S system, ammonium produced during amino acid catabolism is mainly detoxified through amination of glutamate to glutamine by the enzyme glutamine synthetase. This enzyme is exclusivelyBrain Cell Damage in Glutaric 58-49-1 site Aciduria Type IFigure 5. Effects of GA and 3-OHGA on biochemical parameters measured in culture medium. Glucose (A), lactate (B), ammonium (C) and glutamine (D) were measured in the medium of cultures treated with protocols A (DIV 8) or B (DIV 14). Mean 6 SD of 7 replicate cultures assessed by Student’s t-test; *p,0.05, **p,0.01, *** p,0.001. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0053735.gBrain Cell Damage in Glutaric Aciduria Type IFigure 6. Evaluation of cell death after treatment with GA and 3-OHGA. (A; left panel) Immunohistochemical staining for cleaved caspase-3 (red signal). Scale bar: 100 mm. (A; right panel) Representative western blots with data quantification of whole-cell lysates for full length caspase-3 and the large fragment of cleaved (e.g. activated) caspase-3 for protocol A (DIV 8, above) and protocol B (DIV 14, below). Actin was used as a loading control. The quantifications of cleaved caspase-3 are expressed as percentage of respective controls. The values represent the mean 6 SEM from 3 replicates taken from 2 independent experiments. (B) In situ cell death assay with TUNEL (green signal) and cleaved caspase-3 (red signal) on DIV 8 (protocol A). Merge of both signals leads to double-stained cells appearing in yellow. Scale bar: 100 mm. (C) LDH in culture medium of cultures from protocol A (DIV 8, above) and protocol B (DIV 14, below). Mean 6 SD of 7 replicate cultures assessed by Student’s t-test; **p,0.01, *** p,0.001. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0053735.gBrain Cell Damage in Glutaric Aciduria Type 1317923 Isupported by the observation of neuronal loss in the Gcdh2/2 mouse model [13]. Analysis of media from treated and control cultures on DIV 14 showed a marked increase in lactate with concomitant decrease in glucose concentrations. This combination can be observed in plasma of children with GA-I during acute encephalopathic crises. Underlying mechanisms may be the inhibition of the TCA cycle and/or respiratory chain with shift to lactate at the end of glycolysis, which is also supported by the 2-fold increase of the lactate/pyruvate ratio observed 
under 3-OHGA exposure. Lamp et al. have shown that 3-OHGA and GA inhibit astrocytic efflux and neuronal uptake of TCA cycle intermediates. These results suggest that elevated levels of 3-OHGA and GA may lead to neuronal injury and cell death via disruption of TCA cycle activity [21]. Direct effects on the respiratory chain have been MedChemExpress 374913-63-0 reported controversially: While a recent report failed to prove changes on the activity of the different respiratory chain complexes in the Gcdh2/2 mouse during metabolic crisis [22], other publications confirmed an impact of GA and/or 3-OHGA on the mitochondrial energy metabolism [23,24]. TCA and respiratory chain dysfunction is also 12926553 assumed by the “toxic metabolite” hypothesis that postulates an interference of these organic acids with mitochondrial energy metabolism [23]. This is consistent with the finding of mainly non-apoptotic (likely necrotic) cell death, which has been shown to be prevalent in animal models of mitochondrial dysfunction [25] as well as in neuropathology of humans with Leigh syndrome [26]. Our 
previous results on ammonium toxicity combined with the new results on our GA-I in vitro model suggest the following threestep model for br.S system, ammonium produced during amino acid catabolism is mainly detoxified through amination of glutamate to glutamine by the enzyme glutamine synthetase. This enzyme is exclusivelyBrain Cell Damage in Glutaric Aciduria Type IFigure 5. Effects of GA and 3-OHGA on biochemical parameters measured in culture medium. Glucose (A), lactate (B), ammonium (C) and glutamine (D) were measured in the medium of cultures treated with protocols A (DIV 8) or B (DIV 14). Mean 6 SD of 7 replicate cultures assessed by Student’s t-test; *p,0.05, **p,0.01, *** p,0.001. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0053735.gBrain Cell Damage in Glutaric Aciduria Type IFigure 6. Evaluation of cell death after treatment with GA and 3-OHGA. (A; left panel) Immunohistochemical staining for cleaved caspase-3 (red signal). Scale bar: 100 mm. (A; right panel) Representative western blots with data quantification of whole-cell lysates for full length caspase-3 and the large fragment of cleaved (e.g. activated) caspase-3 for protocol A (DIV 8, above) and protocol B (DIV 14, below). Actin was used as a loading control. The quantifications of cleaved caspase-3 are expressed as percentage of respective controls. The values represent the mean 6 SEM from 3 replicates taken from 2 independent experiments. (B) In situ cell death assay with TUNEL (green signal) and cleaved caspase-3 (red signal) on DIV 8 (protocol A). Merge of both signals leads to double-stained cells appearing in yellow. Scale bar: 100 mm. (C) LDH in culture medium of cultures from protocol A (DIV 8, above) and protocol B (DIV 14, below). Mean 6 SD of 7 replicate cultures assessed by Student’s t-test; **p,0.01, *** p,0.001. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0053735.gBrain Cell Damage in Glutaric Aciduria Type 1317923 Isupported by the observation of neuronal loss in the Gcdh2/2 mouse model [13]. Analysis of media from treated and control cultures on DIV 14 showed a marked increase in lactate with concomitant decrease in glucose concentrations. This combination can be observed in plasma of children with GA-I during acute encephalopathic crises. Underlying mechanisms may be the inhibition of the TCA cycle and/or respiratory chain with shift to lactate at the end of glycolysis, which is also supported by the 2-fold increase of the lactate/pyruvate ratio observed under 3-OHGA exposure. Lamp et al. have shown that 3-OHGA and GA inhibit astrocytic efflux and neuronal uptake of TCA cycle intermediates. These results suggest that elevated levels of 3-OHGA and GA may lead to neuronal injury and cell death via disruption of TCA cycle activity [21]. Direct effects on the respiratory chain have been reported controversially: While a recent report failed to prove changes on the activity of the different respiratory chain complexes in the Gcdh2/2 mouse during metabolic crisis [22], other publications confirmed an impact of GA and/or 3-OHGA on the mitochondrial energy metabolism [23,24]. TCA and respiratory chain dysfunction is also 12926553 assumed by the “toxic metabolite” hypothesis that postulates an interference of these organic acids with mitochondrial energy metabolism [23]. This is consistent with the finding of mainly non-apoptotic (likely necrotic) cell death, which has been shown to be prevalent in animal models of mitochondrial dysfunction [25] as well as in neuropathology of humans with Leigh syndrome [26]. Our previous results on ammonium toxicity combined with the new results on our GA-I in vitro model suggest the following threestep model for br.