Effects of undernutrition on glutamatergic parameters in the cerebral cortex of young rats.

Perinatal undernutrition impairs maturational events in the development of the brain, resulting in a variety of brain dysfunctions, which affect cognitive functions. This study investigated the effects of pre- and post-natal undernutrition (diet: 8% protein; control group: 25% protein) on some glutamatergic and behavioral parameters of 21-day-old rats. In the cerebral cortex, undernutrition reduced the Na-independent [(3)H]Glutamate binding in cellular membranes and [(3)H]Glutamate vesicular uptake, without affecting the [(3)H]Glutamate uptake by slices preparation.

Effect of 2-deoxy-D-glucose on aminoacids metabolism in rats' cerebral cortex slices.

We studied the effect of different concentrations of 2-deoxy-D-glucose on the L-[U-14C]leucine, L-[1-14C]leucine and [1-14C]glycine metabolism in slices of cerebral cortex of 10-day-old rats. 2-deoxy-D-glucose since 0.5 mM concentration has inhibited significantly the protein synthesis from L-[U-14C]leucine and from [1-14C]glycine in relation to the medium containing only Krebs Ringer bicarbonate.