Summary:We have examined the extracellular pH (pH e) during spreading depression and complete cerebral isch emia in rat parietal cortex utilizing double-barrelled H + liquid ion exchanger microelectrodes. The baseline pHe of the parietal cortex was 7.33 at a mean arterial Peoz of 38 mm Hg. Following spreading depression and cerebral ischemia, highly reproducible triphasic changes in pHe occurred, which were intimately related to the negative deflection in tissue potential (Ye). The changes in pHe for spreading depression (n = 23) were a small initial acidic shift, beginning before the rapid change in Ye, followed by a rapid transient alkaline shift of 0.16 pH units, the onset of which coincided with the negative deflection in Ye• A prolonged acidic shift of 0.42 pH units then oc curred. The maximal decrease in pHe was to 6.97 and the mean duration of the triphasic pHe change was 7.8 min.
The lactate concentration in brain cortex increased fromThe adaptive response by the brain microenvi ronment to altered extracellular pH (pHe) remains poorly understood, partially due to the difficulty in directly measuring the interstitial hydrogen ion con centration. Now, however, high-fidelity recordings of pH changes in mammalian brain interstitium can be obtained with double-barrelled H+ liquid ion ex changer (LIX) microelectrodes (Ammann et aI., 1981; Kraig et aI., 1983). The use of similar LIX microelectrodes has greatly facilitated study of Dr. Mutch's present address is Department of Anesthesia, St. Boniface General Hospital, 40 9 Ta che Avenue, Winnipeg, Man itoba, Canada R2H 2A6.Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Hansen at Department of Medical Physiology A, University of Copen hagen, The Panum Institute, B1egdamsvej 3, DK-22 00, Copen hagen N, Denmark.Abbreviations used: DIDS, 4,4'-Diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2' disulfonic acid; DNDS, 4, 4' -dinitrostilbene-2,2' -disulfonic acid; EH+, potential derived from H+ activity; LlX, liquid ion ex changer; pHe, extracellular pH; Ve, tissue potential. 17 baseline 1.2 mM to 7.0 mM (n = 6) during the maximal acidic change in spreading depression. In addition, lactate levels correlated well with resolution of the pHe changes during spreading depression. The triphasic pHe changes following complete cerebral ischemia were an initial acidic shift of 0.43 pH units which developed over 2 min, then an alkaline shift of 0.10 pH units coincident with the negative deflection in Ye, and a final acidic shift of 0.26 pH units. The terminal pHe was 6.75. Superfusion of the cortex with inhibitors of carbonic anhydrase (acetazol amide), Na+/H+ counter transport (amiloride), and Cl-/ HC03' countertransport (4,4' -diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2' disulfonic acid) altered the triphasic pHe changes in a similar fashion for both spreading depression and cerebral ischemia, providing insights into the pHe regulatory mechanisms in mammalian brain.