Homeostasis of glutamate in brain fluids: An accelerated brain-to-blood efflux of excess glutamate is produced by blood glutamate scavenging and offers protection from neuropathologies

V. I. Teichberg*, K. Cohen-Kashi-Malina, I. Cooper, A. Zlotnik

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

120 Scopus citations

Abstract

l-Glutamate (Glu) homeostasis in brain extracellular fluids and its maintenance at low micromolar concentrations in the face of the extremely high Glu concentrations present in brain cells and synaptic vesicles have been commonly attributed to the very effective action of glutamate transporters present on neuronal and glial cells. This view however does not take into account the fact that the brain is highly vascularized and that the vasculature harbors a high density of glutamate transporters. In this article, we review the accumulated data establishing the existence of an efflux of excess Glu from brain extracellular fluids into blood. We describe plausible mechanisms accounting for this efflux and present evidence that the brain-to-blood Glu efflux is modulated by blood Glu levels and can be accelerated by blood Glu scavenging. The latter procedure shown here to afford brain neuroprotection in a rat model of closed head injury could be applicable, as a first-line therapy, in the various acute brain insults characterized by excess Glu in brain fluids.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)301-308
Number of pages8
JournalNeuroscience
Volume158
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 12 Jan 2009
Externally publishedYes

Funding

FundersFunder number
Carl and Micaela Einhorn-Dominic Institute for Brain Research
Weizmann-Negri Fund
Yeshaya Horowitz Foundation

    Keywords

    • capillary endothelial cells
    • closed head injury
    • dual-probe microdialysis
    • glutamate transporters
    • neuroprotection

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