Are Astrocytes the Pressure-Reservoirs of Lactate in the Brain? Sergey Kasparov  Cell Metabolism  Volume 23, Issue 1, Pages 1-2 (January 2016) DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2015.11.001 Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. Terms and Conditions

Figure 1 Schematics to Illustrate the Key Findings in the Mächler et al. Study (A) Two key elements of evidence point to higher resting level of lactate in astrocytes compared to neurons. First, when lactate concentration in the brain is artificially increased (lactate overload), the relative increase in Laconic signal is greater in neurons, suggesting that there was more unbound Laconic at rest. Second, when lactate is “washed out” from the cells using the “trans-acceleration” approach, the decrease in Laconic signal is greater in astrocytes, suggesting that they had more Laconic in the lactate-bound state at rest. (B) Based on the findings of this study, in the resting brain there should be a downwards gradient of lactate from astrocytes to neurons. This model also implies that transporters that move lactate between different compartments are unable to distribute it evenly and point towards an existence of other, actively regulated pathways of lactate release from astrocytes. Cell Metabolism 2016 23, 1-2DOI: (10.1016/j.cmet.2015.11.001) Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. Terms and Conditions