Red blood cells as glucose carriers to the human brain: Modulation of cerebral activity by erythrocyte exchange transfusion in Glut1 deficiency (G1D).

ABSTRACT: Red blood cells circulating through the brain are briefly but closely apposed to the capillary endothelium. We hypothesized that this contact provides a nearly direct pathway for metabolic substrate transfer to neural cells that complements the better characterized plasma to endothelium transfer. While brain function is considered independent of normal fluctuations in blood glucose concentration, this is not borne out by persons with glucose transporter I (GLUT1) deficiency (G1D). In them, encephalopathy is often ameliorated by meal or carbohydrate administration, and this enabled us to test our hypothesis: Since red blood cells contain glucose, and since the red cells of G1D individuals are also deficient in GLUT1, replacing them with normal donor cells via exchange transfusion could augm

SUBMITTER: Wang RC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9941860 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature