Energy Substrates for Neurons during Neural Activity: A Critical Review of the Astrocyte-Neuron Lactate Shuttle Hypothesis
Year: 2003
Type: review
Abstract: Glucose had long been thought to fuel oxidative metabolism in active neurons until the recently proposed astrocyte-neuron lactate shuttle hypothesis (ANLSH) challenged this view. According to the ANLSH, activity-induced uptake of glucose takes place predominantly in astrocytes, which metabolize glucose anaerobically. Lactate produced from anaerobic glycolysis in astrocytes is then released from astrocytes and provides the primary metabolic fuel for neurons. The conventional hypothesis asserts that glucose is the primary substrate for both neurons and astrocytes during neural activity and that lactate produced during activity is removed mainly after neural activity. The conventional hypothesis does not assign any particular fraction of glucose metabolism to the aerobic or anaerobic pathways. In this review, the authors discuss the theoretical background and critically review the experimental evidence regarding these two hypotheses. The authors conclude that the experimental evidence for the ANLSH is weak, and that existing evidence and theoretical considerations support the conventional hypothesis.
Authors: Ching-Ping Chih, Eugene L Roberts
Institutions: Miami VA Healthcare System, University of Miami
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2092969356