Glucose 6-phosphate produced by glucokinase, but not hexokinase I, promotes the activation of hepatic glycogen synthase

In a previous study (O'Doherty, R. M., Lehman, D. L., Seoane, J., Gómez-Foix, A. M., Guinovart, J. J., and Newgard, C.B. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 20524-20530), we demonstrated that adenovirus-mediated overexpression of glucokinase but not hexokinase I has a potent enhancing effect on glycogen synthesis in primary hepatocytes. In an effort to understand the underlying mechanism of this differential effect of the two hexokinase isoforms, we have investigated changes in key intracellular metabolites and the activation state of glycogen synthase in cells treated with recombinant adenoviruses expressing the liver isoform of glucokinase (AdCMV-GKL) or hexokinase I (AdCMV-HKI). Glucose 6-phosphate (Glu-6-P) levels are elevated from approximately 1.5 nmol/mg protein to 8-10 nmol/mg protein in both AdCMV-GKL- and AdCMV-HKI-treated hepatocytes as glucose is raised from 1 to 5 mM, levels four times higher than those in untreated cells. In AdCMV-GKL-treated cells, Glu-6-P continues to accumulate at glucose levels greater than 5 mM, reaching a maximum of 120 nmol/mg protein in cells incubated at 25 mM glucose, a value 10 and 50 times greater than the maximal levels achieved in AdCMV-HKI-treated and untreated cells, respectively. In parallel with the changes observed in Glu-6-P levels, increases in UDP-Glc in AdCMV-HKI- and AdCMV-GKL-treated cells were most pronounced at low (1-5 mM) and high (25 mM) glucose levels, respectively. Despite the significant increases in Glu-6-P and UDP-Glc achieved in AdCMV-HKI-treated cells, only AdCMV-GKL-treated cells exhibited increases in glycogen synthase activity ratio and translocation of the enzyme from a soluble to a particulate form relative to untreated control cells. We conclude that Glu-6-P produced by overexpressed glucokinase is glycogenic because it effectively promotes activation of glycogen synthase. Glu-6-P produced by overexpressed hexokinase, in contrast, appears to be unable to exert the same regulatory effects, probably due to the different subcellular distribution of the two glucose-phosphorylating enzymes.     

Effect of mutations on the sensitivity of human beta-cell glucokinase to liver regulatory protein

Human beta-cell glucokinase and its liver counterpart displayed a half-saturating concentration of glucose (S0.5) of about 8 mmol/l and a Hill coefficient of 1.7, and were as sensitive to inhibition by the rat liver regulatory protein as the rat liver enzyme. These results indicate that the N-terminal region of glucokinase, which differs among these three enzymes, is not implicated in the recognition of the regulatory protein. They also suggest that the regulatory protein, or a related protein, could modulate the affinity of glucokinase for glucose in beta cells. We have also tested the effect of several mutations, many of which are implicated in maturity onset diabetes of the young. The mutations affected the affinity for glucose and for the regulatory protein to different degrees, indicating that the binding site for these molecules is different. An Asp158 Ala mutation, found in the expression plasmid previously thought to encode the wild-type enzyme, increased the affinity for glucose by about 2.5-fold without changing the affinity for the regulatory protein. The mutations that were found to decrease the affinity for the regulatory protein (Asn166 Arg. Val203 Ala, Asn204 Gln, Lys414 Ala) clustered in the hinge region of glucokinase and nearby in the large and small domains. These results are in agreement with the concept that part of the binding site for the regulatory protein is situated in the hinge region of this enzyme.     

Effect of steroids on DNA synthesis in an in vitro replication system: initial quantitative structure-activity relationship studies and construction of a non-estrogen receptor pharmacophore

Insulin resistance, as is found in skeletal muscle of individuals with obesity and NIDDM, appears to involve a reduced capacity of the hormone to stimulate glucose uptake and/or phosphorylation. The glucose phosphorylation step, as catalyzed by hexokinase II, has been described as rate limiting for glucose disposal in muscle, but overexpression of this enzyme under control of a muscle-specific promoter in transgenic mice has had limited metabolic impact. In the current study, we investigated in a cultured muscle model whether expression of glucokinase, which in contrast to hexokinase II is not inhibited by glucose-6-phosphate (G-6-P), would have a pronounced metabolic impact. We used a recombinant adenovirus containing the cDNA-encoding rat liver glucokinase (AdCMV-GKL) to increase the glucose phosphorylating activity in cultured human muscle cells by fourfold. G-6-P levels increased in AdCMV-GKL-treated cells in a glucose concentration-dependent manner over the range of 1-30 mmol/l, whereas the much smaller increases in G-6-P in control cells were maximal at glucose concentrations <5 mmol/l. Further, cells expressing glucokinase accumulated 17 times more 2-deoxyglucose-6-phosphate than control cells. In AdCMV-GKL-treated cells, the time-dependent rise in G-6-P correlated with an increase in the activity ratio of glycogen synthase. AdCMV-GKL-treated cells also exhibited a 2.5- to 3-fold increase in glycogen content and a four- to fivefold increase in glycolytic flux, proportional to the increase in glucose phosphorylating capacity. All of these observations were made in the absence of insulin. Thus we concluded that expression of glucokinase in cultured human muscle cells results in proportional increases in insulin-independent glucose disposal, and that muscle glucose storage and utilization becomes controlled in a glucose concentration-dependent manner in AdCMV-GKL-treated cells. These results encourage testing whether delivery of glucokinase to muscle in vivo has an impact on glycemic control, which could be a method for circumventing the failure of insulin to stimulate glucose uptake and/or phosphorylation in muscle normally in insulin-resistant subjects.     

Small amounts of fructose markedly augment net hepatic glucose uptake in the conscious dog

Fructose activates glucokinase by releasing the enzyme from its inhibitory protein in liver. To examine the importance of acute activation of glucokinase in regulating hepatic glucose uptake, the effect of intraportal infusion of a small amount of fructose on net hepatic glucose uptake (NHGU) was examined in 42 h-fasted conscious dogs. Isotopic ([3-3H] and [U-14C]glucose) and arteriovenous difference methods were used. Each study consisted of an equilibration period (-90 to -30 min), a control period (-30 to 0 min), and a hyperglycemic/hyperinsulinemic period (0-390 min). During the latter period, somatostatin (489 pmol x kg(-1) x min(-1)) was given, along with intraportal insulin (7.2 pmol x kg(-1) x min(-1)) and glucagon (0.5 ng x kg(-1) x min(-1)). In this way, the liver sinusoidal insulin level was fixed at four times basal (456 +/- 60 pmol/l), and liver sinusoidal glucagon level was kept basal (46 +/- 6 ng/l). Glucose was infused through a peripheral vein to create hyperglycemia (12.5 mmol/l plasma). Hyperglycemic hyperinsulinemia (no fructose) switched net hepatic glucose balance (micromoles per kilogram per minute) from output (11.3 +/- 1.4) to uptake (14.7 +/- 1.7) and net lactate balance (micromoles per kilogram per minute) from uptake (6.5 +/- 2.1) to output (4.4 +/- 1.5). Fructose was infused intraportally at a rate of 1.7, 3.3, or 6.7 micromol x kg(-1) x min(-1), starting at 120, 210, or 300 min, respectively. In the three periods, portal blood fructose increased from <6 to 113 +/- 14, 209 +/- 29, and 426 +/- 62 micromol/l, and net hepatic fructose uptake increased from 0.03 +/- 0.01 to 1.3 +/- 0.4, 2.3 +/- 0.7, and 5.1 +/- 0.6 micromol x kg(-1) x min(-1), respectively. NHGU increased to 41 +/- 3, 54 +/- 5, and 69 +/- 8 micromol x kg(-1) x min(-1), respectively, and net hepatic lactate output increased to 11.0 +/- 3.2, 15.3 +/- 2.7, and 22.4 +/- 2.8 micromol x kg(-1) x min(-1) in the three fructose periods, respectively. The amount of [3H]glucose incorporated into glycogen was equivalent to 69 +/- 3% of [3H]glucose taken up by the liver. These data suggest that glucokinase translocation within the hepatocyte is a major determinant of hepatic glucose uptake by the dog in vivo.     

Triosephosphate metabolism by mature boar spermatozoa

Boar sperm rapidly interconverted dihydroxyacetone phosphate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, produced fructose-1,6-bisphosphate, approximately equilibrium concentrations of fructose 6-phosphate and glucose 6-phosphate but not glycerol or glycerol 3-phosphate. In the presence of 3-chloro-1-hydroxypropanone, an inhibitor of stage 2 of the glycolytic pathway, the triosephosphates were metabolized faster, produced less fructose-1,6-bisphosphate, fructose 6-phosphate and glucose 6-phosphate, but not glycerol or glycerol 3-phosphate. This suggests that these cells may have the capacity to convert glycolytic intermediates into a storage metabolite to conserve carbon atoms for the eventual synthesis of lactate.     

Diabetes-induced changes in lens antioxidant status, glucose utilization and energy metabolism: effect of DL-alpha-lipoic acid

The study was aimed at evaluating changes in lens antioxidant status, glucose utilization, redox state of free cytosolic NAD(P)-couples and adenine nucleotides in rats with 6-week streptozotocin-induced diabetes, and to assess a possibility of preventing them by DL-alpha-lipoic acid. Rats were divided into control and diabetic groups treated with and without DL-alpha-lipoic acid (100 mg x kg body weight(-1) x day(-1), i.p.). The concentrations of glucose, sorbitol, fructose, myo-inositol, oxidized glutathione, glycolytic intermediates, malate, alpha-glycerophosphate, and adenine nucleotides were assayed in individual lenses spectrofluorometrically by enzymatic methods, reduced glutathione and ascorbate--colorimetrically, and taurine by HPLC. Free cytosolic NAD+:NADH and NADP+:NADPH ratios were calculated from the lactate dehydrogenase and malic enzyme systems. Sorbitol pathway metabolites were found to increase, and antioxidant concentrations were reduced in diabetic rats compared with controls. The profile of glycolytic intermediates (increase in glucose 6-phosphate and fructose 6-phosphate, decrease in fructosel,6-diphosphate, increase in dihydroxyacetone phosphate, 3-phosphoglycerate, phosphoenolpyruvate, pyruvate, and no change in lactate), and 5.9-fold increase in alpha-glycerophosphate suggest diabetes-induced inhibition of glycolysis. Free cytosolic NAD+:NADH ratios, ATP levels, ATP/ADP x inorganic phosphate (Pi), and adenylate charge were reduced in diabetic rats while free cytosolic NADP+:NADPH ratios were elevated. Diabetes-induced changes in the concentrations of antioxidants, key glycolytic intermediates, free cytosolic NAD+:NADH ratios, and energy status were partially prevented by DL-alpha-lipoic acid, while sorbitol pathway metabolites and free cytosolic NADP+:NADPH ratios remained unaffected. In conclusion, diabetes-induced impairment of lens antioxidative defense, glucose intermediary metabolism via glycolysis, energy status and redox changes are partially prevented by DL-alpha-lipoic acid. The findings support the important role of oxidative stress in lens metabolic imbalances in diabetes.     

Effects of hypertonia on voltage-gated ion currents in freshly isolated hippocampal neurons, and on synaptic currents in neurons in hippocampal slices

A NAD-dependent mannitol dehydrogenase (MtlD) was purified to homogeneity from P. fluorescens DSM50106 and the N-terminal amino acid sequence was determined. An oligonucleotide deduced from this peptide sequence was used as a probe to isolate the mannitol dehydrogenase gene (mtlD) from a genomic library of P. fluorescens. Nucleotide sequence analysis of a 1.8 kb NruI fragment containing the entire mtlD gene revealed an open reading frame of 1482 bp encoding a protein with a calculated molecular weight of 54.49 kDa. The enzyme shared a high similarity with a mannitol dehydrogenase from Rhodobacter sphaeroides and a putative mannitol dehydrogenase of Saccharomyces cerevisae with an overall identity in amino acid sequence of 44% and 42%, respectively, whereas the similarity to mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenases of Escherichia coli or Enterococcus faecalis was only about 23% of identical amino acids. By construction of inducible expression plasmids the specific activity of the mannitol dehydrogenase synthesized in E. coli was increased from 0.02 U (mg protein)(-1) to 10 U (mg protein)(-1). After fusion of six histidine codons to the 3' end of mtlD gene and expression in E. coli active mannitol dehydrogenase could be purified in a two-step procedure by affinity chromatography using a Ni2+ matrix column. The purified enzyme exhibited a specific activity of 46 U (mg protein)(-1) and was shown to be a polyol dehydrogenase with a broad substrate spectrum oxidizing efficiently mannitol, sorbitol and arabitol.     

Changes in glucose transporter 2 and carbohydrate-metabolizing enzymes in the liver during cold preservation and warm ischemia

In order to examine glucose metabolism in liver grafts during cold preservation (24 and 48 hr), warm ischemia (60 and 120 min), a combination of the two and reperfusion, the amount of protein and mRNA of glucose transporter 2 and the activities of enzymes in glycolysis (glucokinase, phosphofructokinase, pyruvatekinase), gluconeogenesis (glucose 6-phosphatase, fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase), and the pentose phosphate pathway (glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase) were measured. It appeared that glucose transport, the pentose phosphate pathway, and gluconeogenesis were maintained during cold preservation and warm ischemia. The activity of glucokinase significantly decreased from the control value of 1.33 +/- 0.23 IU/g protein to 0.70 +/- 0.17 (24 hr, P<0.05) and 0.57 +/- 0.12 (48 hr, P<0.01) only during cold preservation. However, the activity of phosphofructokinase significantly decreased from the control value of 4.37 +/- 0.06 IU/g protein to 2.67 +/- 0.15 (60 min, P<0.0001) and 1.53 +/- 0.06 (120 min, P<0.0001) only during warm ischemia. This indicates that glycolysis deteriorates during both cold preservation and warm ischemia and demonstrates further that the balance between glycolysis and gluconeogenesis shifts to gluconeogenesis. Even when cold preservation was combined with warm ischemia, the activity of glucokinase decreased only during cold preservation and the activity of phosphofructokinase decreased only during warm ischemia. Furthermore, these changes were time-dependent. It is suggested that they can be used as a clock to measure the durations of cold preservation and warm ischemia separately and that the magnitude of an ischemic injury to a liver and a liver graft's viability can be indirectly estimated before transplantation.     

NAD+-dependent glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Thermoproteus tenax. The first identified archaeal member of the aldehyde dehydrogenase superfamily is a glycolytic enzyme with unusual regulatory properties

The hyperthermophilic archaeum Thermoproteus tenax possesses two glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenases differing in cosubstrate specificity and phosphate dependence of the catalyzed reaction. NAD+-dependent glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase catalyzes the phosphate-independent irreversible oxidation of D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to 3-phosphoglycerate. The coding gene was cloned, sequenced, and expressed in Escherichia coli. Sequence comparisons showed no similarity to phosphorylating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenases but revealed a relationship to aldehyde dehydrogenases, with the highest similarity to the subgroup of nonphosphorylating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenases. The activity of the enzyme is affected by a series of metabolites. All effectors tested influence the affinity of the enzyme for its cosubstrate NAD+. Whereas NADP(H), NADH, and ATP reduce the affinity for the cosubstrate, AMP, ADP, glucose 1-phosphate, and fructose 6-phosphate increase the affinity for NAD+. Additionally, most of the effectors investigated induce cooperativity of NAD+ binding. The irreversible catabolic oxidation of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, the control of the enzyme by energy charge of the cell, and the regulation by intermediates of glycolysis and glucan degradation identify the NAD+-dependent glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase as an integral constituent of glycolysis in T. tenax. Its regulatory properties substitute for those lacking in the reversible nonregulated pyrophosphate-dependent phosphofructokinase in this variant of the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway.     

Homogeneous catalyst for DNA hydrolysis (4). Efficient DNA hydrolysis by lanthanide--saccharide complexes

Homogeneous and neutral solutions are prepared by mixing Ce(NH4)2(NO3)6 with either isomaltose, melibiose, gentiobiose, palatinose, mannitol, sorbitol, galactitol, or glucamine in pH 7 hepes buffer ([Ce(IV)]0/[monomeric residue of saccharide]0 = 1). In contrast, amylose, cyclodextrins, maltose, glucose, and fructose provide only heterogeneous mixtures. The homogeneous solution of 1:1 Ce(IV)/glucamine system is active for DNA hydrolysis: the pseudo-first-order rate constant for the hydrolysis of thymidylyl(3'-->5')thymidine at pH 7.0 and 50 degrees C is 0.010 h-1, when [Ce(IV)]0 = [glucamine]0 = 10 mmol dm-3. The DNA-hydrolyzing activity decreases in the following order: glucamine > isomaltose, melibiose, gentiobiose > palatinose, mannitol, sorbitol, galactitol.     

Metabolic impact of adenovirus-mediated overexpression of the glucose-6-phosphatase catalytic subunit in hepatocytes

Glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) catalyzes the hydrolysis of glucose 6-phosphate (Glu-6-P) to free glucose and, as the last step in gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis in liver, is thought to play an important role in glucose homeostasis. G6Pase activity appears to be conferred by a set of proteins localized to the endoplasmic reticulum, including a glucose-6-phosphate translocase, a G6Pase phosphohydrolase or catalytic subunit, and glucose and inorganic phosphate transporters in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. In the current study, we used a recombinant adenovirus containing the cDNA encoding the G6Pase catalytic subunit (AdCMV-G6Pase) to evaluate the metabolic impact of overexpression of the enzyme in primary hepatocytes. We found that AdCMV-G6Pase-treated liver cells contain significantly less glycogen and Glu-6-P, but unchanged UDP-glucose levels, relative to control cells. Further, the glycogen synthase activity state was closely correlated with Glu-6-P levels over a wide range of glucose concentrations in both G6Pase-overexpressing and control cells. The reduction in glycogen synthesis in AdCMV-G6Pase-treated hepatocytes is therefore not a function of decreased substrate availability but rather occurs because of the regulatory effects of Glu-6-P on glycogen synthase activity. We also found that AdCMV-G6Pase-treated-cells had significantly lower rates of lactate production and [3-3H]glucose usage, coupled with enhanced rates of gluconeogenesis and Glu-6-P hydrolysis. We conclude that overexpression of the G6Pase catalytic subunit alone is sufficient to activate flux through the G6Pase system in liver cells. Further, hepatocytes treated with AdCMV-G6Pase exhibit a metabolic profile resembling that of liver cells from patients or animals with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, suggesting that dysregulation of the catalytic subunit of G6Pase could contribute to the etiology of the disease.     

Fructose metabolism and cell survival in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes incubated under hypoxic conditions: proposals for potential clinical use

The protective effect of fructose with regard to hypoxia-induced cell injury was investigated. The addition of fructose (2 to 20 mmol/L) protected hepatocytes against hypoxia-mediated cell lysis in a concentration-dependent way. The intracellular ATP content was initially decreased as a result of fructose-1-phosphate formation, but it remained constant during the hypoxic incubation. Conversely, high initial ATP values observed at low fructose concentrations progressively declined. Cellular protection was observed only when fructose was added before (and not after) the start of hypoxia. In addition, a sufficient amount of fructose-1-phosphate rapidly accumulated before the induction of hypoxia, and the linear production of lactate, during hypoxic incubation, indicated that cells synthesized ATP continuously. The lack of cell protection by fructose added after the onset of the hypoxia may be explained by a lesser fructose-1-phosphate formation and a subsequently low accumulation leading to insufficient glycolytic ATP production. Under aerobic conditions, both glycolysis (lactate formation) and gluconeogenesis (glucose formation) were carried out in fructose-1-phosphate-loaded cells with the same initial rates, whereas under hypoxic conditions glycolysis was the main metabolic event. The fact that protein synthesis activity recovered faster during reoxygenation of previously hypoxic fructose-treated cells than in glucose-treated cells led us to hypothesize that in situ perfusion of liver with fructose, before its removal, would improve its metabolic capacity during the hypoxic cold preservation and subsequent transplantation.     

Partial activation of muscle phosphorylase by replacement of serine 14 with acidic residues at the site of regulatory phosphorylation

Phosphorylation of glycogen phosphorylase at residue Ser14 triggers a conformational transition that activates the enzyme. The N-terminus of the protein, in response to phosphorylation, folds into a 310 helix and moves from its location near a cluster of acidic residues on the protein surface to a site at the dimer interface where a pair of arginine residues form charged hydrogen bonds with the phosphoserine. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to replace Ser14 with Asp and Glu residues, analogs of the phosphoserine, that might be expected to participate in ionic interactions with the arginine side chains at the dimer interface. Kinetic analysis of the mutants indicates that substitution of an acidic residue in place of Ser14 at the site of regulatory phosphorylation partially activates the enzyme. The S14D mutant shows a 1.6-fold increase in Vmax, a 10-fold decrease in the apparent dissociation constant for AMP, and a 3-fold decrease in the S0.5 for glucose 1-phosphate. The S14E mutant behaves similarly, showing a 2.2-fold increase in Vmax, a 6-fold decrease in the apparent dissociation constant for AMP, and a 2-fold decrease in the S0.5 for glucose 1-phosphate. The ability of the mutations to enhance binding of AMP and glucose 1-phosphate and to raise catalytic activity suggests that the introduction of a carboxylate side chain at position 14 promotes docking of the N-terminus at the subunit interface and concomitant stabilization of the activated conformation of the enzyme. Like the native enzyme, both mutants show significant activity only in the presence of the activator, AMP. Full activation, analogous to that provided by covalent phosphorylation of the enzyme, likely is not achieved because of differences in the charge and the geometry of ionic interactions at the phosphorylation site.     

The role of glucose 6-phosphate in the control of glycogen synthase

Elevated blood glucose concentrations result in increased intracellular levels of glucose 6-phosphate in liver, skeletal muscle, and adipose tissue. In liver, blood glucose concentrations are the main factor in control of the synthesis of glycogen; insulin has only a potentiating effect. In skeletal muscle and adipocytes, glucose alone has little effect on the activity of glycogen synthase, the limiting enzyme in glycogen synthesis. However, insulin released as a result of elevated blood glucose stimulates the translocation of specific glucose transporters to the cell membrane, increases the uptake of glucose, and causes the covalent, dephosphorylation-mediated activation of glycogen synthase. We present evidence that elevated intracellular contents of glucose 6-phosphate provoke the activation of glycogen synthase in liver, muscle, and adipose tissue. In addition, glucose 6-phosphate may inhibit the phosphorylation of glycogen synthase by cyclic AMP-stimulated protein kinase. We show that the stimulated glucose uptake and phosphorylation appear to play a major role in the control by insulin of the enzymes involved in glycogen synthesis.     

Effect of 3-deoxyglucosone on the activities of enzymes responsible for glucose metabolism in mouse liver

Crude extracts containing the enzymes obtained from mouse liver were incubated with 3-deoxyglucosone (3-DG), and then subjected to assay of the activities of enzymes responsible for glucose metabolism. Hexokinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities were decreased by 3-DG and hexokinase activity was strongly inhibited time and concentration dependently, while glucokinase, glucose-6-phosphatase, and phosphofructokinase activities were scarcely affected. These results suggest that 3-DG inhibits the intake of glucose in the liver and a connection with development of diabetes.