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β-Hydroxybutyrate and Medium-Chain Fatty Acids are Metabolized by Different Cell Types in Mouse Cerebral Cortex Slices

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Abstract

Ketogenic diets and medium-chain triglycerides are gaining attention as treatment of neurological disorders. Their major metabolites, β-hydroxybutyrate (βHB) and the medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) octanoic acid (C8) and decanoic acid (C10), are auxiliary brain fuels. To which extent these fuels compete for metabolism in different brain cell types is unknown. Here, we used acutely isolated mouse cerebral cortical slices to (1) compare metabolism of 200 µM [U-13C]C8, [U-13C]C10 and [U-13C]βHB and (2) assess potential competition between metabolism of βHB and MCFAs by quantifying metabolite 13C enrichment using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. The 13C enrichment in most metabolites was similar with [U-13C]C8 and [U-13C]C10 as substrates, but several fold lower with [U-13C]βHB. The 13C enrichment in glutamate was in a similar range for all three substrates, whereas the 13C enrichments in citrate and glutamine were markedly higher with both [U-13C]C8 and [U-13C]C10 compared with [U-13C]βHB. As citrate and glutamine are indicators of astrocytic metabolism, the results indicate active MCFA metabolism in astrocytes, while βHB is metabolized in a different cellular compartment. In competition experiments, 12C-βHB altered 13C incorporation from [U-13C]C8 and [U-13C]C10 in only a few instances, while 12C-C8 and 12C-C10 only further decreased the low [U-13C]βHB-derived 13C incorporation into citrate and glutamine, signifying little competition for oxidative metabolism between βHB and the MCFAs. Overall, the data demonstrate that βHB and MCFAs are supplementary fuels in different cellular compartments in the brain without notable competition. Thus, the use of medium-chain triglycerides in ketogenic diets is likely to be beneficial in conditions with carbon and energy shortages in both astrocytes and neurons, such as GLUT1 deficiency.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Data Availability

All data of this study is available from the corresponding authors upon request.

Abbreviations

βHB:

β-Hydroxybutyrate

C8:

Octanoic acid

C10:

Decanoic acid

GC–MS:

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

GS:

Glutamine synthetase

MCFA:

Medium-chain fatty acid

MCT:

Monocarboxylate transporter

TCA:

Tricarboxylic acid

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Funding

This work was supported by The Scholarship of Peter & Emma Thomsen (personal financial support to both JVA & EWW), the Hørslev Foundation (awarded to BIA) and a grant from the Australian National Health and Medicine Research Council (1186025, awarded to KB).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Jens V. Andersen, Emil W. Westi & Blanca I. Aldana

  2. School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

    Elliott S. Neal & Karin Borges

Authors
  1. Jens V. Andersen
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  2. Emil W. Westi
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  3. Elliott S. Neal
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  4. Blanca I. Aldana
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  5. Karin Borges
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Contributions

JA Investigation, Methodology, Formal Analysis, Visualization, Writing—Reviewing and Editing. EW Investigation, Methodology. EN Writing—Reviewing & Editing. BA Supervision, Methodology, Resources. KB Conceptualization, Writing—Original draft, Resources.

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Correspondence to Jens V. Andersen or Karin Borges.

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Andersen, J.V., Westi, E.W., Neal, E.S. et al. β-Hydroxybutyrate and Medium-Chain Fatty Acids are Metabolized by Different Cell Types in Mouse Cerebral Cortex Slices. Neurochem Res 48, 54–61 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-022-03726-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-022-03726-6

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