A. N. Belozersky Research Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology MSU
We studied the effects of glucose and glutamine deficiency on the survival of astrocytes after ischemic injury and examined the mechanisms of cell death. It was found that glutamine can serve as an alternative energy substrate that maintains oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis in astrocytes. However, the combination of glucose and glutamine reduced the ischemia-induced increase in intracellular calcium and the expression of proapoptotic proteins to a greater extent. The results of the study indicate the possibility of using glutamine to maintain the viability of brain cells under conditions of oxygen and energy substrate deprivation.