Evidence that the branched-chain alpha-keto acids accumulating in maple syrup urine disease induce morphological alterations and death in cultured astrocytes from rat cerebral cortex
Abstract
Severe neurological symptoms, cerebral edema, and atrophy are common features of the inherited metabolic disorder maple syrup urine disease (MSUD). However, the pathomechanisms involved in the neuropathology of this disease are not well established. In this study, we investigated the effects of the branched-chain keto acids (BCKA) alpha-ketoisocaproic (KIC), alpha-ketoisovaleric (KIV), and alpha-keto-beta-methylvaleric (KMV), which accumulate in MSUD, on astrocyte morphology and cytoskeleton reorganization. Cultured astrocytes from cerebral cortex of neonatal rats were exposed to various concentrations of the BCKA and cell morphology was studied. We observed that these cells changed their usual polygonal morphology when exposed to BCKA, leading to the appearance of fusiform or process-bearing cells. Furthermore, longer exposures to the BCKA elicited cell death at all concentrations studied, attaining massive death at the highest concentrations. Immunocytochemistry with anti-actin or anti-GFAP antibodies revealed that the BCKA induced reorganization of actin and GFAP cytoskeleton. In addition, astrocytes treated with lysophosphatidic acid, an upstream activator of the RhoA GTPase pathway, totally prevented the morphological alte...Continue Reading
References
Astrocyte spreading in response to thrombin and lysophosphatidic acid is dependent on the Rho GTPase
Inhibition of creatine kinase activity from rat cerebral cortex by D-2-hydroxyglutaric acid in vitro
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