We have reported previously that the oxidation rate of r1,3J4C] glycerol to 14C02 is lower in whole brain homogenates from neonatal rats and increases about 30% during the suckling period to adult levels. To determine whether there are developmental changes in glycerol oxidation in discrete regions of brain, we examined the oxidation of glycerol by homogenates of hypothalamus, cerebellum, brain stem, hippocampus, and cerebral cortex of young (4-6 days) and older (18-20 days) pups and adult (>!I0 day) rats. The oxidation was measured at both low (0.2 mM) and high (2.0 mM) concentrations of glycerol, since the oxidation of glycerol by brain tissue has been shown to exhibit biphasic kinetics. At each age, and with both concentrations of glycerol, there were signiticant differences among the discrete brain regions. Although the rate of glycerol oxidation increased with age in most areas of brain, each brain region had a distinct developmental profde. In the hypothalamus, the oxidation of glycerol increased significantly between 4-6 days and adult levels at 18-20 days.
The oxidation of glycerol was essentially the same in homogenates of cortex from young and older pups, but it was significantly increased in adults. In contrast with other brain regions, the oxidation of glycerol by brain stem was highest at 4-6 days and significantly decreased with age. The developmental profde of glycerol oxidation in hippocampus and cerebellum was particularly complex, since it increased with age at low, but not at high, concentrations of glycerol. This developmental pattern in hippocampus and cerebellum could be related to changes in the biphasic kinetics of glycerol oxidation and suggests that glycerol metabolism is different in these two areas of brain compared with other areas of brain.