Selective loss of phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate-facilitated L-glutamate transport in forebrain neurons of aged rats

Phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu), an activator of protein kinase C, was used to evaluate potential age-related changes in phosphorylation-dependent facilitation of high-affinity L-glutamate uptake in the rat central nervous system (CNS). Forebrain homogenates from male Fischer-344/brown Norway Fl hybrid rats were separated into glio-enriched (glial plasmalemmal vesicles) and neuron-enriched fractions (synaptosomes) and assayed for sodium-dependent transport of L-[H-3]glutamate. Glial fractions from rats aged 5, 25, 31, and 37 months exhibited similar rates of basal L-[H-3]glutamate transport and demonstrated no significant age-related differences with respect to the maximal facilitatory effect of PDBu (1-100 mu M). In contrast, neuronal fractions exhibited an age-related decline ill both indices, with basal L-[H-3]glutamate transport decreasing from 710 +/- 31 to 560 +/- 40 pmoL/mg protein/90 s for the 5- and 37-month groups, respectively (p < .03) and PDBu having a significantly attenuated effect in aged animals. Together, these results provide support for the hypothesis that aging is associated with a decrease in the number of neuronal L-glutamate transporters as well as a diminished capacity to up-regulate these transporters through a protein kinase C-dependent pathway.