Glucose metabolism and neurogenesis in the gerbil hippocampus after transient forebrain ischemia

Recent evidence exists that glucose transporter 3 (GLUT3) plays an important role in the energy metabolism in the brain. Most previous studies have been conducted using focal or hypoxic ischemia models and have focused on changes in GLUT3 expression based on protein and mRNA levels rather than tissue levels. In the present study, we observed change in GLUT3 immunoreactivity in the adult gerbil hippocampus at various time points after 5 minutes of transient forebrain ischemia. In the sham-operated group, GLUT3 immunoreactivity in the hippocampal CA1 region was weak, in the pyramidal cells of the CA1 region increased in a time-dependent fashion 24 hours after ischemia, and in the hippocampal CA1 region decreased significantly between 2 and 5 days after ischemia, with high level of GLUT3 immunoreactivity observed in the CA1 region 10 days after ischemia. In a double immunofluorescence study using GLUT3 and glial-fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), we observed strong GLUT3 immunoreactivity in the astrocytes. GLUT3 immunoreactivity increased after ischemia and peaked 7 days in the dentate gyrus after ischemia/reperfusion. In a double immunofluorescence study using GLUT3 and doublecortin (DCX), we observed low level of GLUT3 immunoreactivity in the differentiated neuroblasts of the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus after ischemia. GLUT3 immunoreactivity in the sham-operated group was mainly detected in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus. These results suggest that the increase in GLUT3 immunoreactivity may be a compensatory mechanism to modulate glucose level in the hippocampal CA1 region and to promote adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus.