As
one of the key injury incidents, tissue acidosis in the brain
occurs very quickly within several minutes upon the onset of ischemic
stroke. Glutamate, an excitatory amino acid inducing neuronal excitotoxicity,
has been reported to trigger the decrease in neuronal intracellular
pH (pHi) via modulating proton-related membrane transporters. However,
there remains a lack of clarity on the possible role of glutamate
in neuronal acidosis via regulating metabolism. Here, we show that
200 μM glutamate treatment quickly promotes glycolysis and inhibits
mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation of primary cultured neurons
within 15 min, leading to significant cytosolic lactate accumulation,
which contributes to the rapid intracellular acidification and neuronal
injury. The reprogramming of neuronal metabolism by glutamate is dependent
on adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling
since the inhibition of AMPK activation by its selective inhibitor
compound C significantly reverses these deleterious events in vitro.
Moreover, 5α-androst-3β,5α,6β-TRIOL (TRIOL),
a neuroprotectant we previously reported, can also remarkably reverse
intracellular acidification and alleviate neuronal injury through
the inhibition of AMPK signaling. Furthermore, TRIOL remarkably reduced
the infarct volume and attenuated neurologic impairment in acute ischemic
stroke models of middle cerebral artery occlusion in vivo. In summary,
we reveal a novel role of glutamate in rapid intracellular acidification
injury resulting from glutamate-induced lactate accumulation through
AMPK-mediated neuronal reprogramming. Moreover, inhibition of the
quick drop in neuronal pHi by TRIOL significantly reduces the cerebral
damages, suggesting that it is a promising drug candidate for ischemic
stroke.