removal of Ca 2ϩ , but not by a blockade of voltage-gated Na ϩ channels. The protective action of NBQX was still present in isolated corpus callosum slices. CAP areas and axonal structure were preserved by Ca 2ϩ removal and partially protected by a blockade of voltage-gated Na ϩ channels. NBQX prevented OGDinduced CAP loss and preserved axonal structure. These observations highlight convergent pathways leading to hypoxicischemic damage of cerebral white matter. In accordance with previous suggestions, the activation of voltage-gated Na ϩ channels contributes to axonal damage. Overactivation of glial AMPA/KA receptors leads to oligodendrocyte death and also plays an important role in structural and functional disruption of axons.

It is hypothesized that L-lactate derived from astrocyte glycogen sustains axon excitability in mouse optic nerve (MON). This theory was tested by using a competitive antagonist of L-lactate transport and immunocytochemistry to determine whether transport proteins are appropriately distributed in adult MON. L-lactate sustained the compound action potential (CAP), indicating that exogenous L-lactate was an effective energy substrate. During 60 min of aglycemia, the CAP persisted for 30 min, surviving on a glycogen-derived substrate (probably lactate), before failing. After failing, the CAP could be partially rescued by restoring 10 mM glucose or 20 mM L-lactate. Aglycemia in the presence of 20 mM D-lactate, a metabolically inert but transportable monocarboxylate, resulted in accelerated CAP decline compared with aglycemia alone, suggesting that D-lactate blocked the axonal uptake of glycogen-derived L-lactate, speeding the onset of energy failure and loss of the CAP. The CAP was maintained for up to 2 hr when exposed to 20% of normal bath glucose (i.e., 2 mM). To test whether glycogen-derived L-lactate "supplemented" available glucose (2 mM) in supporting metabolism, L-lactate uptake into axons was reduced by the competitive inhibitor D-lactate. Indeed, in the presence of 20 mM D-lactate, the CAP was lost more rapidly in MONs bathed in 2 mM glucose artificial cerebrospinal fluid. Immunocytochemical staining demonstrated cell-specific expression of monocarboxylate transporter (MCT) subtypes, localizing MCT2 predominantly to axons and MCT1 predominantly to astrocytes, supporting the idea that L-lactate is released from astrocytes and taken up by axons as an energy source for sustaining axon excitability.

Axonal injury and dysfunction in white matter (WM) are caused by many neurologic diseases including ischemia. We characterized ischemic injury and the role of glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity in a purely myelinated WM tract, the mouse optic nerve (MON). For the first time, excitotoxic WM injury was directly correlated with glutamate release. Oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) caused duration-dependent loss of axon function in optic nerves from young adult mice. Protection of axon function required blockade of both a-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) and kainate receptors, or removal of extracellular Ca 2 + . Blockade of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors did not preserve axon function. Curiously, even extended periods of direct exposure to glutamate or kainate or AMPA failed to induce axon dysfunction. Brief periods of OGD, however, caused glutamate receptor agonist exposure to become toxic, suggesting that ionic disruption enabled excitotoxic injury. Glutamate release, directly measured using quantitative highperformance liquid chromatography, occurred late during a 60-mins period of OGD and was due to reversal of the glutamate transporter. Brief periods of OGD (i.e., 15 mins) did not cause glutamate release and produced minimal injury. These results suggested that toxic glutamate accumulation during OGD followed the initial ionic changes mediating early loss of excitability. The onset of glutamate release was an important threshold event for irreversible ischemic injury. Regional differences appear to exist in the specific glutamate receptors that mediate WM ischemic injury. Therapy for ischemic WM injury must be designed accordingly.

No abstract

Summary:Axon function in the CNS has been reported to fail rapidly during anoxia, implying that there is no anaerobic capacity. This phenomenon was reassessed in rodent white matter using mouse or rat optic nerve. Axon function was semiquantitatively measured as area under the compound action potential. Mouse optic nerves exposed to anoxia (30-180 minutes) or cyanide (30-60 minutes) at 37°C exhibited significant persistent function that was abolished by removing glucose. Reduction in compound action potential area increased with anoxia duration reaching a maximum of about 70% after 90 min. Rat optic nerves exposed to anoxia, in contrast to mouse optic nerves, showed rapid and complete loss of function. When artificial CSF glucose was increased from 10 to 30 mmol/L, rat optic nerves responded to anoxia in a similar manner to mouse optic nerves in 10-mmol/L glucose. The authors conclude that white matter is resistant to anoxia with a subset of axons able to subsist exclusively on anaerobically derived energy. Because the rat optic nerve is about twice the diameter of the mouse optic nerve, glucose diffusion into the rat optic nerve was inadequate during anoxia when artificial CSF glucose was 10 mmol/L but became adequate when artificial CSF glucose was 30 mmol/L. These observations have implications for white matter energy metabolism and susceptibility to injury during focal ischemia.

Temporary block of glycolysis by 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) reversibly suppresses synaptic transmission in the CA1 region of hippocampal slices. Recovery of responses is followed by a sustained potentiation of field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) (2-DG-LTP). To investigate the mechanisms involved in this type of LTP, we studied the effects of 2-DG on membrane properties of CA1 neurons (in slices from Sprague-Dawley rats), recorded with sharp intracellular electrodes containing 3 M KCl, as well as patch electrodes, filled mainly with 150 mM KMeSO4 and Hepes. The predominant change produced by 15- to 20-min applications of 2-DG (10 mM, replacing glucose) was hyperpolarization (-5.6 +/- 1.1 mV for 18 intracellular recordings and -7.2 +/- 0.80 mV for 17 whole-cell recordings) accompanied by a fall in resistance (-33 +/- 2.5% for 14 intracellular recordings and -11.6 +/- 7.1% for 15 whole-cell recordings). Virtually identical hyperpolarizations were recorded in the presence of 20 microM glyburide (-5.5 +/- 1.5 mV, n = 6), but they were abolished by adenosine antagonists 8-(p-sulfophenyl)theophylline (8-SPT) and 8-cyclopentyl-3,7-dihydro-1,3-dipropyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione (DPCPX) (2.8 +/- 1.6 and 4.0 +/- 1.7 mV, respectively; n = 5 for both). It was concluded that the hyperpolarization is most likely caused by an increase in K+ conductance, activated by a 2-DG-induced rise in adenosine release. After such applications of 2-DG, a sustained potentiation of EPSPs (similar to the 2-DG-LTP of field EPSPs) was evident in five neurons recorded with intracellular electrodes but not in any of nine whole-cell recordings, where it was replaced by sustained, LTD-like depression. We conclude that a factor essential for 2-DG-LTP induction is lost during whole-cell recording.

1. Temporary suppression of glycolysis by 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG)-long enough to abolish CA1 population spikes (PSs) and reduce field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) by two-thirds-is followed by a sustained rebound of EPSPs and PSs (both up by 70-150%). 2. Post 2-DG long-term potentiation (2-DG-LTP) is prevented by block of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors (NMDARs). Though 2-DG-LTP is normally expressed by other receptors, in presence of picrotoxin 2-DG causes similar LTP of NMDAR-mediated EPSPs. 3. Stimulation at 1 s-1 fully depotentiates 2-DG-LTP. 4. Unlike tetanic LTP, 2-DG-LTP is not pathway-specific, is not occluded by a preceding tetanic LTP (or vice versa) and is insensitive to block of NO synthesis. 5. Hypoglycemic states may have long-lasting after-effects on cerebral synaptic function.