The glycolytic astrocyte possesses a high redox and xenobiotic buffering capacity through glutathione (GSH), neutralizing many forms of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and excreting xenobiotics through GSH-xenobiotic adducts back into the blood stream. Astrocytes are the first line of defense against xenobiotic compounds passing through the blood brain barrier, and provide metabolic and synaptic support for neurons, particularly in the uptake and conversion of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate to glutamine. The xenobiotic arsenic is water soluble and readily passes through the blood brain barrier. Arsenic is also prevalent in the Earth’s crust and modern industrial processing, and exposure has been linked to the development of neurological degenerative disorders. Previous experiments in the Franco Lab have illustrated that in vitro exposure of astrocytes to arsenic causes a significant increase in glutamate efflux into the media, and that the entry of carbons from pyruvate and fatty acid oxidation (FAO), but not glutamine, into the mitochondria are vital for astrocyte survival during arsenic exposure. In this study, we seek to both corroborate these findings, and explore the role that fatty acids in particular play in xenobiotic detoxification.
