Glucose and fatty acid metabolism in normal and diabetic rabbit cerebral microvessels

Rabbit cerebral microvessels were used to study fatty acid metabolism and its utilization relative to glucose. Microvessels were incubated with either [6-14C]glucose or [1-14C]oleic acid and the incorporation of radioactivity into 14CO2, lactate, triglyceride, cholesterol ester, and phospholipid was determined. The inclusion of 5.5 mM glucose in the incubation mixture reduced oleate oxidation by 50% and increased esterification into both phospholipid and triglyceride. Glucose oxidation to CO2 was reduced by oleate addition, whereas lactate production was unaffected. 2'-Tetradecylglycidic acid, an inhibitor of carnitine acyltransferase I, blocked oleic acid oxidation in the presence and absence of glucose. It did not effect fatty acid esterification when glucose was absent and eliminated the inhibition of oleate on glucose oxidation. Glucose oxidation to 14CO2 was markedly suppressed in microvessels from alloxan-treated diabetic rabbits but lactate formation was unchanged. Fatty acid oxidation to CO2 and incorporation into triglyceride, phospholipid, and cholesterol ester remained unchanged in the diabetic state. The experiments show that both fatty acid and glucose can be used as a fuel source by the cerebral microvessels, and the interactions found between fatty acid and glucose metabolism are similar to the fatty acid-glucose cycle, described previously.