Elucidating the role of neuron-astrocyte metabolic coupling in learning and memory

The brain has very high energy demands that are mainly met by the circulating blood glucose to ensure its proper functioning. Thus, it is not surprising that though the human brain weighs only 2- 3% of the body weight, it consumes approximately 25% of total body glucose. “Neuro-energetic coupling" is a unique feature of the brain and refers to the existence of the tight coupling between (neuronal) synaptic brain activity and energy metabolism. The main excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain is glutamate and most of the energy requirements at the cortical level are met through glutamate-mediated neurotransmission, suggesting that there is a close relationship between brain activity, glutamatergic neurotransmission and energy metabolism. Until the 80s, blood-borne glucose was thought to be the sole energy substrate of the brain cells and it was assumed that glucose is metabolized by neurons and astrocytes (a type of glial cell) independently. It is only during the last two decades that the concept of compartmentalization of energy metabolism between neurons and astrocytes has become more obvious. The transfer of lactate from astrocytes to neurons termed as the “astrocyte-neuron lactate shuttle (ANLS)” model proposed by Dr. Pellerin and Prof. Magistretti posits that glutamate released during brain activation activates glycolysis (one of glucose metabolic pathways) in astrocytes leading to lactate (a monocarboxylate) release in the extracellular space, and this astrocytic lactate is then captured and used as an energy substrate by the activated neurons to meet their energy requirements. It includes a complex chain of events involved in neuro-metabolic coupling and supports the preferential use of lactate by activated neurons under conditions of increased energy demands. Higher brain functions such as learning a new task are associated with structural changes in brain and are metabolically demanding necessitating the need of an additional energy supply to meet the neurons increased energy requirement. In this context, the current thesis project aimed to elucidate the contribution of metabolic coupling between astrocytes and neurons, known as “neuron-astrocyte metabolic coupling” to learning and memory formation. Using an in vivo approach combined with behavioral, molecular and gene manipulation techniques in mice, we set out to investigate the role of neuron-astrocyte metabolic coupling, particularly ANLS in cognition. The project was divided into two main parts: In the first part, the expression of glucose metabolism-related genes was investigated during long term memory (LTM) formation in fear-motivated inhibitory avoidance (IA) learning paradigm. Using (14C) 2-Deoxyglucose (2-DG) technique, we first defined the brain areas that are involved in IA LTM formation. This technique provides an indirect measurement of brain activity by measuring glucose uptake in different brain areas during the task. The results of brain metabolic mapping show an increase in glucose utilization in the hippocampus, amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex and pre-limbic and infra-limbic cortical areas. Results from the quantitative analysis of mRNA levels in the dorsal hippocampus at different time point’s following IA task highlight a time dependent, learning specific change in the expression of genes related to glucose metabolism. Specific set of genes involved in the synthesis and degradation of glycogen (brain glucose reserve present only in astrocytes), pyruvate metabolism and pentose phosphate shunt as well as the ANLS were induced following the IA task. These early observations indicate that the metabolic interactions between astrocytes and neurons undergo modifications during a learning process and suggest that these adaptations may play a key role in the establishment of long-term memory. In the second part of research project, we focused on investigating the behavioral consequences of down regulating the expression of Monocarboxylate Transporter 1 (MCT1), a key ANLS related gene, on cognition and higher brain functions. Mice heterozygous for the MCT1 gene (MCT1+/-) were characterized in numerous behavioral paradigms such as general wellbeing, reflexive and motor capabilities. After having established that MCT1+/- mice have no alterations in general emotional state or in locomotion, a battery of behavioral tests was performed to study cognition in these mice. Compared with wild-type control mice, the MCT1+/- mice display normal muscle strength and motor coordination. However, when tested for higher brain functions, the MCT1+/- mice exhibit learning and memory deficits in several learning paradigms/tasks that are hippocampus and / or amygdala dependent. The cognitive impairment observed in the MCT1 heterozygous mice further highlights the importance of ANLS in memory and suggest that disruption of lactate transfer from astrocytes to neurons via the MCT1 results in cognitive impairment. The overall results in this thesis demonstrate that cerebral energy metabolism, and in particular the transfer of lactate from astrocytes to neurons not only provides temporal adaptations in the learning process, but it also plays a fundamental role in memory formation.

Stress-induced cognitive and psychopathological alterations

Reto Bisaz, Maria del Carmen Sandi Perez

Intensive research over the past few years has provided evidence, that stress is a potent modulator of brain function and cognition. In particular cognitive and emotional processes have been shown to be susceptible to modulation by stress. Whereas acute stress and/or a transient activation of the stress system can have beneficial consequences on learning and memory processes, prolonged or extensive stress can induce structural and functional alterations in various brain regions, which are accompanied by cognitive impairments and emotional changes. Moreover, increasing evidence points out that inappropriate stress response and/or control might be associated with the development and exacerbation of a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. The neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), a cell surface macromolecule which is abundantly expressed in the vertebrate nervous system, plays a key role during neural development and has been implicated in activity induced synaptic plasticity as well as cognitive and emotional processes in adulthood. Altered expression of NCAM has been hypothesized to be one of the key events underlying structural and functional alterations in response to stress and accumulating evidence in rodents are showing decreased hippocampal NCAM expression after chronic stress. However, since most of the available evidence for this hypothesis has been either correlational or circumstantial, we aimed here to provide evidence for a causal involvement of NCAM in stress-induced cognitive and emotional disturbances. For this purpose, we evaluated the consequence of 4 weeks of chronic stress in adult wild-type mice on NCAM expression levels in brain regions, known to play a key role in cognition and emotions in a variety of cognitive and emotional tests. We found, that chronically stressed mice have reduced hippocampal NCAM expression levels and display learning and memory impairments, in hippocampus dependent behavioral tasks. Strikingly, similar patterns of cognitive impairments were also found in conditional NCAM-deficient mice, in which the NCAM gene is ablated in the forebrain postnatally. Interestingly, spatial learning and memory impairments of these mice could be recovered by treatments with NCAM mimetic peptides, which are known to potentiate NCAM functioning. Moreover, conditional NCAM-deficient mice displayed increased vulnerability to develop cognitive and emotional disturbances following subchronic stress exposure, a condition which has been shown to induce none (or only slight) structural and behavioral alterations in wild-type rodents. In the amygdala, a brain structure involved in consolidation of emotional memories, NCAM expression was increased in mice exposed to chronic stress. Additionally, chronically stressed mice displayed facilitated auditory fear conditioning, a behavioral task that critically depends on amygdala functions. Contrary, conditional NCAM-deficient mice displayed reduced conditioned auditory fear responses, which indicates a possible involvement of changes in amygdala NCAM expression and altered auditory fear conditioning. Together, the findings of the present study support a functional involvement of alterations in NCAM expression levels in stress-induced cognitive and emotional alterations and highlight this molecule as a potential target for the treatment of stress-related cognitive and emotional disturbances.

EPFL2009

Deciphering the astrocyte-neuron metabolic cooperation in vivo

Manuel Raphael Zenger

Brain energy consumption is high and a very tightly regulated energy metabolism ensures correct performance. Neurons, the cells responsible for transmitting information via synapses, interact very closely with star shaped glial cells called astrocytes. Astrocytes play a pivotal role in the regulation of brain energy metabolism and for neurotransmission. Especially, in the case of glutamate, the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, astrocytes are contributing to the clearing of otherwise potentially toxic levels of glutamate in the synaptic cleft. In addition, astrocytes are capable of providing neurons with lactate, which can be used as an additional source of energy in periods of increased demand, such as during neurotransmission. Lactate released by astrocytes is also a signal for neuronal plasticity. In this work, we addressed different aspects of the astrocyte-neuron metabolic coupling. Uncoupling proteins (UCPs) are proteins of the inner mitochondrial membrane that are capable of dissipating a proton gradient (uncoupling ATP production from respiration). Five different UCP isoforms have been described. UCP1 is essentially found in brown adipose tissue and is implicated in non-shivering thermogenesis, UCP2 is widely expressed and protecting against reactive oxygen species and UCP3 is mainly expressed in skeletal muscle tissue where a possible role in fatty acid metabolism has been described. UCP4 and 5 are essentially expressed in the brain, but their precise function still needs to be determined. In the present study, we showed that in neurons, UCP4 and UCP5 are predominantly expressed, as compared to the other UCPs. In astrocytes, UCP5 is the most abundant isoform, but also UCP2 and 4 are significantly expressed indicating an important role for these three UCPs in astrocytes. The role of UCP4 was further elucidated. For this purpose, a lentiviral overexpressing UCP4 construct was produced and characterized. This construct overexpressing UCP4 at the mitochondria allowed to demonstrate a neuro-protective role of UCP4 expression in astrocytes. In a complementary approach to study neuron-astrocyte metabolic coupling, the role of different astrocytic and neuronal genes in memory and learning was explored in a spatial learning paradigm. Mice were trained 1 to 9 days in a radial maze. The gene analysis showed that genes involved in lactate production and utilization such as lactate dehydrogenases were highly increased. A gene involved in the shuttling of lactate from astrocytes to neurons, such as monocarboxylate transporter 1 was also upregulated. An unexpected decrease in glucose transporter 1 and decrease in hexokinase 2 expression were observed. Finally, genes involved in glycogen metabolism were upregulated. Na+/K+-ATPase alpha2 isoform (ATP1A2), which plays a key role in re-establishing Na+ homeostasis disrupted by the co-transport of Na+ along with glutamate during glutamate uptake, was upregulated following spatial learning. Using a lentiviral transgenesis method, an attempt was made to downregulate the expression of the ATP1A2 in vivo. However, this technique did not allow us to produce sufficient knock down to study the role of ATP1A2 in vivo. Preliminary data for an alternative method are shown. Overall, the set of results presented here provides additional support for the existence of a dynamically regulated neuron-astrocyte metabolic coupling.

EPFL2015

Cellular mechanisms of brain energy metabolism and their relevance to functional brain imaging

Pierre Magistretti, Luc Pellerin

Despite striking advances in functional brain imaging, the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the signals detected by these techniques are still largely unknown. The basic physiological principle of functional imaging is represented by the tight coupling existing between neuronal activity and the associated local increase in both blood flow and energy metabolism. Positron emission tomography (PET) signals detect blood flow, oxygen consumption and glucose use associated with neuronal activity; the degree of blood oxygenation is currently thought to contribute to the signal detected with functional magnetic resonance imaging, while magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) identifies the spatio-temporal pattern of the activity-dependent appearance of certain metabolic intermediates such as glucose or lactate. Recent studies, including those of neurotransmitter-regulated metabolic fluxes in purified preparations and analyses of the cellular localization of enzymes and transporters involved in energy metabolism, as well as in vivo microdialysis and MRS approaches have identified the neurotransmitter glutamate and astrocytes, a specific type of glial cell, as pivotal elements in the coupling of synaptic activity with energy metabolism. Astrocytes are ideally positioned to sense increases in synaptic activity and to couple them with energy metabolism. Indeed they possess specialized processes that cover the surface of intraparenchymal capillaries, suggesting that astrocytes may be a likely site of prevalent glucose uptake. Other astrocyte processes are wrapped around synaptic contacts which possess receptors and reuptake sites for neurotransmitters. Glutamate stimulates glucose uptake into astrocytes. This effect is mediated by specific glutamate transporters present on these cells. The activity of these transporters, which is tightly coupled to the synaptic release of glutamate and operates the clearance of glutamate from the extracellular space, is driven by the electrochemical gradient of Na+. This Na(+)-dependent uptake of glutamate into astrocytes triggers a cascade of molecular events involving the Na+/K(+)-ATPase leading to the glycolytic processing of glucose and the release of lactate by astrocytes. The stoichiometry of this process is such that for one glutamate molecule taken up with three Na+ ions, one glucose molecule enters an astrocyte, two ATP molecules are produced through aerobic glycolysis and two lactate molecules are released. Within the astrocyte, one ATP molecule fuels one 'turn of the pump' while the other provides the energy needed to convert glutamate to glutamine by glutamine synthase. Evidence has been accumulated from structural as well as functional studies indicating that, under aerobic conditions, lactate may be the preferred energy substrate of activated neurons. Indeed, in the presence of oxygen, lactate is converted to pyruvate, which can be processed through the tricarboxylic acid cycle and the associated oxidative phosphorylation, to yield 17 ATP molecules per lactate molecule. These data suggest that during activation the brain may transiently resort to aerobic glycolysis occurring in astrocytes, followed by the oxidation of lactate by neurons. The proposed model provides a direct mechanism to couple synaptic activity with glucose use and is consistent with the notion that the signals detected during physiological activation with 18F-deoxyglucose (DG)-PET may reflect predominantly uptake of the tracer into astrocytes. This conclusion does not question the validity of the 2-DG-based techniques, rather it provides a cellular and molecular basis for these functional brain imaging techniques.

1999