Effect of cerebral hypoxic ischemia on the synthesis of glucose transporter 1 and 3 in neonatal rats

Objective To explore the effect of cerebral hypoxic-ischemia(HI) on the synthesis of glucose transporter( GLUT)1 and 3. Methods Based on the successful preparation of hypoxic-ischemic neonatal rat model, immunohistochemical method was applied to detect the synthesis of GLUT1 and GLUT3 in cerebral hippocampus and cortex in neonatal rats with HI. Results There was a linear enhancement in the synthesis of GLUT1 and GLUT3 with the increase of day age. The synthesis was predominant in hippocampus comparing to that in cortex in normal group. However, HI could significantly enhance the synthesis of GLUT1 and GLUT3 in the early time after HI. The synthesis reached peak at 24 h after HI, and then declined, especially GLUT3 went down to a very low level at day 7 after HI. It was noticed that the synthesis was more in cortex than that in hippocampus in HI group. Conclusion It is suggested that the increased synthesis of GLUT1 and GLUT3 induced by HI could accelerate the utilization of glucose in the brain and adapt to the requirement of anaerobic glycolysis.