Lectures and seminars Fysiologföreningen presents: Professor Pierre Magistretti
Neuron-Glia Metabolic Coupling: Relevance for Neuronal Plasticity, Memory and Neuroprotection
Presenter:
Professor Pierre Magistretti, Department of Psychiatry, University de Lausanne, Switzerland
Abstract:
Professor Magistretti has described the existence of a tight metabolic coupling between astrocytes and neurons. This metabolic coupling is mediated by VIP and noradrenaline promoting glycogenolysis in astrocytes and by glutamate stimulating glucose uptake and aerobic glycolysis. Both metabolic actions result in lactate release from astrocytes. Lactate released by astrocytes is not only used by neurons as an energy substrate but it also acts as a signal for neuronal plasticity. The transfer of lactate from astrocytes to neurons is necessary for memory consolidation. Lactate modulates the expression of a total of 20 genes in neurons, the majority of them being involved in plasticity mechanisms. Lactate modulates gene expression and promotes neuronal plasticity by potentiating NMDA receptor signaling. Peripheral administration of lactate exerts antidepressant-like effects in three animal models of depression (Carrard et al, Mol.Psy., 2016). Altogether this work reveals the existence of a series of physiological mechanisms through which glial cells by responding to neuronal signals ensure on demand the energy homeostasis and plasticity of neurons.
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