Utilization of Energy Nutrients by Cerebellar Slices

We performed an ontogenetic study about the utilization of glycine, glutamine, -hydroxybutyrate and glycerol as energy nutrients by rat cerebellum slices. Production of CO₂ from glycerol and glutamine increased with the animals' age and glutamine was the most used nutrient for CO₂ production. In adult age, glutamine oxidation to CO₂ was 15 to 35 times higher than all other nutrients studied. CO₂ production from glycine decreased markedly with age and 10 day-old rats showed an oxidation 7.5 times higher than that of adult rats. At fetal age and at 10 postnatal days, glycine oxidation to CO₂ was only 2 times lower than glutamine oxidation to CO₂. Lipid synthesis from -hydroxybutyrate was highest in adult rats. We did not observe any difference in the utilization of -hydroxybutyrate between slices of cerebral cortex and cerebellum at the ages of 10 days and adult. The main nutrients used for lipid synthesis were glycerol and -hydroxybutyrate.