Cited by 371Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchCancer, Hypoxia, and MetabolismMetabolism, Diabetes, and Cancer

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 128 of the 131 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 148 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Fueling thought: Management of glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation in neuronal metabolism

Open access
Yellen, Gary·2018·Journal of Cell Biology

Abstract

The brain’s energy demands are remarkable both in their intensity and in their moment-to-moment dynamic range. This perspective considers the evidence for Warburg-like aerobic glycolysis during the transient metabolic response of the brain to acute activation, and it particularly addresses the cellular mechanisms that underlie this metabolic response. The temporary uncoupling between glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation led to the proposal of an astrocyte-to-neuron lactate shuttle whereby during stimulation, lactate produced by increased glycolysis in astrocytes is taken up by neurons as their primary energy source. However, direct evidence for this idea is lacking, and evidence rather supports that neurons have the capacity to increase their own glycolysis in response to stimulation; furthermore, neurons may export rather than import lactate in response to stimulation. The possible cellular mechanisms for invoking metabolic resupply of energy in neurons are also discussed, in particular the roles of feedback signaling via adenosine diphosphate and feedforward signaling by calcium ions.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

Yellen reviews how neuronal metabolism acutely balances glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation during stimulation, arguing that activated neurons increase glucose rather than lactate utilization and that the classical astrocyte-to-neuron lactate shuttle does not provide the primary neuronal energy source during activation. It also outlines unresolved mechanisms controlling glycolysis/oxphos coupling, including ADP/Ca²⁺ signaling and cytosolic NADH redox.

Key findings

  • In resting brain, glycolysis and oxphos are near matched: the oxygen–glucose index is ∼5.5 in gray matter versus an ideal stoichiometry of 6, and the brain is ∼2% of body mass but consumes ∼20% of the daily energy budget; neurons account for most (∼80–90%) of the brain’s energy demand.
  • During stimulation, there is transient uncoupling: local blood flow increases by ∼50% with commensurate local glucose consumption, but oxygen utilization increases much less, on the order of 5%, reducing OGI to ∼5; lactate rises locally and can be exported with strong stimuli such as seizures.
  • Evidence favors direct neuronal glycolysis during activation rather than lactate uptake: stimulation increased glucose metabolism over twofold while lactate metabolism declined in cultured neurons, and neuronal cytosolic NADH/NAD⁺ transients in hippocampal/cortical neurons rise for ∼2–3 min and are blocked by glycolysis inhibition but not by MCT or LDH blockade, suggesting neurons normally export lactate when stimulated.
  • The ANLS hypothesis remains controversial: astrocytes are more glycolytic at rest with higher cytosolic NADH/NAD⁺, and lactate shuttling may support resting or ischemic conditions, but the paper states there is no affirmative evidence that astrocyte-to-neuron lactate movement occurs during ordinary brain activation.

Methods

  • Review/perspective article, not primary research; it synthesizes biochemical, imaging, genetic, and metabolic literature.
  • Discusses studies using cultured neurons and astrocytes, acute brain slices, in vivo rodent cortex/hippocampus, retina, white matter, Drosophila, and human PET/MRS/functional imaging.
  • Main analysis is a narrative synthesis organized around two questions: the balance between glycolysis and oxphos in brain cells, and the cellular mechanisms responsible for acute control of glycolysis and oxphos in neurons.

Limitations

  • The paper states many caveats for OGI measurements: pentose phosphate pathway and glycogen synthesis can consume glucose without oxygen; stress, stimulus strength, region definition, lactate oxidation in surrounding tissue, and β-adrenergic blockade can affect results; ANLS evidence often argues feasibility rather than direct occurrence.
  • The paper states that understanding of oxphos-related mitochondrial signals and the trigger for neuronal glycolysis is incomplete; mechanisms may vary with stimulation degree, glucose/O₂ conditions, and cell type, and more compartment- and cell-specific studies are needed.
  • Evident from the text: as a review, it presents no systematic search or meta-analysis and no new primary data; conclusions depend on cited studies with differing preparations and limitations, including glucose analogues with different transport properties, MCT blockers that also affect mitochondrial pyruvate uptake, and culture conditions that may alter metabolic behavior.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1083/jcb.201803152

Cites

128 of 128 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

0 of 148 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

Show all 107 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 18
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 38
53 of 53
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Uptake of 2-DG-based tracers and, in some cases, their phosphorylation by hexokinase parallels glucose utilization.

    “Glucose uptake by neurons and astrocytes can be monitored with tracers based on 2-DG, relying on the assumption that uptake of the tracers and (in some cases) their phosphorylation by hexokinase parallels glucose utilization.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Acetate is metabolized only in glia.

    “However, this conclusion depends on the assumption that acetate is metabolized only in glia; a recent study of acetate metabolism in brain slices showed a substantial ability of neurons to metabolize acetate directly, which calls the compartment-specific modeling into question (Rowlands et al., 2017).”
2 of 2

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Citations

Cites

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Show all 131 references

3 of the 131 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Clarke, 1994, Circulation and energy metabolism of the brain, 637
  2. Nelson, 2017, Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry.
  3. Nicholls, 2002, Bioenergetics 3.

Cited by

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Items 201–300 of 368

Metadata

Authors
Yellen, G.
Affiliations
Harvard University (US)
Corresponding author
Yellen, Gary
Venue
Journal of Cell Biology
Published
2018-05-11
Volume
217
Issue
7
Pages
2235-2246
ISSN
  • 0021-9525 (ISSN-L)
  • 1540-8140
OpenAlex
W2801615083
Cited by
371
References
131
Citations by year
2026: 39 · 2025: 46 · 2024: 46 · 2023: 55 · 2022: 49 · 2021: 54 · 2020: 42 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 12
FWCI
4.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Journal of Cell Biology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institutes of Health (R01 NS055031, DP1 EB016985, R01 NS102586, R01 GM124038)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer, Hypoxia, and Metabolism
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Metabolism, Diabetes, and Cancer
Keywords
neuronal energy metabolism, aerobic glycolysis, mitochondrial uncoupling, brain energy demand, lactate metabolism, calcium signaling
MeSH terms
Adenosine Diphosphate, Animals, Astrocytes, Brain, Calcium, Energy Metabolism, Glucose, Glycolysis, Humans, Neurons, Oxidative Phosphorylation, Lactic Acid

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