Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

New view at C

Transporters for vitamin C keep vitamin concentrations optimal in the body. A new mouse knockout of one transporter reveals previously unknown requirements for the vitamin. (pages 514–517)

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Mechanisms of vitamin C transport.

References

  1. Tsukaguchi, H. et al. A family of mammalian Na+-dependent l-ascorbic acid transporters. Nature 399, 70–75 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Sotiriou, S. et al. Ascorbic-acid transporter Slc23a1 is essential for vitamin C transport into the brain and for perinatal survival. Nature Med. 8, 514–517 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Miele, M., Boutelle, M.G. & Fillenz, M. The physiologically induced release of ascorbate in rat brain is dependent on impulse traffic, calcium influx and glutamate uptake. Neuroscience 62, 87–91 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Wilson, J.X., Peters, C.E., Sitar, S.M., Daoust, P. & Gelb, A.W. Glutamate stimulates ascorbate transport by astrocytes. Brain Res. 858, 61–66 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Spector, R. Vitamin homeostasis in the central nervous system. N. Engl. J. Med. 296, 1393–1398 (1977).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Berger, U.V. & Hediger, M.A. The vitamin C transporter SVCT2 is expressed by astrocytes in culture but not in situ. Neuroreport 11, 1395–1399 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Rice, M.E. Ascorbate regulation and its neuroprotective role in the brain. Trends Neurosci. 23, 209–216 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Wilson, J.X. Antioxidant defense of the brain: A role for astrocytes. Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 75, 1149–1163 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Castro, M. et al. High-affinity sodium-vitamin C co-transporters (SVCT) expression in embryonic mouse neurons. J. Neurochem. 78, 815–823 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Rice, M.E., Lee, E.J. & Choy, Y. High levels of ascorbic acid, not glutathione, in the CNS of anoxia-tolerant reptiles contrasted with levels in anoxia-intolerant species. J. Neurochem. 64, 1790–1799 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Hillered, L., Persson, L., Bolander, H.G., Hallstrom, A. & Ungerstedt, U. Increased extracellular levels of ascorbate in the striatum after middle cerebral artery occlusion in the rat monitored by intracerebral microdialysis. Neurosci. Lett. 95, 286–290 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Yokoyama, T. et al. Serum vitamin C concentration was inversely associated with subsequent 20-year incidence of stroke in a Japanese rural community. The Shibata Study. Stroke 31, 2287–2294 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Wilson, J.X., Dixon, S.J., Yu, J., Nees, S. & Tyml, K. Ascorbate uptake by microvascular endothelial cells of rat skeletal muscle. Microcirculation 3, 211–221 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hediger, M. New view at C. Nat Med 8, 445–446 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0502-445

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0502-445

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing