The hexose monophosphate pathway in ethylnitrosourea induced tumors of the nervous system

Therapeutic benefit of combining calorie-restricted ketogenic diet and glutamine targeting in late-stage experimental glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive primary human brain tumour that has resisted effective therapy for decades. Although glucose and glutamine are the major fuels that drive GBM growth and invasion, few studies have targeted these fuels for therapeutic management. The glutamine antagonist, 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine (DON), was administered together with a calorically restricted ketogenic diet (KD-R) to treat late-stage orthotopic growth in two syngeneic GBM mouse models: VM-M3 and CT-2A. DON targets glutaminolysis, while the KD-R reduces glucose and, simultaneously, elevates neuroprotective and non-fermentable ketone bodies. The diet/drug therapeutic strategy killed tumour cells while reversing disease symptoms, and improving overall mouse survival. The therapeutic strategy also reduces edema, hemorrhage, and inflammation. Moreover, the KD-R diet facilitated DON delivery to the brain and allowed a lower dosage to achieve therapeutic effect. The findings support the importance of glucose and glutamine in driving GBM growth and provide a therapeutic strategy for non-toxic metabolic management.

Does fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose metabolic imaging of tumours benefit oncology?

Fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG) is a metabolic marker, which follows the same route into cells as that of glucose, and it can be radiolabelled with fluorine-18, 18F-FDG making it suitable for imaging with positron emission tomography (PET). The fact that rapidly proliferating cells such as tumour cells accumulate 18F-FDG more avidly than those with a normal turnover rate has given rise to its potential in oncology. The rationale and previous published uses of 18F-FDG in oncology are reviewed, together with the various analysis techniques and associated methodological difficulties.

Noninvasive assessment of the relative roles of cerebral antioxidant enzymes by quantitation of pentose phosphate pathway activity

Cerebral pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) plays a role in the biosynthesis of macromolecules, antioxidant defense and neurotransmitter metabolism. Studies on this potentially important pathway have been hampered by the inability to easily quantitate its activity, particularly in vivo. In this study we review the use of [1,6-13C2,6,6-2H2]glucose for measuring the relative activities of the PPP and glycolysis in a single incubation in cultured neurons and in vivo, when combined with microdialysis techniques. PPP activity in primary cerebrocortical cultures and in the caudate putamem of the rat in vivo was quantitated from data obtained by GC/MS analysis of released labeled lactate following metabolic degradation of [1,6-13C2,6,6-2H2]glucose. Exposure of cultures to H2O2 resulted in stimulation of PPP activity in a concentration-dependent fashion and subsequent cell death. Chelation of iron during H2O2 exposure exerted a protective effect thus implicating the participation of the Fenton reaction in mediating damage caused by the oxidative insult. Partial inhibition of glutathione peroxidase, but not catalase, was extremely toxic to the cultures reflecting the pivotal role of GPx in H2O2 detoxification. These results demonstrate the ability to dynamically monitor PPP activity and its response to oxidative challenges and should assist in facilitating our understanding of antioxidant pathways in the CNS.

Radiosynthesis of 6-[C-11]-D-glucose

Availability of 6-[C-11]-D-glucose will permit positron emission tomography (PET) investigations of glucose utilization derived from the pentose shunt which supports biosynthesis in tissues. The first radiosynthesis of 6-[C-11]-D-glucose is described. As much as 1 mCi of 6-[C-11]-D-glucose, sufficient for animal studies, is obtained from [C-11]CO2 after 100 min with a 16% radiochemical yield (EOB). The radiosynthesis has many attractive features. The method uses [C-11]CH3I and combines a Wittig reaction and a stereoselective OsO4 catalyzed alkene hydroxylation. The OsO4 hydroxylation of the [C-11]-labeled alkene (9) is accomplished in less than 10 min with high stereoselectivity (94:6) in favor of the 6-[C-11]-D-gluco-isomer. HPLC purification (C-18) of the protected labeled sugar removes the undesired 6-[C-11]-L-ido-sugar at an early stage and avoids the use of an expensive low-capacity ion-exchange HPLC column. OsO4, a highly toxic reagent, is removed in the process by adsorption and inactivation on polymer-bound triphenylphosphine.

Metabolism of glucose into glutamate via the hexose monophosphate shunt and its inhibition by 6-aminonicotinamide in rat brain in vivo

The treatment of rats for 4 h with 6-aminonicotinamide (60 mg kg-1) resulted in an 180-fold increase in the concentration of 6-phosphogluconate in their brains; glucose increased 2.6-fold and glucose 6-phosphate, 1.7-fold. Moreover, lactate decreased by 20%, glutamate by 8% and gamma-aminobutyrate by 12%, and aspartate increased by 10%. No significant changes were found in glutamine and citrate. In blood, 6-phosphogluconate increased 5-fold; glucose, 1.4-fold and glucose 6-phosphate, 1.8-fold. The metabolism of glucose in the rat brain, via both the Embden-Meyerhof pathway and the hexose monophosphate shunt, was investigated by injecting [U-14C]glucose or [2-14C]glucose, and that via the hexose monophosphate shunt alone by injecting [3,4-14C]glucose. The total radioactive yield of amino acids in the rat brain was 5.63 mumol at 20 min after injection of [U-14C]glucose, or 5.82 mumol after injection of [2-14C]glucose; by contrast, it was 0.62 mumol after injection of [3,4-14C]glucose. The treatment of rats with 6-aminonicotinamide showed significant decreases in these values, owing to decreases in the radioactive yields of glutamate, glutamine, aspartate, gamma-aminobutyrate, and alanine+glycine+serine. Glutamate isolated from the brain contained approximately 43% of its radioactivity in carbon 1 after injection of [3,4-14C]glucose, in contrast to 13% and 18% after injection of [U-14C]glucose and [2-14C]glucose, respectively, in both the control and treated rats. The calculations based on these findings showed that approximately 69% of the 14C-labelled glutamate was formed from [14C]acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl CoA) and the residual 31% by 14CO2 fixation of pyruvate after injection of [3,4-14C]glucose in both control and treated rats. The results gave direct evidence that glutamate and gamma-aminobutyrate in the brain were formed by metabolism of glucose via the hexose monophosphate shunt as well as via the Embden-Meyerhof pathway. From the radioactive yields of glutamate formed via [14C]acetyl CoA it was estimated that approximately 7.8% of the total glucose utilized was channelled via the hexose monophosphate shunt. Assuming that [14C]glutamate formed by carbon-dioxide fixation of pyruvate was also dependent on the metabolism of glucose through the hexose monophosphate shunt, the estimated value was approximately 9.5% of the total glucose converted into glutamate. The results of the present investigation, taken in conjunction with other findings, suggest that the utilization of glucose via the hexose monophosphate shunt is functionally important in the rat brain.

Regulation of the pentose phosphate pathway in human astrocytes and gliomas

Several aspects of the regulation of the pentose phosphate pathway were examined in cultured normal human cortical astrocytes and gliomas of pathological grades I-IV. The generation of radiolabeled CO2 from [1-14C]glucose by the oxidative arm of the pentose phosphate pathway is a saturable process and has a maximum flux rate of 8-9 nmol/hr/mg cell protein. The flux can be blocked by the glycolytic inhibitor iodoacetamide but is unaffected by agents which inhibit oxidative phosphorylation. The magnitude of the pentose phosphate flux is directly related to the glioma grade. Grade IV gliomas (glioblastoma) show a pentose phosphate flux rate of approximately 4% of the total glucose flux. The flux rate can be increased by pharmacological agents which decrease the NADPH/NADP+ ratio. Both the activity and the regulation of glioma glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) are altered in high-grade gliomas. While the affinity constants for cofactors in whole homogenates were not significantly different in glioma or normal astrocyte homogenates, normal astrocytes have a lower Km for glucose-6-phosphate and a G6PDH activity which is 10-fold greater than that of gliomas. NADPH is a powerful regulator of G6PDH activity in the normal astrocytes and in gliomas. At a NADPH/NADP+ ratio of 7:1 the normal astrocyte G6PDH is entirely inhibited, while the glioma enzyme is only 70% inhibited even at a ratio of 20:1. Increased metabolic flux through the oxidative arm of the pentose phosphate pathway is apparently due to an altered form of G6PDH.

Glucose metabolism in human gliomas: correspondence of in situ and in vitro metabolic rates and altered energy metabolism

The rates of disappearance of glucose from the medium of 13 human glioma-derived cell lines and one cultured of normal human cortical astrocytes were determined by fluorometric techniques. High-grade glioma-derived cultures showed a range of glucose consumption between 1 and 5 nmol/min/mg protein. Normal astrocyte cultures and cultures derived from grades I-III gliomas had a glucose consumption rate of 2-3 nmol/min/mg protein. Seven high-grade glioma lines were derived from surgical samples taken from patients who had been scanned by 18F-2-deoxy-d-glucose positron computed tomography. The rate of glucose consumption in these high-grade glioma-derived lines was close to the maximum local cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (LCMRglc) measured in situ in the tumors from which the cultures were derived. In cultured glioma-derived lines, approximately one-half of the glucose consumed was recovered as lactate and pyruvate, suggesting a reliance of glioma cells on aerobic glycolysis. ATP and phosphocreatine (PCr) levels were variable in the glioma-derived lines, and ATP was lower in the glioma-derived lines than in the normal astrocytes. Levels and regulation of glycogen differed significantly among the various glioma-derived cell lines. Glycogen content did not diminish as glucose was consumed, suggesting that glycogen utilization is not tightly regulated by the glucose metabolic rate. These results suggest that human glioma-derived cell cultures (1) adequately reflect the metabolic capacity of gliomas in situ and (2) are significantly altered in several aspects of their glycolytic metabolism.

Enzymes and pathways of glucose utilization in bovine adrenal medulla

Glucose utilization by different metabolic pathways in bovine adrenal medulla has been studied using freshly isolated adrenal chromaffin cells. The rate of net glucose utilization in resting cells was 10.5 mumoles X g-1 X h-1. 50% was transformed into lactate and pyruvate, the lactate to pyruvate ratio ranging from 3 to 7.27% was metabolized through the tricarboxylic acid cycle and 3.1% was oxidized in the pentose phosphate pathway. The ratio of 14CO2 production from [1-14C] glucose and [6-14C] glucose was close to 2 at one hour of incubation. 3.2% of total glucose consumed was used in protein synthesis, and 1% was incorporated into lipids. Oxygen utilization in respiration by isolated adrenal chromaffin cells was 18.2 mumoles X g-1 X h-1, corresponding to 3.1 mumoles glucose X g-1 X h-1 or about 30% of total glucose consumed. The activities of hexokinase, enolase, pyruvate kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase were assayed in extracts of bovine adrenal medulla, being 1.0, 23, 40, 37, 6.0 and 3.0 U/g respectively. Hexokinase activity was identified as belonging mainly to isoenzyme I, with some isoenzyme II. Enolase was predominantly the alpha gamma hybrid. Pyruvate kinase activity corresponded to a mixture of isoenzymes K and M. Lactate dehydrogenase activity corresponded to isoenzymes 1, 2 and 3, with smaller proportions of isoenzymes 4 and 5. Results are discussed mainly with respect to those reported for the brain.

The rate of utilization of glucose via hexosemonophosphate shunt in brain

The concentration of 6-phosphogluconate in the brain increased from 0-24 nmol/g in the controls to 1430 and 1506 nmol/g in rats treated with 50 mg of 6-aminonicotinamide/kg of body weight. A dose-dependent increase in the concentrations of glucose and glucose 6-phosphate as well as of 6-phosphogluconate was found in the brains of 6-aminonicotinamide-treated rats. The biochemical changes and symptoms of neurological disorder in 6-aminonicotinamide-treated rats were not due to hypothermia. The rate of utilization of glucose via the hexosemonophosphate shunt was determined by isolation of gluconate from 6-phosphogluconate and measurement of its [14C]content at short time intervals after injection of [U-14C]glucose into 6-aminonicotinamide-treated rats; it was 16.5 nmol of glucose utilized/min per g of brain, and represented approximately 2.3% of the overall utilization of glucose in the brain. A highly significant correlation was observed between the concentration of 6-phosphogluconate and the concentration of glucose 6-phosphate and free glucose. The validity of this correlation was supported by the results of previous investigations involving several other treatments.

The effect of inhibition of hexosemonophosphate shunt on the metabolism of glucose and function in rat brain in vivo

Rats treated 4 hr previously with 6-aminonicotinamide showed a twenty-four fold increase of [14C]phosphogluconate in the adult brain at 30 min after injection of [U-14C]glucose indicating a blockade of the hexosemonophosphate shunt. There was a significant increase in the 14C-content of glucose and glucose-6-phosphate, and a decrease in that of amino acids. [14C]Phosphoglycerate content showed no consistent change after 6-aminonicotinamide treatment. The concentration of glucose and glucose 6-phosphate increased significantly without a significant change in the lactate pool in the brain of 6-aminonicotinamide treated rats. The rate of utilization of glucose in the brain of control rats was 0.73 mumol/min per g of brain. It decreased by 16% in rats treated with 6-aminonicotinamide; the results suggested that both glycolysis and pyruvate oxidation were affected. The amount of glucose utilized in the brain by the hexosemonophosphate shunt was approximately 0.0093 mumol/min per g of brain, i.e. 1.3% of the total rate of utilization of glucose. The observed changes were not due to hypothermia. The rate of glucose utilization was higher in animals exposed to higher ambient temperature and to stress caused by handling. The results were explained by postulating a role for the hexosemonophosphate shunt in providing neurotransmitter amino acids glutamate and gamma-aminobutyrate, and interdependence of brain function and glucose utilization.

Glycogen metabolism in bovine adrenal medulla

Glycogen content was determined both in whole adrenal medullary tissue and in isolated adrenal chromaffin cells, in which it responds to glucose deprivation and restoration. [14C]glucose incorporation into glycogen in isolated adrenal chromaffin cells is increased by previous glucose deprivation ("fasting"). Total glycogen synthase activities are 452 +/- 66 mU/g in whole tissue and 305 +/- 108 mU/g in isolated cells. The Km of glycogen synthase for UDP-glucose is 0.67 mM with 13 mM glucose-6-phosphate and 1 mM without this effector. The in vitro inactivation process of glycogen synthase a has been found to be mainly cyclic AMP-dependent, but it also responds to Ca2+. Total glycogen phosphorylase activities are 8.69 +/- 1.26 U/g in whole tissue and 2.38 +/- 0.30 U/g in isolated cells. The requirements for interconversion in vitro of both glycogen synthase and phosphorylase suggest a system similar to that of other tissues. During incubation of isolated adrenal chromaffin cells with 5 mM-glucose, phosphorylase a activity decreases and synthase a activity increases; these changes are more marked in "fasted" cells. Glycogen content and glycogen synthase and phosphorylase activities are higher in the adrenal medulla than in the brain, suggesting a greater metabolic role of glycogen in the adrenal medulla.

The effect of 6-aminonicotinamide on the levels of brain amino acids and glucose, and their labeling with 14C after injection of [U-14C] glucose

The brains of rats paralysed at 4 hr after the administration of 6-aminonicotinamide were found to contain decreased levels of glutamate and gamma-aminobutyrate. The glucose content of the brain of the treated rats was several fold higher than in controls. The incorporation of 14C into brain amino acids at 30 min after the injection of [U-14C]glucose was decreased by 16%: this was attributed to mainly decreased labeling of glutamate and associated amino acids. The results are discussed in the light of previous findings that the administration of 6-aminonicotinamide resulted in the blockade of the direct oxidation of glucose by the pentose phosphate pathway.

Glycolysis in rat neostriatal slices following kainic acid injections

In in vitro incubations, kainic acid-lesioned neostriatal slices from rat brain showed decreases in oxygen consumption (50%) and in the conversion of both [1-14C]glucose (43%) and [6-14C]glucose (69%) to 14CO2 as compared to controls. The elevation in the C1/C6 14CO2 ratio suggested the pentose phosphate pathway was less affected than the Embden-Meyerhof path in kainic acid-injected gliotic tissue. Increasing the potassium concentration from 6 to 50 mM caused increases in oxygen consumption and glucose utilization in both control and kainic acid-lesioned neostriatal slices; this is consistent with, but not conclusive of, a potassium-stimulating effect on glial as well as neuronal metabolism.

Effects of 6-aminonicotinamide on growth and acetylcholinesterase activity during differentiation of neuroblastoma cells in vitro

Addition of 6-AN (0.01 mg/ml) to growing cultures of C-1300 neuroblastoma cells strongly reduced cell division. This growth inhibition was accompanied by a higher cell volume and a lower protein content per cell as compared to controls. Concurrently the specific activity of AChE increased markedly incontrols and 6-AN-treated cultures. During the experimental periods the specific activity of AChE was significantly higher after 6-AN. Morphologically, 6-AN-treated cultures showed characteristic signs of differentiation, i.e. enlarged, flattened cells with long branched processes. The described effect of 6-AN on growth and differentiation of neuroblastoma cells was less pronounced if cells received the antimetabolite after a subcultivation period of 5 days.