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Decrease in glucose transporter 1 levels and translocation of glucose transporter 3 in the dentate gyrus of C57BL/6 mice and gerbils with aging

Laboratory Animal Research volume 34, pages 58–64 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

In the present study, we compared the cell-specific expression and changes protein levels in the glucose transporters (GLUTs) 1 and 3, the major GLUTs in the mouse and gerbil brains using immuno-histochemistry and Western blot analysis. In both mouse and gerbils, GLUT1 immunoreactivity was mainly found in the blood vessels in the dentate gyrus, while GLUT3 immunoreactivity was detected in the subgranular zone and the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus. GLUT1-immunoreactivity in blood vessels and GLUT1 protein levels were significantly decreased with age in the mice and gerbils, respectively. In addition, few GLUT3-immunoreactive cells were found in the subgranular zone in aged mice and gerbils, but GLUT3-immunoreactivity was abundantly found in the polymorphic layer of dentate gyrus in mice and gerbils with a dot-like pattern. Based on the double immunofluorescence study, GLUT3-immunoreactive structures in gerbils were localized in the glial fibrillary acidic protein-immunoreactive astrocytes in the dentate gyrus. Western blot analysis showed that GLUT3 expression in the hippocampal homogenates was slightly, although not significantly, decreased with age in mice and gerbils, respectively. These results indicate that the reduction in GLUT1 in the blood vessels of dentate gyrus and GLUT3 in the subgranular zone of dentate gyrus may be associated with the decrease in uptake of glucose into brain and neuroblasts in the dentate gyrus. In addition, the expression of GLUT3 in the astrocytes in polymorphic layer of dentate gyrus may be associated with metabolic changes in glucose in aged hippocampus.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, College of Veterinary Medicine and Institute of Veterinary Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, Korea

    Kwon Young Lee & Jung Hoon Choi

  2. Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Veterinary Medicine, and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea

    Dae Young Yoo, Hyo Young Jung & In Koo Hwang

  3. Undergraduate School, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea

    Loktam Baek & Hangyul Lee

  4. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Research Institute of Oral Sciences, College of Dentistry, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung, Korea

    Hyun Jung Kwon & Dae Won Kim

  5. Department of Veterinary Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, College of Veterinary Medicine and Institute of Veterinary Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Korea

    Jin Young Chung

  6. Department of Medical Education, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea

    Seok Hoon Kang

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  1. Kwon Young Lee
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Correspondence to Jung Hoon Choi.

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Lee, K.Y., Yoo, D.Y., Jung, H.Y. et al. Decrease in glucose transporter 1 levels and translocation of glucose transporter 3 in the dentate gyrus of C57BL/6 mice and gerbils with aging. Lab Anim Res 34, 58–64 (2018). https://doi.org/10.5625/lar.2018.34.2.58

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.5625/lar.2018.34.2.58

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Laboratory Animal Research

ISSN: 2233-7660