Compartmentation of glucose 6-phosphate in hepatocytes

Cortisol promotes endoplasmic glucose production via pyridine nucleotide redox

Both increased adrenal and peripheral cortisol production, the latter governed by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1), contribute to the maintenance of fasting blood glucose. In the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the pyridine nucleotide redox state (NADP/NADPH) is dictated by the concentration of glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) and the coordinated activities of two enzymes, hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (H6PDH) and 11β-HSD1. However, luminal G6P may similarly serve as a substrate for hepatic glucose-6-phophatase (G6Pase). A tacit belief is that the G6P pool in the ER is equally accessible to both H6PDH and G6Pase. Based on our inhibition studies and kinetic analysis in isolated rat liver microsomes, these two aforesaid luminal enzymes do share the G6P pool in the ER, but not equally. Based on the kinetic modeling of G6P flux, the ER transporter for G6P (T1) preferentially delivers this substrate to G6Pase; hence, the luminal enzymes do not share G6P equally. Moreover, cortisol, acting through 11β-HSD1, begets a more reduced pyridine redox ratio. By altering this luminal redox ratio, G6P flux through H6PDH is restrained, allowing more G6P for the competing enzyme G6Pase. And, at low G6P concentrations in the ER lumen, which occur during fasting, this acute cortisol-induced redox adjustment promotes glucose production. This reproducible cortisol-driven mechanism has been heretofore unrecognized.

Modification of microsomal 11beta-HSD1 activity by cytosolic compounds: glutathione and hexose phosphoesters

11beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase1(11beta-HSD1) can serve either as an oxo-reductase or dehydrogenase determined by the redox state in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). This bidirectional enzyme governs paracrine glucocorticoid production. Recent in vitro studies have underscored the key role of cytoplasmic glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) in controlling the flux direction of 11betaHSD-1 by altering the intraluminal ER NADPH/NADP ratio. The hypothesis that other hexose phosphoesters or the plentiful cellular oxidative protector glutathione could also regulate microsomal 11betaHSD-1 activity was tested. Fructose-6-phosphate increased the activity of 11beta-HSD1 reductase in isolated rat and porcine liver microsomes but not porcine fat microsomes. Moreover, oxidized glutathione (GSSG) attenuated 11beta-HSD1 reductase activity by 40% while reduced glutathione (GSH) activated the reductase in liver. Fat microsomes were unaffected because they lack glutathione reductase. Nonetheless, another oxidizing agent, hydrogen peroxide (0.5mM), inhibited both fat and liver 11beta-HSD1 reductase. Consistent with the major role of the redox state, 2.5mM GSSG and hydrogen peroxide augmented the 11beta-HSD1 dehydrogenase, antithetical to the reductase, by 20-30% in liver microsomes. Given the key role of reactive oxygen species and hexose phosphate accumulation in the pathoetiology of obesity and diabetes, these compounds might also modify 11beta-HSD1 in these conditions.

Hepatic glycogen breakdown is implicated in the maintenance of plasma mannose concentration

D-mannose is an essential monosaccharide constituent of glycoproteins and glycolipids. However, it is unknown how plasma mannose is supplied. The aim of this study was to explore the source of plasma mannose. Oral administration of glucose resulted in a significant decrease of plasma mannose concentration after 20 min in fasted normal rats. However, in fasted type 2 diabetes model rats, plasma mannose concentrations that were higher compared with normal rats did not change after the administration of glucose. When insulin was administered intravenously to fed rats, it took longer for plasma mannose concentrations to decrease significantly in diabetic rats than in normal rats (20 and 5 min, respectively). Intravenous administration of epinephrine to fed normal rats increased the plasma mannose concentration, but this effect was negated by fasting or by administration of a glycogen phosphorylase inhibitor. Epinephrine increased mannose output from the perfused liver of fed rats, but this effect was negated in the presence of a glucose-6-phosphatase inhibitor. Epinephrine also increased the hepatic levels of hexose 6-phosphates, including mannose 6-phosphate. When either lactate alone or lactate plus alanine were administered as gluconeogenic substrates to fasted rats, the concentration of plasma mannose did not increase. When lactate was used to perfuse the liver of fasted rats, a decrease, rather than an increase, in mannose output was observed. These findings indicate that hepatic glycogen is a source of plasma mannose.

Fatty acid and amino acid modulation of glucose cycling in isolated rat hepatocytes

We studied the influence of glucose/glucose 6-phosphate cycling on glycogen deposition from glucose in fasted-rat hepatocytes using S4048 and CP320626, specific inhibitors of glucose-6-phosphate translocase and glycogen phosphorylase respectively. The effect of amino acids and oleate was also examined. The following observations were made: (1) with glucose alone, net glycogen production was low. Inhibition of glucose-6-phosphate translocase increased intracellular glucose 6-phosphate (3-fold), glycogen accumulation (5-fold) without change in active (dephosphorylated) glycogen synthase (GSa) activity, and lactate production (4-fold). With both glucose 6-phosphate translocase and glycogen phosphorylase inhibited, glycogen deposition increased 8-fold and approached reported in vivo rates of glycogen deposition during the fasted-->fed transition. Addition of a physiological mixture of amino acids in the presence of glucose increased glycogen accumulation (4-fold) through activation of GS and inhibition of glucose-6-phosphatase flux. Addition of oleate with glucose present decreased glycolytic flux and increased the flux through glucose 6-phosphatase with no change in glycogen deposition. With glucose 6-phosphate translocase inhibited by S4048, oleate increased intracellular glucose 6-phosphate (3-fold) and net glycogen production (1.5-fold), without a major change in GSa activity. It is concluded that glucose cycling in hepatocytes prevents the net accumulation of glycogen from glucose. Amino acids activate GS and inhibit flux through glucose-6-phosphatase, while oleate inhibits glycolysis and stimulates glucose-6-phosphatase flux. Variation in glucose 6-phosphate does not always result in activity changes of GSa. Activation of glucose 6-phosphatase flux by fatty acids may contribute to the increased hepatic glucose production as seen in Type 2 diabetes.

The hepatic glycogenoreticular system

One of the major liver functions is the ability of hepatocytes to store glucose in the form of glycogen for various purposes. Beside glucose production and secretion, the synthesis of glucuronides and ascorbate has been reported to be dependent on the extent of the glycogen stores and on the rate of glycogenolysis in the liver. It is common that the final steps of these pathways are catalysed by intraluminally orientated enzymes of the endoplasmic reticulum, which are supported by transporters for the permeation of substrates and products. On the basis of the close morphological and functional proximity of glycogen, glycogen-dependent pathways and the (smooth) endoplasmic reticulum we propose to use the term glycogenoreticular system for the description of this export-orientated hepatocyte-specific metabolic unit.

Sorting of metabolic pathway flux by the plasma membrane in cerebrovascular smooth muscle cells

We used beta-escin-permeabilized pig cerebral microvessels (PCMV) to study the organization of carbohydrate metabolism in the cytoplasm of vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cells. We have previously demonstrated (Lloyd PG and Hardin CD. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 277: C1250-C1262, 1999) that intact PCMV metabolize the glycolytic intermediate [1-(13)C]fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (FBP) to [1-(13)C]glucose with negligible production of [3-(13)C]lactate, while simultaneously metabolizing [2-(13)C]glucose to [2-(13)C]lactate. Thus gluconeogenic and glycolytic intermediates do not mix freely in intact VSM cells (compartmentation). Permeabilized PCMV retained the ability to metabolize [2-(13)C]glucose to [2-(13)C]lactate and to metabolize [1-(13)C]FBP to [1-(13)C]glucose. The continued existence of glycolytic and gluconeogenic activity in permeabilized cells suggests that the intermediates of these pathways are channeled (directly transferred) between enzymes. Both glycolytic and gluconeogenic flux in permeabilized PCMV were sensitive to the presence of exogenous ATP and NAD. It was most interesting that a major product of [1-(13)C]FBP metabolism in permeabilized PCMV was [3-(13)C]lactate, in direct contrast to our previous findings in intact PCMV. Thus disruption of the plasma membrane altered the distribution of substrates between the glycolytic and gluconeogenic pathways. These data suggest that organization of the plasma membrane into distinct microdomains plays an important role in sorting intermediates between the glycolytic and gluconeogenic pathways in intact cells.

New lessons in the regulation of glucose metabolism taught by the glucose 6-phosphatase system

The operation of glucose 6-phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.9) (Glc6Pase) stems from the interaction of at least two highly hydrophobic proteins embedded in the ER membrane, a heavily glycosylated catalytic subunit of m 36 kDa (P36) and a 46-kDa putative glucose 6-phosphate (Glc6P) translocase (P46). Topology studies of P36 and P46 predict, respectively, nine and ten transmembrane domains with the N-terminal end of P36 oriented towards the lumen of the ER and both termini of P46 oriented towards the cytoplasm. P36 gene expression is increased by glucose, fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (Fru-2,6-P2) and free fatty acids, as well as by glucocorticoids and cyclic AMP; the latter are counteracted by insulin. P46 gene expression is affected by glucose, insulin and cyclic AMP in a manner similar to P36. Accordingly, several response elements for glucocorticoids, cyclic AMP and insulin regulated by hepatocyte nuclear factors were found in the Glc6Pase promoter. Mutations in P36 and P46 lead to glycogen storage disease (GSD) type-1a and type-1 non a (formerly 1b and 1c), respectively. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of P36 in hepatocytes and in vivo impairs glycogen metabolism and glycolysis and increases glucose production; P36 overexpression in INS-1 cells results in decreased glycolysis and glucose-induced insulin secretion. The nature of the interaction between P36 and P46 in controling Glc6Pase activity remains to be defined. The latter might also have functions other than Glc6P transport that are related to Glc6P metabolism.

Specific features of glycogen metabolism in the liver

Although the general pathways of glycogen synthesis and glycogenolysis are identical in all tissues, the enzymes involved are uniquely adapted to the specific role of glycogen in different cell types. In liver, where glycogen is stored as a reserve of glucose for extrahepatic tissues, the glycogen-metabolizing enzymes have properties that enable the liver to act as a sensor of blood glucose and to store or mobilize glycogen according to the peripheral needs. The prime effector of hepatic glycogen deposition is glucose, which blocks glycogenolysis and promotes glycogen synthesis in various ways. Other glycogenic stimuli for the liver are insulin, glucocorticoids, parasympathetic (vagus) nerve impulses and gluconeogenic precursors such as fructose and amino acids. The phosphorolysis of glycogen is mainly mediated by glucagon and by the orthosympathetic neurotransmitters noradrenaline and ATP. Many glycogenolytic stimuli, e.g. adenosine, nucleotides and NO, also act indirectly, via secretion of eicosanoids from non-parenchymal cells. Effectors often initiate glycogenolysis cooperatively through different mechanisms.

Cell swelling and glycogen metabolism in hepatocytes from fasted rats

Cell swelling is known to increase net glycogen production from glucose in hepatocytes from fasted rats by activating glycogen synthase. Since both active glycogen synthase and phosphorylase are present in hepatocytes, suppression of flux through phosphorylase may also contribute to the net increase in glycogen synthesis by cell swelling. We have developed an isotopic procedure to estimate the fluxes through glycogen synthase and phosphorylase in intact hepatocytes and we have examined the effect of cell swelling on both enzyme fluxes. The following observations were made. (1) Hypotonic or glutamine-induced cell swelling increased net glycogen production by activating flux through glycogen synthase with little effect on phosphorylase flux. Proline, previously shown to increase glycogen synthesis more than could be accounted for by its ability to cause cell swelling, increased flux through glycogen synthase and inhibited phosphorylase flux. (2) Incorporation of [14C]glucose into glycogen preceded complete mixing of [14C]glucose with the intracellular pool of UDPglucose. It is concluded that cell swelling affects glycogen synthase only and that UDPglucose is compartmentalized.

Increased oxidation and decreased conjugation of drugs in the liver caused by starvation. Altered metabolism of certain aromatic compounds and acetone

Starvation causes several changes in the various processes of biotransformation. The focus of this review is on biotransformation of various aromatic and other compounds whose metabolism is catalyzed in phase I by isozymes belonging to the CYP2E1 gene subfamily, while in phase II phenol-UDPGT or conjugation with GSH play a dominant role. The other ways of conjugation are beyond the scope of this review. The reason why this aspect has been chosen is that the capacity of these reactions is profoundly altered by nutritional conditions. There is a balance between the two phases of biotransformation. Therefore, under standard circumstances in a well-fed state the intermediate formed in the course of phase I is converted to a conjugated compound rapidly, as a result of phase II. However, in starvation the pattern of drug metabolism is altered and the balance between the two phases is changed. This alteration of drug metabolism upon starvation is partly connected to the changes of cofactor supplies due to the metabolic state.

Ascorbic acid synthesis is stimulated by enhanced glycogenolysis in murine liver

Ascorbic acid synthesis was stimulated by glucagon, dibutyryl cyclic AMP, as well as phenylephrine vasopressin or okadaic acid, in hepatocytes prepared from fed mice. However, no such effect was observed in glycogen-depleted cells from starved animals, either in the presence or absence of glucose. The rate of ascorbate synthesis showed close correlation with the glucose release by hepatocytes. In mice the injection of glucagon increased plasma ascorbate concentration fifteenfold, and caused a sixfold elevation of the ascorbate content of the liver. These results show that hepatic ascorbate synthesis is dependent on glycogenolysis, and indicate a regulatory role of ascorbate released by the liver.

Intracellular binding of glucokinase in hepatocytes and translocation by glucose, fructose and insulin

The release of glucokinase from digitonin-permeabilized hepatocytes shows different characteristics with respect to ionic strength and [MgCl2] from the release of other cytoplasmic enzymes. Release of glucokinase is most rapid at low ionic strength (300 mM sucrose, 3 mM Hepes) and is inhibited by increasing concentration of KCl [concn. giving half-maximal inhibition (I50) 25 mM] or Mg2+ (I50 0.5 mM). Release of phosphoglucoisomerase, phosphoglucomutase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase is independent of ionic strength, but shows a small inhibition by MgCl2 (20%, versus > 80% for glucokinase). Lactate dehydrogenase release increases with increasing ionic strength [concn. giving half-maximal activation (A50) 10 mM KCl] or [MgCl2]. The rate and extent of glucokinase release during permeabilization in 300 mM sucrose, 5 mM MgCl2 or in medium with ionic composition resembling cytoplasm (150 mM K+, 50 mM Cl-, 1 mM Mg2+) depends on the substrate concentrations with which the hepatocytes have been preincubated. In hepatocytes pre-cultured with 5 mM glucose the release of glucokinase was much slower than that of other cytoplasmic enzymes measured. However, preincubation with glucose (10-30 mM) or fructose (50 microM-1 mM) markedly increased glucokinase release. This suggests that, in cells maintained in 5 mM glucose, glucokinase is present predominantly in a bound state and this binding is dependent on the presence of Mg2+. The enzyme can be released or translocated from its bound state by an increase in [glucose] (A50 15 mM) or by fructose (A50 50 microM). The effects of glucose and fructose were rapid (t1/2 5 min) and reversible, and were potentiated by insulin and counteracted by glucagon. They were inhibited by cyanide, but not by cytochalasin D, phalloidin or colchicine. Mannose had a glucose-like effect (A50 approximately 15 mM), whereas galactose, 3-O-methyl-D-glucose and 2-deoxyglucose were ineffective. When hepatocytes were incubated with [2-3H, U-14C]glucose, the incorporation of 3H/14C label into glycogen correlated with the extent of glucokinase release. Since 2-3H is lost during conversion of glucose 6-phosphate into fructose 6-phosphate, substrate-induced translocation of glucokinase from a Mg(2+)-dependent binding site to an alternative site might favour the partitioning of glucose 6-phosphate towards glycogen, as opposed to phosphoglucoisomerase.

Effects of fatty acid oxidation on glucose utilization by isolated hepatocytes

We have studied the inhibitory action of long- and short-chain fatty acids on hepatic glucose utilization in hepatocytes isolated from fasted rats. The rates of hepatic glucose phosphorylation and glycolysis were determined from the tritiated products of [2-3H] and [6-3H]glucose metabolism, respectively. The difference between these was taken as an estimate of the 'cycling' between glucose and glucose-6-phosphate. In the presence of 40 mM glucose this cycling was estimated at 0.68 mumol/min/g wet wt. Glucose phosphorylation was unaffected during palmitate and hexanoate oxidation to ketone bodies but glycolysis was inhibited. The rate of glucose cycling was increased during this phase to 1.25 mumol/min/g. Following the complete metabolism of the fatty acids, glycolysis was reinstated and cycling rates returned to control levels. Hepatic glucose cycling appears to be an important component of the glucose/fatty acid cycle.

Control of glycogen metabolism by gluconeogenic and ketogenic substrates in isolated hepatocytes from fed rats

1. This study was conducted to examine the effects of gluconeogenic and ketogenic substrates on the activities of the glycogen-metabolizing enzymes and on glycogenolysis in isolated hepatocytes from fed rats. 2. Gluconeogenic substrates like fructose, dihydroxyacetone or lactate turned out to stimulate the glucose-induced activation of glycogen synthase and this effect may be linked, to some extent, to the increase of the cellular glucose 6-phosphate concentration. 3. The effect of fructose was accompanied by the onset of glycogen synthesis. 4. Energetic substrates like fatty acids were also potent activators of glycogen synthase, especially in the presence of glucose. 5. When fatty acids were added alone or together with a physiological concentration of glucose, they induced or potentiated the inhibition of glycogen phosphorylase-a. 6. This inhibitory effect was mediated by a decrease of lactate release. 7. The stimulatory effect of amino acids on glycogen synthase seemed to be direct, non mediated by an inhibition of the phosphorylase-a activity although hepatic glycogenolysis markedly decreased. 8. Moreover, the amino acid action could be linked to their capacities to induce cell swelling and/or to limit proteolysis.

Hyperglycemia-induced cholestasis in the isolated perfused rat liver

In a previous report we showed that cholestasis in diabetic rats is due in part to hyperglycemia. To gain information about the mechanism responsible for this phenomenon, bile flow was studied in isolated perfused rat livers. The perfusion media were modified erythrocyte-free Krebs-Henseleit solutions. Under these experimental conditions, no cholestasis was observed in isolated rat livers obtained from rats treated with streptozotocin (6 mg/100 gm body wt) 6 days before the experiments. We then proceeded to use normal animals. The composition of the perfusion media was modified to maintain the osmolality even after increasing D-glucose concentrations from 0 to 35 mmol/L. Bile flow was not affected with doses up to 15 mmol/L D-glucose. Beyond a threshold value for plasma D-glucose concentrations between 15 and 20 mmol/L, cholestasis was observed. Using D-glucose analogs such as L-glucose and 3-O-methyl-D-glucose, bile flow was also reduced (by 0.54 and 0.53 microliters/min/gm liver, respectively). Isosmotic sucrose-containing perfusion media were also observed to impair bile flow (by 0.66 microliters/min/gm liver). However, i-erythritol and D-mannitol failed to inhibit bile formation. The study of bile/plasma concentration ratios determined using tracer amounts of radioactive sugars indicated that this value was much lower for cholestatic sucrose (0.11) and L-glucose (0.31) than for noncholestatic i-erythritol (0.99) and D-mannitol (0.98). Cholestasis was partly reversed after induction by 35 mmol/L D-glucose if perfusion media were replaced by sugar-free ones, but also by media containing 25 mmol/L D-glucose. Insulin given during the perfusion with sugar-free media was observed to have no effect on bile flow.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Role of a nonmitochondrial Ca2+ pool in the synergistic stimulation by cyclic AMP and vasopressin of Ca2+ uptake in isolated rat hepatocytes

The subcellular distribution of 45Ca2+ accumulated by isolated rat hepatocytes exposed to dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP) followed by vasopressin (Vp) was studied by means of a nondisruptive technique. When treated with dbcAMP followed by vasopressin, hepatocytes obtained from fed rats accumulated an amount of Ca2+ approximately fivefold higher than that attained under control conditions. Ca2+ released from the mitochondrial compartment by the uncoupler carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone (FCCP) accounted for only a minor portion of the accumulated Ca2+. The largest portion was released by the Ca2+ ionophore A23187 and was attributable to a nonmitochondrial compartment. DbcAMP + Vp-treatment also caused a maximal stimulation of glucose production and a twofold increase in cellular glucose 6-phosphate levels. In hepatocytes obtained from fasted rats, dbcAMP + Vp-stimulated Ca2+ accumulation was lower, although with the same subcellular distribution, and was associated with a minimal glucose production. In the presence of gluconeogenetic substrates (lactate plus pyruvate) hepatocytes from fasted rats were comparable to cells isolated from fed animals. However, Ca2+ accumulation and glucose 6-phosphate production could be dissociated in the absence of dbcAMP, in the presence of lactate/pyruvate alone. Under this condition in fact Vp induced only a minimal accumulation of Ca2+ in hepatocytes isolated from fasted rats, although glucose production was markedly increased. Moreover, treatment of fed rat hepatocytes with 1 mM ATP caused a maximal activation of glycogenolysis, but only a moderate stimulation of cellular Ca2+ accumulation. In this case, sequestration of Ca2+ occurred mainly in the mitochondrial compartment. By contrast, the addition of ATP to dbcAMP-pretreated hepatocytes induced a large accumulation of Ca2+ in a nonmitochondrial pool. Additional experiments using the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator Fura-2 showed that dbcAMP pretreatment can enlarge and prolong the elevation of cytosolic free Ca2+ caused by Vp. A nonmitochondrial Ca2+ pool thus appears mainly responsible for the Ca2+ accumulation stimulated by dbcAMP and Vp in isolated hepatocytes, and cyclic AMP seems able to activate Ca2+ uptake in such a nonmitochondrial pool.

Involvement of hexose transport in myogenic differentiation

A high (HAHT) and a low (LAHT) affinity hexose transport system are present in undifferentiated rat L6 myoblasts; however, only the latter can be detected in multinucleated myotubes. This suggests that HAHT is either down-regulated or modified as a result of myogenesis. The present investigation examined the relationship between HAHT and myogenic differentiation. While myogenesis could be inhibited by the potent hexose transport inhibitor phloretin, it was not affected by phlorizin which had no effect on hexose transport. This relationship was further explored using six different HAHT-defective mutants. All six mutants, altered in either the HAHT transport affinity (Type I mutants) or capacity (Type II mutants), were impaired in myogenesis. Since these mutants were selected from both mutagenized and non-mutagenized cells with different reagents, or with different concentrations of the same reagent, the deficiency in myogenesis was likely due to changes in HAHT properties. This notion was confirmed by the observation that growth of Type I mutants in high D-glucose concentrations could rectify the defect in myogenesis. D-glucose was unlikely to rectify the defect in myogenesis, if this defect was due to a second unrelated mutation that may have arisen during isolation of the mutants. Since both types of mutants were not altered in LAHT, D-glucose should still be taken up into the cells. The fact that the glucose-mediated increase in fusion could not be observed in Type II mutants (deficient in the HAHT transporter) suggested that myogenesis was dependent on the presence of D-glucose or its metabolites in specific HAHT-accessible compartments. It is tempting to speculate that trans-acting regulators involved in myogenesis may be synthesized from the glucose metabolites in these specialized HAHT-accessible compartments.

Glucose metabolism and recycling by hepatocytes of OB/OB and ob/ob mice

Hepatocytes were prepared from livers of ob/ob (obese diabetic) mice and their lean (OB/OB) siblings that had been fasted for 24 h. The hepatocytes were incubated with [U-14C, 2-3H]-, [U-14C, 3-3H]-, and [U-14C, 6-3H]glucose at concentrations from 20 to 120 mM. 14C was recovered mainly in CO2, glycogen, and lactate. Tritium was recovered in water and glycogen. The yield in labeled products from [2-3H]glucose ranged from two to three times that from [U-14C]glucose. The yields from [3-3H]- and [6-3H]glucose were similar, and 1.3-1.7 times that from [U-14C]glucose. At 40 mM, total utilization of glucose by obese mice was about twice that for lean mice, but there was little difference at 120 mM. The rate of recycling between glucose and glucose 6-phosphate was calculated. An equation to calculate the rate of recycling of glucose from the 2-3H/U-14C ratio in glycogen is derived in the APPENDIX. Our results show that 1) the utilization of glucose by hepatocytes from obese diabetic mice exceeds that of their lean controls, 2) the rate of glucose phosphorylation in both groups greatly exceeds glucose uptake and the rate of glycogen synthesis, 3) glucose phosphorylation represents a difference between a high glucokinase rate and hydrolysis of glucose 6-phosphate, and 4) recycling of glucose carbon between glucose 6-phosphate and pyruvate occurs within mouse hepatocytes.

Use of a genetic variant to study the hexose transport properties of human skin fibroblasts

Human skin fibroblasts from 'normal' subjects were found to possess at least two hexose transport systems. One system was responsible for the uptake of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (dGlc), D-glucose and D-galactose, whereas the other was responsible primarily for the uptake of 3-O-methyl-D-glucose (MeGlc). The transport of dGlc was the rate-limiting step in the uptake process; over 97% of the internalized dGlc was phosphorylated and the specific activity of hexokinase was several times higher than that for dGlc transport. The dGlc transport system was activated by glucose starvation, and was very sensitive to inhibition by cytochalasin B and energy uncouplers. Fibroblasts isolated from a patient with symptoms of hypoglycaemia were found to differ from their normal counterparts in the dGlc transport system. They exhibited a much higher transport affinity for dGlc, D-glucose and D-galactose, with no change in the respective transport capacity. Transport was not the rate-limiting step in dGlc uptake by these cells. Moreover, the patient's dGlc transport system was no longer sensitive to inhibition by cytochalasin B and energy uncouplers. This suggested that the intrinsic properties of the patient's dGlc transport system were altered. It should be noted that the patient's dGlc transport system could still be activated by glucose starvation. Despite the changes in the dGlc transport system, the MeGlc transport system in the patient's fibroblasts remained unaltered. The observed difference in the properties of the two hexose transport systems in the 'normal' and the patient's fibroblasts strongly suggests that the two transport systems may be coded or regulated by different genes. The present finding provides the first genetic evidence from naturally occurring fibroblasts indicating the presence of two different hexose transport systems.

Pathways of hepatic glycogen formation in humans following ingestion of a glucose load in the fed state

The relative contributions of the direct and the indirect pathways to hepatic glycogen formation following a glucose load given to humans four hours after a substantial breakfast have been examined. Glucose loads labeled with [6-(14)C]glucose were given to six healthy volunteers along with diflunisal (1 g) or acetaminophen (1.5 g), drugs excreted in urine as glucuronides. Distribution of 14C in the glucose unit of the glucuronide was taken as a measure of the extent to which glucose was deposited directly in liver glycogen (ie, glucose----glucose-6-phosphate----glycogen) rather than indirectly (ie, glucose----C3-compound----glucose-6-phosphate----glycogen). The maximum contribution to glycogen formation by the direct pathway was estimated to be 77% +/- 4%, which is somewhat higher than previous estimates in humans fasted overnight (65% +/- 1%, P less than 0.05). Thus, the indirect pathway of liver glycogen formation following a glucose load is operative in both the overnight fasted and the fed state, although its contribution may be somewhat less in the fed state.

Quantitative analysis of intermediary metabolism in rat hepatocytes incubated in the presence and absence of ethanol with a substrate mixture including ketoleucine

Hepatocytes isolated from livers of fed rats were incubated with a mixture of glucose (10 mM), ribose (1.0 mM), acetate (1.25 mM), alanine (3.5 mM), glutamate (2.0 mM), aspartate (2.0 mM), 4-methyl-2-oxovaleric acid (ketoleucine) (3.0 mM), and, in paired flasks, 10 mM-ethanol. One substrate was 14C-radiolabelled in any given incubation. Incorporation of 14C into glucose, glycogen, CO2, lactate, alanine, aspartate, glutamate, acetate, urea, lipid glycerol, fatty acids and the 1- and 2,3,4-positions of ketone bodies was measured after 20 and 40 min of incubation under quasi-steady-state conditions. Data were analysed with the aid of a realistic structural metabolic model. In each of the four conditions examined, there were approx. 77 label incorporation measurements and several measurements of changes in metabolite concentrations. The considerable excess of measurements over the 37 independent flux parameters allowed for a stringent test of the model. A satisfactory fit to these data was obtained for each condition. There were large bidirectional fluxes along the gluconeogenic/glycolytic pathways, with net gluconeogenesis. Rates of ureagenesis, oxygen consumption and ketogenesis were high under all four conditions studied. Oxygen utilization was accurately predicted by three of the four models. There was complete equilibration between mitochondrial and cytosolic pools of acetate and of CO2, but for several of the metabolic conditions, two incompletely equilibrated pools of mitochondrial acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate were required. Ketoleucine was utilized at a rate comparable to that reported by others in perfused liver and entered the mitochondrial pool of acetyl-CoA directly associated with ketone body formation. Ethanol, which was metabolized at rates comparable to those in vivo, caused relatively few changes in overall flux patterns. Several effects related to the increased NADH/NAD+ ratio were observed. Pyruvate dehydrogenase was completely inhibited and the ratio of acetoacetate to 3-hydroxybutyrate was decreased; flux through glutamate dehydrogenase, the citric acid cycle, and ketoleucine dehydrogenase were, however, only slightly inhibited. Net production of ATP occurred in all conditions studied and was increased by ethanol. Futile cycling was quantified at the glucose/glucose 6-phosphate, glycogen/glucose 6-phosphate, fructose 6-phosphate/fructose 1,6-bis-phosphate, and phosphoenolpyruvate/pyruvate/oxaloacetate substrate cycles. Cycling at these four loci consumed about 22% of cellular ATP production in control hepatocytes and 14% in ethanol-treated cells.