Carnosine (β-alanyl-L-histidine) is an imidazole dipeptide synthesized in excitable tissues of many animals, whose biochemical properties include carbonyl scavenger, anti-oxidant, bivalent metal ion chelator, proton buffer, and immunomodulating agent, although its precise physiological role(s) in skeletal muscle and brain tissues in vivo remain unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the in vivo effects of acute carnosine administration on various aspects of brain bioenergetics of young Wistar rats. The activity of mitochondrial enzymes in cerebral cortex was assessed using a spectrophotometer, and it was found that there was an increase in the activities of complexes I-III and II-III and succinate dehydrogenase in carnosine-treated rats, as compared to vehicle-treated animals. However, quantitative real-time RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) data on mRNA levels of mitochondrial biogenesis-related proteins (nuclear respiratory factor 1 (Nrf1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator 1-α (Ppargc1α), and mitochondrial transcription factor A (Tfam)) were not altered significantly and therefore suggest that short-term carnosine administration does not affect mitochondrial biogenesis. It was in agreement with the finding that immunocontent of respiratory chain complexes was not altered in animals receiving carnosine. These observations indicate that acute carnosine administration increases the respiratory chain and citric acid cycle enzyme activities in cerebral cortex of young rats, substantiating, at least in part, a neuroprotector effect assigned to carnosine against oxidative-driven disorders.
Serum carnosinase deficiency is an inherited disorder that leads to an accumulation of carnosine in the brain tissue, cerebrospinal fluid, skeletal muscle, and other tissues of affected patients. Considering that high levels of carnosine are associated with neurological dysfunction and that the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in serum carnosinase deficiency remain poorly understood, we investigated the in vivo effects of carnosine on bioenergetics parameters, namely, respiratory chain complexes (I–III, II, and II-III), malate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase, and creatine kinase activities and the expression of mitochondrial-specific transcription factors (NRF-1, PGC-1α, and TFAM) in skeletal muscle of young Wistar rats. We observed a significant decrease of complexes I–III and II activities in animals receiving carnosine acutely, as compared to control group. However, no significant alterations in respiratory chain complexes, citric acid cycle enzymes, and creatine kinase activities were found between rats receiving carnosine chronically and control group animals. As compared to control group, mRNA levels of NRF-1, PGC-1α, and TFAM were unchanged. The present findings indicate that electron transfer through the respiratory chain is impaired in skeletal muscle of rats receiving carnosine acutely. In case these findings are confirmed by further studies and ATP depletion is also observed, impairment of bioenergetics could be considered a putative mechanism responsible for the muscle damage observed in serum carnosinase-deficient patients.
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