Biomaterial Database

Fetal fuels VI. Metabolism of alpha-ketoisocaproic acid in fetal rat brain. 1983

G E Shambaugh, and R A Koehler

The metabolic regulation of alpha-ketoisocaproic acid was studied in fetal brain from rats. Starvation of the mother for days 18-20 did not alter CO2 evolution from alpha-ketoisocaproic acid in fetal brain slices but significantly diminished the incorporation of the branched-chain keto acids into leucine. When fetal brain slices from starved mothers were exposed to graded concentrations of labeled alpha-ketoisocaproic acid (0.05-2.5 mM), over 70% of the labeled products were consistently represented by leucine and less than 30% by CO2. Both beta-hydroxybutyrate and pyruvate, alone and in combination, diminished the amount of 14CO2 that evolved from alpha-ketoisocaproic acid-1-14C, but had no effect on the conversion of the keto acid to labeled leucine. It is concluded that exogenous alpha-ketoisocaproic acid is preferentially converted to leucine by fetal brain slices independent of the nutritional state of the mother. During maternal starvation, beta-hydroxybutyrate, by restraining irreversible decarboxylation of alpha-ketoisocaproic acid, could act to salvage the keto acid for conversion to leucine. Thus alpha-ketoisocaproic acid metabolism in the fetal brain may be regulated in part by altered metabolic functions in this structure and in part by changing components in circulating fuel mixtures reaching the fetus from the starved mother.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007651	Keto Acids	Carboxylic acids that contain a KETONE group.	Oxo Acids,Oxoacids,Acids, Keto,Acids, Oxo
D007930	Leucine	An essential branched-chain amino acid important for hemoglobin formation.	L-Leucine,Leucine, L-Isomer,L-Isomer Leucine,Leucine, L Isomer
D008431	Maternal-Fetal Exchange	Exchange of substances between the maternal blood and the fetal blood at the PLACENTA via PLACENTAL CIRCULATION. The placental barrier excludes microbial or viral transmission.	Transplacental Exposure,Exchange, Maternal-Fetal,Exposure, Transplacental,Maternal Fetal Exchange
D010084	Oxidation-Reduction	A chemical reaction in which an electron is transferred from one molecule to another. The electron-donating molecule is the reducing agent or reductant; the electron-accepting molecule is the oxidizing agent or oxidant. Reducing and oxidizing agents function as conjugate reductant-oxidant pairs or redox pairs (Lehninger, Principles of Biochemistry, 1982, p471).	Redox,Oxidation Reduction
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D011919	Rats, Inbred Strains	Genetically identical individuals developed from brother and sister matings which have been carried out for twenty or more generations or by parent x offspring matings carried out with certain restrictions. This also includes animals with a long history of closed colony breeding.	August Rats,Inbred Rat Strains,Inbred Strain of Rat,Inbred Strain of Rats,Inbred Strains of Rats,Rat, Inbred Strain,August Rat,Inbred Rat Strain,Inbred Strain Rat,Inbred Strain Rats,Inbred Strains Rat,Inbred Strains Rats,Rat Inbred Strain,Rat Inbred Strains,Rat Strain, Inbred,Rat Strains, Inbred,Rat, August,Rat, Inbred Strains,Rats Inbred Strain,Rats Inbred Strains,Rats, August,Rats, Inbred Strain,Strain Rat, Inbred,Strain Rats, Inbred,Strain, Inbred Rat,Strains, Inbred Rat
D001921	Brain	The part of CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM that is contained within the skull (CRANIUM). Arising from the NEURAL TUBE, the embryonic brain is comprised of three major parts including PROSENCEPHALON (the forebrain); MESENCEPHALON (the midbrain); and RHOMBENCEPHALON (the hindbrain). The developed brain consists of CEREBRUM; CEREBELLUM; and other structures in the BRAIN STEM.	Encephalon
D004734	Energy Metabolism	The chemical reactions involved in the production and utilization of various forms of energy in cells.	Bioenergetics,Energy Expenditure,Bioenergetic,Energy Expenditures,Energy Metabolisms,Expenditure, Energy,Expenditures, Energy,Metabolism, Energy,Metabolisms, Energy
D005260	Female		Females
D005333	Fetus	The unborn young of a viviparous mammal, in the postembryonic period, after the major structures have been outlined. In humans, the unborn young from the end of the eighth week after CONCEPTION until BIRTH, as distinguished from the earlier EMBRYO, MAMMALIAN.	Fetal Structures,Fetal Tissue,Fetuses,Mummified Fetus,Retained Fetus,Fetal Structure,Fetal Tissues,Fetus, Mummified,Fetus, Retained,Structure, Fetal,Structures, Fetal,Tissue, Fetal,Tissues, Fetal