The DOI matches its Crossref record; 214 of the 215 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Astrocyte Glutamine Synthetase: Importance in Hyperammonemic Syndromes and Potential Target for Therapy
Open accessAbstract
Many theories have been advanced to explain the encephalopathy associated with chronic liver disease and with the less common acute form. A major factor contributing to hepatic encephalopathy is hyperammonemia resulting from portacaval shunting and/or liver damage. However, an increasing number of causes of hyperammonemic encephalopathy have been discovered that present with the same clinical and laboratory features found in acute liver failure, but without liver failure. Here, we critically review the physiology, pathology, and biochemistry of ammonia (i.e., NH3 plus NH4+) and show how these elements interact to constitute a syndrome that clinicians refer to as hyperammonemic encephalopathy (i.e., acute liver failure, fulminant hepatic failure, chronic liver disease). Included will be a brief history of the status of ammonia and the centrality of the astrocyte in brain nitrogen metabolism. Ammonia is normally detoxified in the liver and extrahepatic tissues by conversion to urea and glutamine, respectively. In the brain, glutamine synthesis is largely confined to astrocytes, and it is generally accepted that in hyperammonemia excess glutamine compromises astrocyte morphology and function. Mechanisms postulated to account for this toxicity will be examined with emphasis on the osmotic effects of excess glutamine (the osmotic gliopathy theory). Because hyperammonemia causes osmotic stress and encephalopathy in patients with normal or abnormal liver function alike, the term "hyperammonemic encephalopathy" can be broadly applied to encephalopathy resulting from liver disease and from various other diseases that produce hyperammonemia. Finally, the possibility that a brain glutamine synthetase inhibitor may be of therapeutic benefit, especially in the acute form of liver disease, is discussed.
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“Astrocytes may also exhibit cell-autonomous disturbances8, as happens in astrocytopathies resulting from mutated alleles of astrocytic genes (for example, GFAP in Alexander disease)9, as well as from direct viral infections or exposure to toxic substances that specifically damage astrocytes (for example, ammonium in hepatic encephalopathy)10.”
From Reactive astrocyte nomenclature, definitions, and future directions (2021) · cites this paper as [10]
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Cites
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1 of the 215 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
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Сергеевна, С. Е., Vinnitskaya, E. V., & Кhaimenova, T. Y. (2026) · Consilium Medicum · doi:10.26442/20751753.2026.5.203694
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When a Metabolite Becomes a Neurotoxin: Homocysteine and Brain Diseases
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Metadata
- Authors
- Brusilow, S. W., Koehler, R. C., Traystman, R. J., & Cooper, A. J. L.
- Affiliations
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- University of Colorado Denver (US)
- New York Medical College (US)
- Corresponding author
- Brusilow, Saul W.
- Cooper, Arthur J.L.
- Venue
- Neurotherapeutics
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-10
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 452-470
- ISSN
- 1878-7479 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2975543
- OpenAlex
- W2104703549
- Cited by
- 209
- References
- 215
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 16
- FWCI
- 1.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Neurotherapeutics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (5r01ns025275-14)
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (DK 16739, R01DK016739)
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS046072, NS 25275)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Hepatology › Liver Disease and Transplantation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biochemistry › Amino Acid Enzymes and Metabolism
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Clinical Biochemistry › Metabolism and Genetic Disorders
- Keywords
- hyperammonemic encephalopathy, glutamine synthetase, astrocytes, hyperammonemia, chronic liver disease, acute liver failure, ammonia detoxification, glutamine synthetase inhibitors, portacaval shunt
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Astrocytes, Enzyme Inhibitors, Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase, Hepatic Encephalopathy, Humans, Hyperammonemia
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