Astrocyte-neuron metabolic cooperation shapes brain activity
Open accessAbstract
The brain has almost no energy reserve, but its activity coordinates organismal function, a burden that requires precise coupling between neurotransmission and energy metabolism. Deciphering how the brain accomplishes this complex task is crucial to understand central facets of human physiology and disease mechanisms. Each type of neural cell displays a peculiar metabolic signature, forcing the intercellular exchange of metabolites that serve as both energy precursors and paracrine signals. The paradigm of this biological feature is the astrocyte-neuron couple, in which the glycolytic metabolism of astrocytes contrasts with the mitochondrial oxidative activity of neurons. Astrocytes generate abundant mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and shuttle to neurons glycolytically derived metabolites, such as L-lactate and L-serine, which sustain energy needs, conserve redox status, and modulate neurotransmitter-receptor activity. Conversely, early disruption of this metabolic cooperation may contribute to the initiation or progression of several neurological diseases, thus requiring innovative therapies to preserve brain energetics.
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Astrocytes are glucose's main consumers in the brain.
“Thus, astrocytes are glucose ' s main consumers in the brain (Bonvento and Bolanos, 2021; Weber and Barros, 2015).”
From Inhibition of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier in astrocytes reduces amyloid and tau accumulation in the 3xTgAD mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (2024) · cites this paper as Bonvento and Bolanos, 2021
The Concluding Remarks (page unavailable) say astrocytes are well suited to convert blood glucose into intermediates for neurons, and that glycolytic enzymes are more active in astrocytes than in neurons. But “Glucose breakdown: beyond ATP production” (page unavailable) says most glucose processed in astrocytes belongs to a particular fraction of brain glucose, not that astrocytes are the brain’s main consumers of glucose overall. (LLM, conf=0.87)
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- Authors
- Bonvento, G., & Bolaños, J. P.
- Affiliations
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ES)
- Corresponding author
- Bonvento, Gilles
- Venue
- Cell Metabolism
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-08
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1546-1564
- ISSN
- 1550-4131 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3191403583
- Cited by
- 580
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 159 · 2025: 175 · 2024: 118 · 2023: 78 · 2022: 43 · 2021: 7
- FWCI
- 9.50
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
- www.elsevier.com/legal/tdmrep-license (tdm)
- www.elsevier.com/open-access/userlicense/1.0/ (vor, 367 d)
- doi.org/10.15223/policy-017 (stm-asf)
- doi.org/10.15223/policy-037 (stm-asf)
- doi.org/10.15223/policy-012 (stm-asf)
- doi.org/10.15223/policy-029 (stm-asf)
- doi.org/10.15223/policy-004 (stm-asf)
- Locations
- Cell Metabolism (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Hispana (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- HAL (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) (submittedVersion)
- Gredos (University of Salamanca) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Agence nationale de la recherche (ANR-18-C816-0008-03 ADORASTrAU)
- Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CB16/10/00282)
- Fundación Ramón Areces
- Consejería de Educación, Junta de Castilla y León
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
- Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives
- Association France Alzheimer et Maladies Apparentees
- Fundación BBVA
- Fondation Plan Alzheimer
- Fondation de France
- Junta de Castilla y León (CLU-2017-03, CSI151P20)
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación (PID2019-105699RB-I00 / AEI / 10.13039/501100011033, RED2018-102576-T)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biochemistry › Amino Acid Enzymes and Metabolism
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Mitochondrial Function and Pathology
- Keywords
- astrocyte-neuron metabolic coupling, brain energy metabolism, glycolysis, mitochondrial oxidative metabolism, lactate, serine, reactive oxygen species, redox homeostasis, neurotransmission, neurological disorders
- MeSH terms
- Astrocytes, Brain, Energy Metabolism, Glycolysis, Humans, Neurons
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