Figure 6
From: Energy metabolism and glutamate-glutamine cycle in the brain: a stoichiometric modeling perspective
Intercellular lactate flow versus glucose partitioning between neuron and astrocyte. There is a clear dependence of the CCLS on the cell glucose uptake. However, when partitioning of glucose between neurons and astrocytes is around 65% (note that CMRGlc(tot) = CMRGlc(a)+CMRGlc(n)), which also identifies the concomitant fraction of oxygen utilization, the contribution of transferred lactate is minimal. This means that he pyruvate derived from CCLS is thus always much less than the pyruvate generated by the concomitant uptake of glucose. Notably, if glucose is taken up equally by the neuronal and astrocytic compartments, the direction of lactate flow is preferentially from neurons to astrocytes (ν LAC(a→n) ≃ -0.3), contributing on average about 40% of the total carbons metabolized by these cells (note that carbons from lactate are obtained by considering the halved value of the flux).