Carbohydrate handling enzymes in fetal Down Syndrome brain

Impaired glucose metabolism in adult Down Syndrome (DS) has been well-docum ented in vivo and information on the underlying biochemical defect i.e. abe rrant glucose handling enzymes is already available. Nothing is known on ca rbohydrate handling, however, in early life of DS patients, when no seconda ry phenomena as e.g. Alzheimer-like neuropathology occur in the brain yet. We therefore determined a series of key enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism in fetal control and DS brain during the early second trimenon. We used two -dimensional electrophoresis with subsequent MALDI characterization and spe cific software for quantification of protein spots. We observed comparable levels of phosphoglycerate mutase, phosphoglycerate kinase 1; fructose-biphosphate aldolase A, fructose bisphosphate aldolase C ; ribose-phosphate pyrophosphokinase 1; D-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase, 6 -phosphogluconolactonase; aflatoxin B1 aldehyde reductase 1, aldose reducta se; inosine-5 ' -monophosphate dehydrogenase 2; galactokinase, in brain of fetal controls and DS. We conclude that our biochemical findings point to the fact that DS patient s start early life with unchanged glucose handling, pentose phosphate shunt , glycolysis, sugar aldehyde, guanine nucleotide- and ribonucleoside format ion and galactose metabolism.