Neurotransmitter amino acids in the CNS. I. Regional changes in amino acid levels in rat brain during ischemia and reperfusion.

The levels of amino acids in 6 regions of the brain (cortex, hippocampus, striatum, diencephalon, stem and cerebellum) were determined during an ischemic insult of 30 min and after recovery periods of up to 10 h. The results were analyzed in two groups: putative neurotransmitters (GABA, aspartate, glutamate, taurine, glycine and alanine) and non-neurotransmitters. In the neurotransmitter group, it was found that at the end of 30 min ischemia the levels of aspartate and glutamate slightly decreased whereas those of GABA and alanine rose substantially. The amounts of glycine and taurine remained unchanged. In 30 min after the ischemic insult, there were much larger decreases in aspartate and glutamate and increases in GABA and alanine with no change in glycine and taurine. At 2 h recovery the levels of the neurotransmitter amino acids had almost returned to control values and were fully recovered by 10 h after ischemia. It is postulated that glutamate and aspartate are released during ischemia into the extracellular space and subsequently 'washed-out' into the blood during the reperfusion. Release of GABA, if it occurs, is however, compensated by increase in its synthesis and decrease in its degradation under anaerobic conditions, both of which contribute to the rise in its steady-state level. In the non-transmitter category, increases were seen in amino acids present normally in very small concentrations; tyrosine, lysine, leucine and 3 hydrophobic amino acids: valine, methionine and phenylalanine, which were most pronounced at 2 h after ischemia. It is suggested that the rise in the levels of these molecules is the consequence of stimulation of protein breakdown caused by activation of intracellular proteases by calcium and H+ during the ischemic episode. Regional variations in the patterns of changes were small although in the ischemic models used the brainstem seemed to be least affected.