Uptake of tyrosine and leucine in vivo by brain of diabetic and control rats.

The uptake of tyrosine and leucine by brain of control and diabetic rats was examined using the Oldendorf intracarotid injection technique. The brain uptake indexes (BUI) for tyrosine and leucine were identical in diabetic and control rats when the injectate consisted of labeled amino acids in Krebs saline. When the injectate consisted of radioactive amino acids added to plasma from either normal or diabetic rats, there was a decreased BUI for tyrosine from diabetic plasma compared with that from normal plasma. This was evident in both control and diabetic rats. Fractional uptake of leucine was unchanged in all situations. Because leucine level is elevated in plasma of diabetic rats there is an absolute increase in leucine uptake in diabetes. Branched-chain amino acids, added to normal plasma in the concentrations at which they occur in diabetic plasma, inhibited the uptake of tyrosine to the same extent as diabetic plasma did. We conclude that the decreased brain uptake and decreased brain level of tyrosine in diabetes is due to the high circulating levels of branched-chain amino acids and cannot be attributed to intrinsic changes in the blood-brain transporter for large neutral amino acids or to changes in other constituents of plasma.