Nucleosides and glutamine are primary energy substrates for embryonic and adult chicken red cells.

Abstract

It has been assumed that glucose is a major energy yielding substrate for chicken red blood cells. In this report we show that glucose fails to maintain cellular ATP levels in embryonic and mature chicken erythrocytes during overnight incubation. Of over a dozen metabolites tested, inosine, guanosine, and glutamine were the most efficacious ATP-sustaining substrates. Of seven potential citric acid cycle substrates, only glutamine significantly sustained ATP levels. Incubation with inosine plus glutamine sustained the ATP level at over 70% of the initial value found in embryonic chicken red cells. Uridine, cytidine, xanthosine, glutamate, and pyruvate were ineffective substrates. Similar results were obtained with adult erythrocytes, except that glutamine plus inosine fully sustained ATP levels during long-term incubation. Adenosine did not sustain ATP levels. Below 1 mM, the adenosine level was rapidly exhausted and above 1 mM its presence led to cell lysis. The ability of some nucleosides to maintain ATP levels is consistent with the high numbers of nitrobenzylthioinosine binding sites (nucleoside transporter sites) both in mature chicken red cells (approximately 10,000 sites/cell) and in embryonic red cells (approximately 30,000 sites/cell). Unlike pig red cells which switch from glucose to nucleosides at the erythrocyte stage, chicken cells show primary dependence on nucleoside metabolism at the embryonic stage.