Bak Lasse K
From the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2 Universitetsparken, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
J Biol Chem. 2017 Jun 2;292(22):9439-9440. doi: 10.1074/jbc.H117.777243.
Astrocytes are crucial cells in the brain that are intimately coupled with neuronal metabolism. A new paper from San Martín provides evidence that physiological levels of the gaseous signal molecule NO can rapidly and reversibly increase astrocyte metabolism of glucose and production of lactate. A proposed neurological coupling-from the potential source of NO, endothelial cells, to the potential beneficiary from the lactate, neurons-prompts new questions regarding the controversial role of lactate in the brain.
星形胶质细胞是大脑中至关重要的细胞，与神经元代谢紧密相连。圣马丁发表的一篇新论文提供了证据，表明气态信号分子一氧化氮（NO）的生理水平能够迅速且可逆地增加星形胶质细胞的葡萄糖代谢和乳酸生成。一种提出的神经耦合——从一氧化氮的潜在来源内皮细胞，到乳酸的潜在受益者神经元——引发了关于乳酸在大脑中争议性作用的新问题。
