Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1999 Nov;24(11):1357-62.
doi: 10.1023/a:1022572304626.

The impact of genetic removal of GFAP and/or vimentin on glutamine levels and transport of glucose and ascorbate in astrocytes

Affiliations

The impact of genetic removal of GFAP and/or vimentin on glutamine levels and transport of glucose and ascorbate in astrocytes

M Pekny et al. Neurochem Res. 1999 Nov.

Abstract

The importance of the intermediate filament (IF) proteins glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and vimentin for astrocyte function was studied by investigating astrocytes prepared from GFAP-/- and/or vimentin-/- mice. The rate of glucose uptake through facilitative hexose transporters was not affected by depletion of GFAP or vimentin. Similarly, the absence of these IF proteins did not affect ascorbate uptake, under control or cyclic AMP-stimulated conditions, or ascorbate efflux through volume-sensitive organic anion channels. However, compared with wild-type astrocytes, glutamine concentrations were increased up to 200% in GFAP-/- astrocytes and up to 150% in GFAP+/- astrocytes and this increase was not dependent on the presence of vimentin. GFAP-/- astrocytes in culture still contain IFs (made of vimentin and nestin), whereas GFAP-/- vim-/- cultured astrocytes lack IFs. Thus, glutamine levels appear to correlate inversely with GFAP, rather than depend on the presence of IFs per se. Furthermore, the effect of GFAP is dose-dependent since the glutamine concentration in GFAP+/- astrocytes falls between those in wild-type and GFAP-/- astrocytes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 1992 Jan;12(1):96-102 - PubMed
    1. Glia. 1998 Apr;22(4):390-400 - PubMed
    1. Neurosci Lett. 1991 May 13;126(1):33-6 - PubMed
    1. Neurology. 1996 Aug;47(2):449-53 - PubMed
    1. Brain Res Bull. 1995;37(3):305-9 - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources