Regional alterations of thiamine phosphate esters and of thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzymes in relation to function in experimental Wernicke's encephalopathy

Thiamine phosphate esters (thiamine monophosphate-TMP; thiamine diphosphate-TDP and thiamine triphosphate-TTP) were measured as their thiochrome derivatives by High Performance Liquid Chromatography in the brains of pyrithiamine-treated rats at various stages during the development of thiamine deficiency encephalopathy. Severe encephalopathy was accompanied by significant reductions of all three thiamine phosphate esters in brain. Neurological symptoms of thiamine deficiency appeared when brain levels of TMP and TDP fell below 15% of normal values. Activities of the TDP-dependent enzyme -ketoglutarate dehydrogenase were more severely reduced in thalamus compared to cerebral cortex, a less vulnerable brain structure. On the other hand, reductions of TTP, the non-cofactor form of thiamine, occurred to a greater extent in cerebral cortex than thalamus. Early reductions of TDP-dependent enzymes and the ensuing metabolic pertubations such as lactic acidosis impaired brain energy metabolism, and NMDA-receptor mediated excitotoxicity offer rational explanations for the selective vulnerability of brain structures such as thalamus to the deleterious effects of thiamine deficiency.