Effect of dalargin on the activity of cytochrome oxidase and glutamate dehydrogenase in rat spinal cord dissociated cultured neurons

Dissociated cultured neurons from the rat embryo spinal cord were grown for six days in the presence of dalargin, the synthetic analog of leu-enkephalin. Then the activities of two enzymes of energy metabolism, cytochrome oxidase (CO) and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), were studied in these neurons using quantitative cytochemical technique. Dalargin, which possesses the properties of nerve growth factor, enhanced the nerve cell growth and increased the activity of the above enzymes, with GDH activity being increased more significantly. According to the classical standpoint, increased GDH activity under conditions of acute energy deflciency favors the invoivement of some amino acids in a citric acid cycle for subsequent reproduction. One can suggest, in this relation, that the increased energy production caused by the enhanced nerve cell growth in the presence of dalargin was partially compensated by the amino acid splitting. The results allow us to suggest that the effect of dalargin (growth factor) on the nerve cells is similar to the effects of the extremal factors, and requires additional energy to be supplied.Neirofiziologiya/Neurophysiology, Vol. 28, No. 2/3, pp. 95–99, March–June, 1996.