Morphological alterations and induction of oxidative stress in glial cells caused by the branched-chain alpha-keto acids accumulating in maple syrup urine disease.

Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) is an inherited neurometabolic disorder biochemically characterized by the accumulation of the branched-chain alpha-keto acids (BCKA) alpha-ketoisocaproic (KIC), alpha-keto-beta-methylvaleric (KMV) and alpha-ketoisovaleric (KIV) and their respective branched-chain alpha-amino acids in body fluids and tissues. Affected MSUD patients have predominantly neurological features, including cerebral edema and atrophy whose pathophysiology is not well established. In the present study we investigated the effects of KIC, KMV and KIV on cell morphology, cytoskeleton reorganization, actin immunocontent and on various parameters of oxidative stress, namely total antioxidant reactivity (TAR), glutathione (GSH) and nitric oxide concentrations, and on the activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in C6 glioma cells. We initially observed that C6 cultivated cells exposed for 3 h to the BCKA (1 and 10 mM) changed their usual rounded morphology to a fusiform or process-bearing cell appearance, while 24 h exposure to these organic acids elicited massive cell death. Rhodamine-labelled phalloidin analysis revealed that these organic acids induced reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton with no modifications on total actin content. It was also observed that 3h cell exposure to low doses of all BCKA (1 mM) resulted in a marked reduction of the non-enzymatic antioxidant defenses, as determined by TAR and GSH measurements. In addition, KIC provoked a reduced activity of SOD and GPx, whereas KMV caused a diminution of SOD activity. In contrast, CAT activity was not modified by the metabolites. Furthermore, nitric oxide production was significantly increased by all BCKA. Finally, we observed that the morphological features caused by BCKA on C6 cells were prevented by the use of the antioxidants GSH (1.0 mM), alpha-tocopherol (trolox; 10 microM) and Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 500 microM). These results strongly indicate that oxidative stress might be involved in the cell morphological alterations and death, as well as in the cytoskeletal reorganization elicited by the BCKA. It is presumed that these findings are possibly implicated in the neuropathological features observed in patients affected by MSUD.

Glucose and non-glucidic nutrients exert permissive effects on 2-keto acid regulation of pancreatic beta-cell function.

Insulin-releasing effects of straight and branched chain 2-keto acids were assessed using clonal glucose-responsive beta-cells. Pyruvic acid (PA), 2-ketovaleric acid (KV), 2-ketoisovaleric acid (KIV) or 2-keto-3-methylvaleric acid (KMV) dose-dependently promoted the stimulatory effects of D-glucose, whereas 2-ketobutyric acid (KB) did not affect insulin release. The stimulatory 2-keto acids also promoted the stimulatory activity of D-glyceraldehyde, L-leucine or L-arginine. Responses to PA, KV, KIV or KMV were significantly reduced by transport inhibition with 2-cyano-3 hydroxycinnamate, glucokinase inhibition with mannoheptulose or metabolic inhibition with sodium azide or sodium cyanide. Membrane hyperpolarisation with K+ depletion or diazoxide reduced insulin output, but failed to abolish secretory responses to KV, KIV and KMV. Secretory effects of these 2-keto acids also persisted in beta-cells depolarised with high KCl and glucose. Voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel blockade, with verapamil, or depletion of extracellular Ca2+ abolished the secretory activity of 2-keto acids. Collectively, these results indicate that glucose and metabolisable nutrients exert permissive effects on 2-keto acid-induced insulin release. In addition, KV, KIV and KMV can regulate beta-cell function at least partially independently of K+-ATP channel activity, both through their mitochondrial metabolism and regulation of Ca2+ influx.