The hepatic glycogenolysis induced by reversible ischaemia or KCN is exclusively catalysed by phosphorylase a.

1. Ischaemia was applied for 30 min to the liver of Wistar rats and of gsd/gsd rats, which have a genetic deficiency of phosphorylase kinase. The rate of glycogenolysis corresponded closely to the concentration of phosphorylase a. The loss of glycogen from Wistar livers was accounted for by the intrahepatic increase in glucose plus lactate. Further, the accumulation of oligosaccharides was negligible in the gsd/gsd liver. 2. Isolated hepatocytes from Wistar and gsd/gsd rats were incubated for 40 min in the presence of either KCN or glucagon. Again, the production of glucose plus lactate was strictly dependent on the presence of phosphorylase a. However, the catalytic efficiency of phosphorylase a was about 2-fold higher in the presence of KCN. 3. We conclude that the hepatic glycogenolysis induced by anoxia and by KCN is solely mediated by phosphorylase a. The higher catalytic activity of phosphorylase a under these circumstances could be due to an increased concentration of the substrate Pi.     

An assessment of the importance of intralysosomal and of alpha-amylolytic glycogenolysis in the liver of normal rats and of rats with a glycogen-storage disease

Mechanisms of glycogenolysis have been investigated in a comparative study with Wistar rats and gsd rats, which maintain a high glycogen concentration in the liver as a result of a genetic deficiency of phosphorylase kinase. In Wistar hepatocytes the rate of glycogenolysis, as modulated by glucagon and by glucose, was proportional to the concentration of phosphorylase a. In suspensions of gsd hepatocytes the rate of glycogenolysis was far too high as compared with the low level of phosphorylase a; in addition, only a minor fraction of the glycogen lost was recovered as glucose and lactate, owing to the accumulation of oligosaccharides. When the gsd hepatocytes were incubated in the presence of an inhibitor of alpha-amylase (BAY e 4609) glycogenolysis and the formation of oligosaccharides virtually ceased; the production of glucose plus lactate, already modest in the absence of BAY e 4609, was further decreased by 40%, owing to the suppression of a pathway for glucose production by the successive actions of alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase. Evidence was obtained that gsd hepatocytes are more fragile, and that amylolysis of glycogen occurred in damaged cells and/or in the extracellular medium. This may even occur in vivo, since quick-frozen liver samples from anesthetized gsd rats contained severalfold higher concentrations of oligosaccharides than did similar samples from Wistar rats. However, administration of a hepatotoxic agent (CCl4) caused hepatic glycogen depletion in Wistar rats, but not in gsd rats. The administration of phloridzin and of vinblastine, which have been proposed to induce glycogenolysis in the lysosomal system, did not decrease the hepatic glycogen level in gsd rats. Taken together, the data indicate that only the phosphorolytic degradation of glycogen is metabolically important, and that alpha-amylolysis is an indication of an increased fragility of gsd hepatocytes, which becomes prominent when these cells are incubated in vitro.     

Activation of hepatic glycogen phosphorylase b in vivo by sodium sulphate in normal (Wistar) and phosphorylase b kinase-deficient (gsd/gsd) rats.

Sulphate ions have been known for some years to enhance the activity of hepatic glycogen phosphorylase b in vitro. Here we report that intravenous injections of 4.92 mmol of Na2SO4/kg body wt. to rats induced marked hepatic glycogenolysis in vivo, accompanied by polyuria, glycosuria and a mild hyperglycaemia. These effects were observed both in normal (Wistar) rats and in gsd/gsd rats that lacked hepatic phosphorylase kinase. In both rat strains the activity of glycogen phosphorylase in liver extracts was enhanced by pretreatment of the animals with Na2SO4, but in phosphorylase kinase-deficient livers the enhancement was solely in phosphorylase b activity, whereas both the a and b forms of the enzyme were activated in normal livers. Hepatic glycogenolysis was also induced by perfusing rat livers, both normal and gsd/gsd, with 25 mM-Na2SO4. Under these conditions both the rat strains showed only enhanced activities of glycogen phosphorylase b. This suggested that the increased activity of phosphorylase a in the extracts of normal livers after Na2SO4 administration in vivo was due to a hormonally mediated conversion of the b form into the a form. The activation of glycogen phosphorylase b was stable to dilution and appeared to be due to a long-lasting structural change in the enzyme or very tight binding of an activator.     

Post mortem glycogenolysis is a combination of phosphorolysis and hydrolysis

1. Glycogen, glucose, lactate and glycogen phosphorylase concentrations and the activities of glycogen phosphorylase a and acid 1,4-alpha-glucosidase were measured at various times up to 120 min after death in the liver and skeletal muscle of Wistar and gsd/gsd (phosphorylase b kinase deficient) rats and Wistar rats treated with the acid alpha-glucosidase inhibitor acarbose. 2. In all tissues glycogen was degraded rapidly and was accompanied by an increase in tissue glucose and lactate concentrations and a lowering of tissue pH. In the liver of Wistar and acarbose-treated Wistar rats and in the skeletal muscle of all rats glycogen loss proceeded initially very rapidly before slowing. In the gsd/gsd rat liver glycogenolysis proceeded at a linear rate throughout the incubation period. Over 120 min 60, 20 and 50% of the hepatic glycogen store was degraded in the livers of Wistar, gsd/gsd and acarbose-treated Wistar rats, respectively. All 3 types of rat degraded skeletal muscle glycogen at the same rate and to the same extent (82% degraded over 2 hr). 3. In Wistar rat liver and skeletal muscle glycogen phosphorylase was activated soon after death and the activity of phosphorylase a remained well above the zero-time level at all later time points, even when the rate of glycogenolysis had slowed significantly. Liver and skeletal muscle acid alpha-glucosidase activities were unchanged after death. 4. The decreased rate and extent of hepatic glycogenolysis in both the gsd/gsd and acarbose-treated rats suggests that this process is a combination of phosphorolysis and hydrolysis. 5. Glycogen was purified from Wistar liver and skeletal muscle at various times post mortem and its structure investigated. Fine structural analysis revealed progressive shortening of the outer chains of the glycogen from both tissues, indicative of random, lysosomal hydrolysis. Analysis of molecular weight distributions showed inhomogeneity in the glycogen loss; in both tissues high molecular weight glycogen was preferentially degraded. This material is concentrated in lysosomes of both skeletal muscle and liver. These results are consistent with a role for lysosomal hydrolysis in glycogen degradation.     

Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate. Hormonal regulation and mechanism of its formation in liver

Vasopressin, phenylephrine, and A23187 cause an accumulation of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in hepatocytes from fed rats, but not in Ca2+-depleted hepatocytes from fed rats or in phosphorylase kinase-deficient hepatocytes from (gsd/gsd) rats. The effect of vasopressin and phenylephrine is not found in hepatocytes from overnight-starved rats. Thus, the accumulation of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate by these agents may depend on the stimulation of glycogenolysis and on the resulting accumulation of hexose 6-phosphate. In support of this hypothesis, conditions are described for the enzymatic synthesis of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate from fructose 6-phosphate and Mg-ATP in liver extracts. Half-maximal activity (0.8 nmol/min.g) is obtained with about 60 microM fructose 6-phosphate, and the activity can be separated fom phosphofructokinase by ammonium sulfate fractionation. Treatment of rats or isolated hepatocytes with glucagon results in a 4-5-fold decrease in the maximal activity of this enzyme.     

The action of anoxia and cyanide on glycogen breakdown in the liver of the gsd/gsd rat

Perfusion of normal rat livers under anoxic conditions or the addition of KCN to aerobic perfusions activated phosphorylase and stimulated glycogen breakdown and glucose output. Livers from rats with a deficiency of liver phosphorylase kinase (gsd/gsd) showed a much smaller activation of phosphorylase with anoxia or KCN and produced glucose at about half the rate of normal livers. The increase in phosphorylase a in gsd/gsd livers was insufficient to account for the increase in glucose output. The addition of KCN to normal hepatocytes, activated phosphorylase and stimulated glucose output almost as effectively as glucagon. Hepatocytes from gsd/gsd rats showed only a very small increase in phosphorylase a on the addition of KCN, and glucose output did not increase. We conclude that in the perfused liver, anoxia and KCN stimulate glycogen breakdown and glucose output, at least in part, by a mechanism that does not involve conversion of phosphorylase b to phosphorylase a. In isolated hepatocytes KCN stimulates glucose output only by increasing the content of phosphorylase a.     

Decreased activity and impaired hormonal control of protein phosphatases in rat livers with a deficiency of phosphorylase kinase.

1. Livers from gsd/gsd rats, which do not express phosphorylase kinase activity, also contain much less particulate type-1 protein phosphatases. In comparison with normal Wistar rats, the glycogen/microsomal fraction contained 75% less glycogen-synthase phosphatase and 60% less phosphorylase phosphatase activity. This was largely due to a lower amount of the type-1 catalytic subunit in the particulate fraction. In the cytosol, the synthase phosphatase activity was also 50% lower, but the phosphorylase phosphatase activity was equal. 2. Both Wistar rats and gsd/gsd rats responded to an intravenous injection of insulin plus glucose with an acute increase (by 30-40%) in the phosphorylase phosphatase activity in the liver cytosol. In contrast, administration of glucagon or vasopressin provoked a rapid fall (by about 25%) in the cytosolic phosphorylase phosphatase activity in Wistar rats, but no change occurred in gsd/gsd rats. 3. Phosphorylase kinase was partially purified from liver and subsequently activated. Addition of a physiological amount of the activated enzyme to a liver cytosol from Wistar rats decreased the V of the phosphorylase phosphatase reaction by half, whereas the non-activated kinase had no effect. The kinase preparations did not change the activity of glycogen-synthase phosphatase, which does not respond to glucagon or vasopressin. Furthermore, the phosphorylase phosphatase activity was not affected by addition of physiological concentrations of homogeneous phosphorylase kinase from skeletal muscle (activated or non-activated). 4. It appears therefore that phosphorylase kinase plays an essential role in the transduction of the effect of glucagon and vasopressin to phosphorylase phosphatase. However, this inhibitory effect either is specific for the hepatic phosphorylase kinase, or is mediated by an unidentified protein that is a specific substrate of phosphorylase kinase.     

Age-related augmentation of phosphorylase b kinase in hepatic tissue from the glycogen-storage-disease (gsd/gsd) rat.

The effects of food deprivation on body weight, liver weight, hepatic glycogen content, glycogenolytic enzymes and blood metabolites were compared in young and old phosphorylase b kinase-deficient (gsd/gsd) rats. Although the concentration of glycogen in liver from 9-week-old female gsd/gsd rats (730 mumol of glucose equivalents/g wet wt.) was increased by 7-8% during starvation, total hepatic glycogen was decreased by 12% after 24 h without food. In 12-month-old male gsd/gsd rats the concentration of liver glycogen (585 mumol of glucose equiv./g wet wt.) was decreased by 16% and total hepatic glycogen by nearly 40% after food deprivation for 24 h. Phosphorylase b kinase and phosphorylase a were present at approx. 10% of the control activities in 9-week-old gsd/gsd rats, but both enzyme activities were increased more than 3-fold in 12-month-old affected rodents. It is concluded that the age-related ability to mobilize hepatic glycogen appears to result from the augmentation of phosphorylase b kinase during maturation of the gsd/gsd rat.     

Calmodulin-dependent glycogen synthase kinase: Identification in liver of normal and phosphorylase kinase-deficient rats

We have purified a calmodulin-dependent glycogen synthase kinase from livers of normal and phosphorylase kinase-deficient (gsd/gsd) rats. No differences between normal and gsd/gsd rats were apparent in either (a) the ability of liver extracts to phosphorylate exogenous glycogen synthase in a Ca²⁺- and calmodulin-dependent manner or (b) the purification of the calmodulin-dependent synthase kinase. Although extracts from rat liver, when compared to rabbit liver extracts, had a significantly reduced ability to phosphorylate exogenous synthase, the calmodulin-dependent synthase kinase could be purified from rat liver using a protocol identical to that described for rabbit liver. Moreover, the synthase kinase purified from rat liver had properties very similar to those of the rabbit liver enzyme. The enzyme was completely dependent on calmodulin for activity against glycogen synthase, was unable to phosphorylate phosphorylase b, catalyzed the rapid incorporation of 0.4 mol phosphate/mol of glycogen synthase subunit, selectively phosphorylated sites 1b and 2 in the glycogen synthase molecule, had a Stokes' radius of about 70 Å, and appeared to be composed of subunits of M_r 56,000 and 57,000. These observations led us to conclude that (1) calmodulin-dependent glycogen synthase kinase is distinct from other kinases previously described and (2) the rat liver kinase and the rabbit liver kinase are very similar enzymes.     

Hormonal regulation of L-type pyruvate kinase in hepatocytes from phosphorylase kinase-deficient (gsd/gsd) rats.

The hormonal regulation of L-type pyruvate kinase in hepatocytes from phosphorylase b kinase-deficient (gsd/gsd) rats was investigated. Adrenaline (10 microM) and glucagon (10 nM) each led to an inactivation and phosphorylation of pyruvate kinase. Dose-response curves for adrenaline-mediated inactivation of pyruvate kinase, phosphorylation of pyruvate kinase and the stimulation of gluconeogenesis from 1.8 mM-lactate were similar for hepatocytes from control and gsd/gsd rats. Time-course studies indicated that adrenaline-mediated inactivation and phosphorylation of pyruvate kinase proceeded more slowly in phosphorylase kinase-deficient hepatocytes than in control hepatocytes. The age-dependent change in the adrenergic control of pyruvate kinase was similar between control and phosphorylase kinase-deficient hepatocytes. Adrenaline, glucagon and noradrenaline activated the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase and inhibited pyruvate kinase in phosphorylase kinase-deficient hepatocytes. Vasopressin (0.2-2 nM), angiotensin (10nM) and A23187 (10 microM) had no effect on the activity ratio of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase or pyruvate kinase in these cells. It is concluded that phosphorylase kinase plays no significant role in the hormonal control of pyruvate kinase and that phosphorylation and inactivation of this enzyme results predominantly from the action of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase.     

Sulphate-stimulate liver glycogen phosphorylase b: new evidence of changes in the conformation of the enzyme

It has been known for same time that sulphate ions stimulate liver glycogen phosphorylase b, both in the presence and in the absence of AMP. In the present paper we describe some observations (like a modified method of purification of the enzyme after sulphate treatment of the animals) suggesting that actual changes of the physical properties of the enzyme occur after intravenous injection of sodium sulphate. In order to avoid formation of phosphorylase a these studies were performed on enzyme from phosphorylase-b-kinase deficient (gsd/gsd) rats.     

Skeletal muscle glycogen content, structure, and metabolism are normal in rats with hepatic glycogen phosphorylase kinase deficiency

Skeletal muscle glycogen content and structure, and the activities of several enzymes of glycogen metabolism are reported for the hepatic glycogen phosphorylase b kinase deficient (gsd/gsd) rat. The skeletal muscle glycogen content of the fed gsd/gsd rat is 0.50 +/- 0.11% tissue wet weight, and after 40 hours of starvation this value is lowered 40% to 0.30 +/- 0.05% tissue wet weight. In contrast the gsd/gsd rat liver has an elevated glycogen content which remains high after starvation. The skeletal muscle phosphorylase b kinase, glycogen phosphorylase, glycogen synthase and acid alpha-glucosidase activities are 17.2 +/- 2.9 units/g tissue, 119.9 +/- 6.4 units/g tissue, 12.2 +/- 0.4 units/g tissue and 1.4 +/- 0.4 milliunits/g tissue, respectively, with approx. 20% of phosphorylase and approx. 24% of synthase in the active form (at rest). These enzyme activities resemble those of Wistar skeletal muscle, and again this contrasts with the situation in the liver where there are marked differences between the Wistar and the gsd/gsd rat. Fine structural analysis of the purified glycogen showed resemblance to other glycogens in branching pattern. Analysis of the molecular weight distribution of the purified glycogen indicated polydispersity with approx. 66% of the glycogen having a molecular weight of less than 250 X 10(6) daltons and approx. 25% greater than 500 X 10(6) daltons. This molecular weight distribution resembles those of purified Wistar liver and skeletal muscle glycogens and differs from that of the gsd/gsd liver glycogen which has an increased proportion of the low molecular weight material.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Alpha 1-Adrenergic stimulation of Ca2+ mobilization without phosphorylase activation in hepatocytes from phosphorylase b kinase-deficient gsd/gsd rats.

Phenylephrine, vasopressin and the bivalent cation ionophore A23187 mobilized Ca2+ normally, but failed to activate phosphorylase, in hepatocytes from gsd/gsd rats with a deficiency of liver phosphorylase b kinase. These data provide strong evidence that phosphorylase b kinase is the site of action of the Ca2+ mobilized intracellularly during alpha 1-adrenergic activation of phosphorylase in liver cells.     

Hepatic carbon flux after re-feeding in the glycogen-storage-disease (gsd/gsd) rat.

In this study we utilized the phosphorylase b kinase-deficient (gsd/gsd) rat as a model of hepatic substrate utilization where there is a constraint on glycogenesis imposed by the maintenance of high glycogen concentrations. Glucose re-feeding of 48 h-starved gsd/gsd rats led to suppression of hepatic glucose output. In contrast with the situation in normal rats, activation of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and lipogenesis was observed. It is suggested that impeding glycogenic flux may divert substrate into lipogenesis, possibly via activation of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex.     

Effects in vivo of food deprivation and 3-mercaptopicolinate in the glycogen-storage-disease (gsd/gsd) rat.

Intraperitoneal injection of 3-mercaptopicolinate into 24 h-food-deprived 27-week-old female control (GSD/GSD) rats lowered the concentration of circulating glucose by 66%, but glycerol and lactate concentrations were increased up to 3- and 4-fold respectively. In phosphorylase b kinase-deficient (gsd/gsd) rats the corresponding changes for blood glucose, lactate and glycerol were half those observed in the controls. Although the concentration of liver glycogen (approx. 12%, w/w) in the gsd/gsd rats was not altered during food deprivation, total hepatic glycogen was decreased by 17%. It is suggested that the gradual breakdown of the extensive hepatic glycogen stores during starvation assists in the maintenance of normoglycaemia in the gsd/gsd rat.     

The influence of hypothyroidism on the adrenergic stimulation of glycogenolysis in perfused rat liver

The ability of noradrenaline (1 microM), phenylephrine (10 microM), and isoproterenol (1 microM) to stimulate glycogenolysis in euthyroid and hypothyroid perfused rat livers was investigated. It was found that hypothyroidism severely impaired alpha-receptor-mediated (noradrenaline, phenylephrine) glucose release. The initial Ca2+ efflux and K+ influx induced by these agonists in the euthyroid control group were almost totally absent in the hypothyroid group, while glycogen phosphorylase a activity in the hypothyroid rat livers was markedly lower than in the controls after infusing noradrenaline for 1 min. Diminished CA2+ efflux (and possibly diminished K+ influx) is likely to play a role in the large impairment in the action of noradrenaline or phenylephrine on glycogenolysis in the perfused hypothyroid rat liver. After prolonged stimulation (15 min) with noradrenaline, however, the phosphorylase a activity in the hypothyroid and euthyroid groups did not differ significantly. This was accompanied by Ca2+ influx in the hypothyroid livers, probably facilitated by a beta-adrenergic effect of noradrenaline in this group. Hypothyroidism potentiated the effect of isoproterenol on glycogenolysis. The glucose 6-phosphate content in the hypothyroid rat livers was markedly higher than in the euthyroid group after stimulation by noradrenaline or isoproterenol.     

Intensity and duration effects of exercise on heart cAMP, phosphorylase, and glycogen

Glycogen, phosphorylase, and adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) were determined in rat heart following an acute exercise bout. Intensity and duration of exercise were varied to gain further insights into the mechanism regulating myocardial glycogenolysis during exercise. Groups of rats were run at either 15 or 30 m/min for 0, 5, 10, 15, or 30 min and immediately killed. Heart glycogen degradation was influenced by intensity and duration of exercise and was independent of cAMP levels and activation of phosphorylase to its a form. cAMP levels were increased in the heart, dependent on intensity and duration of exercise. Phosphorylase in the a form increased at the onset of exercise, independent of intensity, and remained elevated throughout the exercise despite little or no glycogenolysis. Absolute phosphorylase a activity was also increased with exercise and was independent of intensity of exercise. Compared with resting levels, total phosphorylase activity was decreased at all times at the lower exercise intensity, whereas total phosphorylase activity declined at the higher intensity only after glycogenolysis had occurred. These data suggest that myocardial glycogen degradation during exercise can occur independently of cAMP and that the percentage of phosphorylase in the a form is not a good indicator of glycogenolytic rate.     

Glycogen metabolism in the liver of the neonatal gsd/gsd and control (GSD/GSD) rat.

1. The metabolism of hepatic glycogen, labelled with [6-3H]glucose at day 19.5 of gestation and with 14C from [U-14C]galactose at delivery, was followed for 10 h in food-deprived gsd/gsd and control (GSD/GSD) neonatal rats. 2. In the affected pups glycogen was maintained at 12% (w/w) and there was no loss of incorporated radioactivity. 3. The 3H and 14C in glycogen from the controls were both decreased by 80%, but 14C was removed at 0--5 h and [6-3H]glucose at 5--10 h. 4. Blood glucose concentrations in the unaffected neonatal rats fell from 5.3 mM at 20 min to 1.7 mM after 10 h. In the gsd/gsd pups blood glucose concentration was decreased from 2 mM at birth to 0.3 mM at 2.5 h: it was maintained at 0.8 mM between 5 and 10 h. 5. In neonatal rats that had been dead for 10 h, hepatic glycogen was decreased by 34% in the controls and by 22% in the gsd/gsd pups. These results demonstrate that liver from the affected rats contains glycogenolytic activity, but that it is not expressed in living tissue.     

Glucose production and glycogen cycle enzyme activities in avian liver explants: procedural optimization

1. There are few studies which both describe the in vitro regulation of glycogen metabolism in nonmammalian animals and list methods to optimize assay conditions for these studies. 2. A mechanical tissue chopper was used to obtain 25-65 mg liver explants from 14- to 28-day old domestic turkeys to determine assay conditions (substrates, buffers, time), regulators (metals, salts and hormones) and points of endogenous regulation of glycogenolysis (protein phosphorylation and enzyme activity). 3. High- and low-bicarbonate-based buffers (Earle's balanced salts, EBSS and Hanks' balanced salts, HBSS, respectively) were used to determine buffer effects. 4. Glucose release into the incubation environment was greater in HBSS than EBSS. Adding HEPES to further buffer conditions did not change release rates. Adding bicarbonate to HBSS resulted in release rates similar to EBSS. 5. Calcium increased glycogenolysis in the presence of absence of equimolar concentrations of EGTA; potassium had no effect. 6. Porcine insulin (100 ng/ml) did not inhibit glycogenolysis; however, glucose release was increased by dibutyryl cyclic AMP. A noted catecholamine-induced increase in in vitro glycogenolysis and phosphorylase activity indicates that points of regulation are under phosphorylation-dephosphorylation regulation.     

Control mechanisms in the acceleration of hepatic glycogen degradation during hypoxia

Hepatic glycogen metabolism in aerobic and hypoxic conditions has been assessed with respect to glycogenolysis, phosphorylase a activity and nucleotide content. Insulin did not inhibit glycogen breakdown nor stimulate lipogenesis in the aerobic perfused liver.Partial ischaemia induced glycogen breakdown, release of glucose and changes in nucleotide content in the perfused liver. Phosphorylase a content increased within 2 min in response to total ischaemia, in vivo and in the perfused liver. This change was paralleled by an increase in hepatic AMP. Glycogen synthase a activity decreased, as did the hepatic content of both cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP.