Betaine in the Brain: Characterization of Betaine Uptake, its Influence on Other Osmolytes and its Potential Role in Neuroprotection from Osmotic Stress.

Betaine in the Brain: Characterization of Betaine Uptake, its Influence on Other Osmolytes and its Potential Role in Neuroprotection from Osmotic Stress. Neurochem Res. 2017 Sep 16;: Authors: Knight LS, Piibe Q, Lambie I, Perkins C, Yancey PH Abstract Betaine (N-trimethylglycine), a common osmolyte, has received attention because of the number of clinical reports associating betaine supplementation with improved cognition, neuroprotection and exercise physiology. However, tissue analyses report little accumulation of betaine in brain tissue despite the presence of betaine/GABA transporters (BGT1) at the blood brain barrier and in nervous tissue, calling into question whether betaine influences neuronal function directly or indirectly. Therefore, the focus of this study was to determine what capacity nervous tissue has to accumulate betaine, specifically in the hippocampus, a region of the brain associated with learning and memory and one that is particularly susceptible to damage (e.g., seizure activity). Here we report that hippocampal slices actively accumulate betaine in a time, dose and osmolality dependent manner, resulting in peak intracellular concentrations four times extracellular concentrations within 8 h. Our data also indicate that betaine uptake differentially influences the accumulation of other osmolytes. Under isosmotic conditions, betaine uptake minimally impacted some osmolytes (e.g., glycerylphosphorylcholine and ...
Source: Neurochemical Research - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tags: Neurochem Res Source Type: research