Summary: This study was undertaken to elucidate the roles of neurons and glial cells in the handling of gluta mate and glutamine, a glutamate precursor, during cere bral ischemia. Slices (400--6 00 fLm) from human neocortex obtained during surgery for epilepsy or brain tumors were incubated in artificial cerebrospinal fluid and subjected to 30 min of combined hypoxia and glucose deprivation (an in vitro model of brain ischemia). These slices, and con trol slices that had not been subjected to "ischemic" con ditions, were then fixed and embedded. Ultrathin sec tions were processed according to a postembedding im munocytochemical method with polyclonal antibodies raised against glutamate or glutamine, followed by colloi dal gold-labeled secondary antibodies. The gold particle densities over various tissue profiles were calculated from electron micrographs using a specially designed computer program. Combined hypoxia and glucose dep rivation caused a reduced glutamate immunolabeling in neuronal somata, while that of glial processes increased. Following 1 h of recovery, the glutamate labeling of neu ronal somata declined further to very low values, com pared to control slices. The glutamate labeling of glial cells returned to normal levels following recovery. InThe pathogenesis of ischemic brain damage is not fully understood, and a number of neurotoxic sub stances has been implicated (Krause et aI. , 1988; Siesjo, 1988;Ginsberg, 1990; Siesjo et aI. , 1990
503axon terminals, no consistent change in the level of glu tamate immunolabeling was observed. Immunolabeling of glutamine was low in both nerve terminals and neuronal somata in normal slices and was reduced to nondetectable levels in nerve terminals upon hypoxia and glucose dep rivation. This treatment was also associated with a re duced glutamine immunolabeling in glial cells. Reversed glutamate uptake due to perturbations of the transmem brane ion concentrations and membrane potential proba bly contributes to the loss of neuronal glutamate under "ischemic" conditions. The increased glutamate labeling of glial cells under the same conditions can best be ex plained by assuming that glial cells resist a reversal of glutamate uptake, and that their ability to convert gluta mate into glutamine is compromised due to the energy failure. The persistence of a nerve terminal pool of glu tamate is compatible with recent biochemical data indi cating that the exocytotic glutamate release is contingent on an adequate energy supply and therefore impeded dur ing ischemia.