New insights into metabolic pathway optimization by analogy with industrial manufacturing processes

The changes in the energy metabolism of human muscle induced by training

The biochemical effects of training programmes have been studied with a kinetic model of central metabolism, using enzyme activities and metabolite concentrations measured at rest and after 30 s maximum-intensity exercise, collected before and after long and short periods of training, which differed only by the duration of the rest intervals. After short periods of training the glycolytic flux at rest was three times higher than it had been before training, whereas during exercise the flux and energy consumption remained the same as before training. Long periods of training had less effect on the glycolytic flux at rest, but increased it in response to exercise, increasing the contribution of oxidative phosphorylation.

Expression of placenta growth factor is regulated by both VEGF and hyperglycaemia via VEGFR-2

Placenta growth factor (PlGF) has been implicated in both physiological and pathological angiogenesis; however, little is known about what regulates its expression. In this study, retinal microvascular endothelial cells and pericytes were exposed to varying concentrations of VEGF and glucose and PlGF expression measured by RT-PCR and Western blotting. Both PlGF mRNA and protein were observed in unstimulated microvascular endothelial cells with only weak expression in pericytes. In endothelial cells, VEGF (100 ng/ml) and glucose (15 mM) induced an increase in expression of PlGF at both the mRNA and protein level while no effect was observed for pericytes. The increase in PlGF expression could be totally abolished by blocking VEGFR-2, and in the case of glucose by neutralising VEGF. VEGF-stimulated PlGF expression was largely inhibited by PD 98059, an inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and partially by GF 109203X, an inhibitor of protein kinase C (PKC), indicating that VEGF up-regulates PlGF expression via the MAPK signalling pathway and partially through PKC. Taken together, our findings suggest that VEGF orchestrates the contribution of PlGF in angiogenesis via more than one intracellular pathway and that hyperglycaemia, as occurs in diabetes, is an important regulator of PlGF expression via VEGF up-regulation.