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High ammonia diet: Its effect on the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)

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Abstract

The effect of a recent hyperammonemic model, consisting of a high ammonia diet for 3, 7, 15, 45, and 90 days, on glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in the rat spinal cord and on blood ammonia levels has been studied. The high ammonia diet was prepared by mixing a standard diet with ammonium acetate (20% wt/wt); in addition, 5 mM of ammonium acetate was added to the water supply. GFAP contents were determined by means of immunoblotting analysis. The results demonstrated that this high ammonia diet model neither induces significant changes in GFAP immunoreactivity, nor modifies total protein concentration, and only induces significant blood hyperammonemic levels in the first days of treatment. An adaptative response to the diet is suggested and discussed to explain these results. A relation between ammonia and GFAP expression is suggested because transient hyperammonemia induces transient, although no significant, changes on GFAP expression.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biología Celular y Genética, Universidad de Alcalá, 2887 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain

    G. Bodega, I. Suárez, M. Rubio & R. M. Villalba

  2. Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad de Alcalá, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain

    M. C. Boyano, E. Arilla & L. González-Guijarro

  3. Departamento de Biología Celular, Facultad de Biología, Universidad Complutense, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    B. Fernández

Authors
  1. G. Bodega
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  2. I. Suárez
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  3. M. C. Boyano
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  4. M. Rubio
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  5. R. M. Villalba
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  7. L. González-Guijarro
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  8. B. Fernández
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Bodega, G., Suárez, I., Boyano, M.C. et al. High ammonia diet: Its effect on the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Neurochem Res 18, 971–975 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00966755

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