Studies on the stearic acid dehydrogenase in the liver and brain of rats of various ages (author's transl)]

Tissue slices from the liver and brain of 7-day-old rats incubated with [1-14C]stearic acid desaturate the stearate to oleate. The activities of the two tissues are different but of the same order of magnitude. With increasing age, the activity in the liver increases markedly, while the brain activity decreases. The postmitochondrial supernatant from adult (3-month-old) liver contains 2 to 3 orders of magnitude more stearoyl-CoA dehydrogenase activity than the brain postmitochondrial fraction. The washed microsomal fraction from liver had about the same activity as the postmitochondrial supernatant, but no dehydrogenase activity could be detected in the washed microsomal fraction from the brain. The acyl-CoA synthetase and the palmitoyl-CoA hydrolase activities measured in the washed microsomes from adult brain were both lower than in liver microsomes. The concentration of stearoyl-CoA (the substrate for the stearoyl-CoA dehydrogenase) resulting from the ratio of these activities was too high, however, for the lack of desaturase activity to have been simulated by lack of substrate.     

Effect of NAD and ADP on glycolysis in the kidneys and liver of rats during ischemia

Experiments on albino rats have shown that kidney ischemia and its simulation by the anaerobic incubation of postmitochondrial kidney homogenate fraction without a substrate induce a considerable damage of the glycolytic system at the stage of the glucoso-6-phosphate transformation into fructoso-1.6-diphosphate and a less pronounced damage in the fructoso-1.6-diphosphate transformation into lactate. Administration of adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) to rats before kidney vessel occlusion or their addition to the postmitochondrial fraction before the anaerobic incubation without a substrate decreased a degree of the glycolytic system damage. The damage of the glycolytic system and protective action of NAD are also detected under simulation of liver ischemia. Possible mechanisms of the ischemic damage in the glycolytic liver and kidney tissue system are discussed.     

Studies on glycolysis in vitro: role of glucose phosphorylation and phosphofructokinase activity on total velocity

An in vitro glycolysis system has been developed to study the regulation of glycolysis on kinetic structure basis, in order to determine the extent of regulatory effects on the whole system of individual enzymes according to their kinetic data, in rat liver and muscle. Hexokinase or glucose-6-phosphate addition to the system with glucose as substrate increases lactate production rate by 2.5 in liver and by 10 in muscle, which suggest glucose phosphorylation step is a limiting step in this system. Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate addition to the system increases lactate production rate in liver only when glucose is the substrate, but not with glucose-6-phosphate as substrate. There is a linear relationship between glycolytic activity, as lactate produced per min and protein quantity, which suggests that this system can also be used to assay glycolytic activity in tissue extracts. Specific glycolytic activity found, as mumol of L-lactate produced per min, per protein mg was 0.1 for muscle and 0.01 for liver.     

BRAIN MITOCHONDRIA : II. The Relationship of Brain Mitochondria to Glycolysis

A mitochondrial fraction prepared from calf brain cortex possessed negligible glycolytic activity in the absence of the enzymes of the high speed supernatant fraction. When mitochondria were added to a supernatant system supplemented with optimal amounts of crystalline hexokinase, a 20 per cent stimulation of glycolysis was observed. The supernatant fraction produced minimal amounts of lactate in the absence of exogenous hexokinase; the addition of mitochondria doubled the lactate production. The substitution of glycolytic intermediates for glucose as substrates as well as the addition of exogenous glycolytic enzymes to the supernatant fraction or supernatant fraction plus mitochondria indicated that the mitochondria contributed mainly hexokinase and phosphofructokinase. By direct assay of all of the enzymes of the glycolytic pathway, only hexokinase and phosphofructokinase were shown to be concentrated in the mitochondrial fraction. All other glycolytic enzymes were found to exhibit higher total and specific activities in the supernatant fraction.     

Effect of polyethylene glycol on the in vitro production of L-lactate by rat liver under near physiological conditions

The effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG) on lactate production from glucose by rat liver postmitochondrial fraction has been examined, using physiological concentrations of substrate and effectors. Addition of 10% polyethylene glycol (Mw 6000) resulted in an increase in lactate production, while the inhibition of lactate production by citrate and ATP was decreased. These results in conjunction with analysis of glycolytic intermediates suggest that PEG exerts its major action on phosphofructokinase.     

Enhancement of aldehyde dehydrogenase activity in rat liver by clofibrate feeding

Treatment over a 3-week period of male rats with the hypolipidemic drug clofibrate results in a more than twofold increase of aldehyde dehydrogenase activity in liver homogenate and mitochondrial fraction. As a comparable rise is also found in the postmitochondrial fraction, it is suggested that not only the mitochondrial but also the microsomal moiety of aldehyde dehydrogenase is induced by clofibrate. Possibly the known enhancement of ethanol catabolism and some protective effect on the liver of clofibrate-treated animals is due, at least in part, to the increased acetaldehyde oxidation by liver aldehyde dehydrogenase.     

The role of vitamin E in the biosynthesis of the isoprenoid region of the ubiquinone molecule in the rat liver

A decrease in the CoA and acetyl-CoA amount in the rat liver tissue by 34.8 and 29.4%, respectively, as well as inhibition of the biosynthesis rate of mevalonic acid from [I-14C] acetyl-CoA in the postmitochondrial liver fraction by 17.9% as compared to the control are found against a background of E-hypovitaminosis. The last change is not associated with the inhibition of the 3-oxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA-reductase activity and may not be one of reasons which cause the biosynthesis disturbances in the isoprenoid part of the ubiquinone molecule in this organ. alpha-Tocopherol activates the ubiquinone biosynthesis from [2-14C] sodium acetate in the liver of rats with E-hypovitaminosis under conditions of 30 min preincubation and is not efficient when added in combination with actinomycin D. Probably, such an effect of alpha-tocopherol is realized at the level of RNA synthesis and is associated with the biosynthesis activation of short-living RNA.     

Sucrose synthase activity does not restrict glycolysis in roots of transgenic potato plants under hypoxic conditions

The effect of hypoxia on root development and carbon metabolism was studied using potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) plants as a model system. Hypoxia led to a cessation of root elongation, and finally to the death of meristematic cells. These changes were accompanied by a 4- to 5-fold accumulation of hexoses, suggesting that insufficient carbohydrate supply was not the cause of cell death. In addition, prolonged hypoxia (96 h) resulted in a 50% increase in activity of most glycolytic enzymes studied and the accumulation of glycerate-3-phosphate and phosphoenolpyruvate. This indicates that endproduct utilisation may restrict metabolic flux through glycolysis. As expected, the activities of alcohol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.1) and pyruvate decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.17) increased during hypoxia. Apart from the enzymes of ethanolic fermentation the activity of sucrose synthase (SuSy; EC 2.4.1.13) was enhanced. To investigate the in-vivo significance of this increase, transgenic plants with reduced SuSy activity were analysed. Compared to untransformed controls, transgenic plants showed a reduced ability to resume growth after re-aeration, emphasising the crucial role of SuSy in the toleration of hypoxia. Surprisingly, analysis of glycolytic intermediates in root extracts from SuSy antisense plants revealed no change as compared to wildtype plants. Therefore, limitation of glycolysis is most likely not responsible for the observed decreased ability for recovery after prolonged oxygen starvation. We assume that the function of SuSy during hypoxia might be to channel excess carbohydrates into cell wall polymers for later consumption rather than fuelling glycolysis. Received: 17 February 1999 / Accepted: 10 June 1999     

Changes in the concentrations of some phosphorylated intermediates and stimulation of glycolysis in liver slices

1. The concentrations of some phosphorylated glycolytic intermediates and of NADH were measured in glycolysing rat liver slices. 2. In anaerobically incubated liver slices the concentration of hexose monophosphates decreases during the first 20min. of incubation, whereas the concentrations of fructose diphosphate and triose phosphates increase progressively. 3. In liver slices from fed rats, previously exposed to oxygen, the stimulated anaerobic glycolysis is accompanied by an increase in the concentration of hexose monophosphates; fructose diphosphate and triose phosphates maintain the concentrations reached at the end of the aerobic preincubation. 4. The same pattern in the concentration of glycolytic phosphorylated intermediates is seen under all conditions where aerobic preincubation brings about a stimulation of anaerobic glycolysis. A similar pattern is also found in liver slices from fed rats incubated anaerobically in the presence of fructose; these slices display a high glycolytic activity, which is not further affected by previous aerobic incubation. 5. The concentration of NADH decreases in liver slices during exposure to oxygen; during the subsequent anaerobic glycolysis the concentration increases but is always lower in preincubated than in non-preincubated liver slices. 6. The results of the present experiments suggest that the limiting step mainly affected by the preliminary exposure to oxygen might be at the level of the utilization of triose phosphates.     

Differential protein expression in brain capillary endothelial cells induced by hypoxia and posthypoxic reoxygenation

Cerebral ischemia causes functional alteration of the blood-brain barrier, formed by brain capillary endothelial cells (BCEC). Changes in protein expression and activity of selected differentially expressed enzymes were investigated in BCEC subjected to hypoxia (24 h) alone or followed by a 24-h reoxygenation. BCEC proteins were isolated, separated by 2-DE, and identified by MALDI-MS. Computer-based 2-D gel analysis identified 21 up-regulated proteins and 4 down-regulated proteins after hypoxia alone and 9 proteins that were further up-regulated after posthypoxic reoxygenation. The expression of the majority of hypoxia-induced proteins was reduced toward control levels during reoxygenation. The most prominent changes were identified for glycolytic enzymes (e.g., phosphoglycerate kinase), proteins of the ER (e.g., calreticulin), and cytoskeletal (e.g., vimentin) proteins. The results indicate that BCEC respond to hypoxia/reoxygenation by adaptive up-regulation of proteins involved in the glycolysis, protein synthesis, and stress response.     

Changes in phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase in rat brain regions during alloxan-induced diabetes

Changes in the profile of two glycolytic enzymes, phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase, in different regions of rat brain were studied under alloxan-induced diabetes. A regional variation of the effect of diabetes on brain was noted - the cerebral hemispheres and cerebellum showed decreased activity of the enzymes, while the brain stem remained relatively unaffected. The changes in enzyme activities in the brain regions were more pronounced at the early days of diabetes, particularly at 8 days. Insulin administration to the diabetic animals restored the activity of the enzymes. The results indicate a regionally variable effect of diabetes on the two key glycolytic enzymes, and bring out a role of insulin in the regulation of brain glycolysis.     

PFKFB3 gene silencing decreases glycolysis, induces cell-cycle delay and inhibits anchorage-independent growth in HeLa cells

The high rate of glycolysis despite the presence of oxygen in tumor cells (Warburg effect) suggests an important role for this process in cell division. The glycolytic rate is dependent on the cellular concentration of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (Fru-2,6-P2), which, in turn, is controlled by the bifunctional enzyme 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase (PFK-2). The ubiquitous PFK-2 isoenzyme (uPFK-2, alternatively named UBI2K5 or ACG) coded by the pfkfb3 gene is induced by different stimuli (serum, progesterone, insulin, hypoxia, etc.) and has the highest kinase/phosphatase activity ratio amongst all PFK-2 isoenzymes discovered to date, which is consistent with its role as a powerful activator of glycolysis. uPFK-2 is expressed in brain, placenta, transformed cells and proliferating cells. In the present work, we analyze the impact of small interfering RNA (siRNA)-induced silencing of uPFK-2 on the inhibition of cell proliferation. HeLa cells treated with uPFK-2 siRNA showed a decrease in uPFK-2 RNA levels measured at 24h. uPFK-2 protein levels were severely depleted at 48-72h when compared with cells treated with an unrelated siRNA, correlating with decreased glycolytic activity, Fru-2,6-P2, lactate and ATP concentrations. These metabolic changes led to reduced viability, cell-cycle delay and an increase in the population of apoptotic cells. Moreover, uPFK-2 suppression inhibited anchorage-independent growth. The results obtained highlight the importance of uPFK-2 on the regulation of glycolysis, on cell viability and proliferation and also on anchorage-independent growth. These data underscore the potential for uPFK-2 as an effective tumor therapeutic target.     

Malate-aspartate shuttle enzymes in rat brain regions, liver and heart during alloxan diabetes and insulin replacement

Regionally selective and time-dependent variations were observed in the activity of brain aspartate aminotransferase at early phases of diabetes. Malate dehydrogenase activity showed an opposite pattern of changes in soluble and particulate fractions of cerebral hemispheres and brain stem, with cerebellum showing consistent increase in the activity. The activity of both the enzymes increased significantly in liver, in contrast to heart where malate dehydrogenase activity decreased in particulate fraction. Insulin treatment to diabetic animals restored the enzymes to near control levels at early stages of diabetes, except in liver. The results indicate that malate-aspartate shuttle is probably stimulated under diabetic conditions to enable glycolysis to continue and ATP levels to be restored partially, particularly in cerebellum and liver.     

Co-ordinate control of phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase by fructose diphosphate: a mechanism for amplification and step changes in the regulation of glycolysis in liver

Activation of both phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase by fructose diphosphate in liver provides a means of amplifying effects of other activators or inhibitors in controlling the rate of glycolysis. Two types of behavior can occur, depending on the choice of affinity constants of the two enzymes for fructose diphosphate in a simple model: (i) there may be a steady state corresponding to each value of the fructose diphosphate concentration, so that the glycolytic rate is continuously variable, or (ii) there may be two (or more) regions of stable steady states, separated by a zone of instability, so that the system shifts abruptly between low and high glycolytic rates at critical concentrations of fructose diphosphate. A low glycolytic rate corresponds to net gluconeogenesis when the gluconeogenic enzymes are included. Calculations from data from perfused liver support the proposal that the free fructose diphosphate concentration is a major factor controlling glycolysis in liver and amplifying the effect of changes in the fructose 6-phosphate concentration which occur in response to variation in the glucose concentration.     

Effect of glycolysis inhibition on mitochondrial function in rat brain

Inhibition of the glycolytic enzyme glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase enhances the neural vulnerability to excitotoxicity both in vivo and in vitro through an unknown mechanism possibly related to mitochondrial failure. However, as the effect of glycolysis inhibition on mitochondrial function in brain has not been studied, the aim of the present work was to evaluate the effect of glycolysis inhibition induced by iodoacetate on mitochondrial function and oxidative stress in brain. Mitochondria were isolated from brain cortex, striatum and cerebellum of rats treated systemically with iodoacetate (25 mg/kg/day for 3 days). Oxygen consumption, ATP synthesis, transmembrane potential, reactive oxygen species production, lipoperoxidation, glutathione levels, and aconitase activity were assessed. Oxygen consumption and aconitase activity decreased in the brain cortex and striatum, showing that glycolysis inhibition did not trigger severe mitochondrial impairment, but a slight mitochondrial malfunction and oxidative stress were present.     

Intensity of glycolysis with brain edema in rats and application of some pharmacological agents

In the in vitro experiments the state of glycolytic processes was studied in the rat brain tissues with development of edema induced by injury and administered nicotine and monoiodoacetate as well as with preliminary introduction of phentolamine, benactyzine, aminazine and trifluoperazine. The brain edema is shown to develop against a background of sharp inhibition of glycolysis independent of the initial content of lactic acid in the incubation medium. Phentolamine, benactyzine and aminazine which prevent from the edema contribute to the normal level of the glycolytic processes. Trifluoperazine ineffective with edema does not prevent from glycolysis inhibition. Inhibition of glycolysis resulting from a decrease in the activity of the corresponding enzymic systems is supposed to be one of the main pathogenetic factors of the brain edema development as it leads to deficit of energy necessary for normal water-electrolytic metabolism in cells.     

Ultrastructure and metabolism of skeletal muscle fibres in the tench: Effects of long-term acclimation to hypoxia

Summary Tench (Tinca tinca) were acclimated to either aerated (P _{O 2} 17.6 KPa) or hypoxic (P _{O 2} 1.5 KPa) water for 6 weeks.Acclimation to hypoxia resulted in a decrease in mitochondrial volume fraction in both slow (22.9 to 15.0 %) and fast glycolytic (4.5 to 1.8 %) myotomal muscles fibres (P<0.01).Intermyofibrillar mitochondrial populations (4.4 to 1.2% slow; 0.6 to 0.04% fast fibres) were affected to a greater extent than those in the subsarcolemmal zone (18.5 to 13.8% slow; 3.9 to 1.8% fast fibres). After acclimation to hypoxia, cytochrome-oxidase activities decreased by 31 and 33 % in slow and fast fibres, respectively, but were maintained in the liver.Fibre size remained unchanged and actively differentiating fibres were observed in muscles from both groups of fish. Hypoxia resulted in a significant increase in myofibrillar volume fraction in both slow (43.1 to 56.1 %) and fast glycolytic fibres (73.1 to 82.7%) (P<0.05).Glycogen concentrations (mg/100g tissue) for liver (6616) slow muscle (1892) and fast muscle (334) were similar for fish acclimated to aerated or hypoxic water. Acclimation to hypoxia increased carnitine palmitoyl transferase activity (moles substrate utilised g·dry wt_-1 min^-1) in slow (0.42 to 1.1), fast glycolytic muscle (<0.01 to 0.15) and liver (1.1 to 3.7) indicating an enhanced capacity for fatty acid oxidation.Phosphofructokinase activities of fast glycolytic fibres were similar in fish acclimated to either aerated or hypoxic water, consistent with an unaltered capacity for anaerobic glycogenolysis. Hexokinase activities (moles substate utilised, g·dry wt^-1 min^-1) decreased in fast fibres (1.2 to 0.4) but were maintained in the slow muslce (2.1 to 2.5) and liver (4.5 to 4.8) of hypoxic fish. The activities of phosphofructokinase in slow muscle and phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase in liver were two times higher in fish acclimated to hypoxia. An enhanced capacity for glycolysis in these tissues may reflect a reduced threshold for anaerobic metabolism during activity and/or an adaptation for acute exposure to anoxia in fish acclimated to hypoxia.Abbreviations/Glossary CO cytochrome oxidase activity - CPT carnitine palmitoyltransferase activity - HK hexokinase activity - LDH lactate dehydrogenase activity - PFK phosphofructokinase activity - PK pyruvate kinase activity - Vv volume fractions of cell components - normoxic fish acclimated to aerated water - hypoxic fish acclimated to reduced oxygen tensions - P _{O 2} partial pressure of oxygen tension A preliminary account of part of this work was presented at theXth European Meeting on Muscle and Cell Motility held at Galway, Ireland, in September 1981     

Interrelationship between protein synthesis and mRNA metabolism in rat liver cells]

It is demonstrated that RNA isolated from polyribosomes and postmitochondrial fraction of rat liver cells and bound to nitrocellulose filters (Milliport) represent mRNA. RNA taken from the nitrocellulose filters sedimented in sucrose concentration gradient with a wide peak within the range of 18--6S, attaining a maximum at 12S. The (A+U)/(G+C) ratio of this RNA was equal to 1.04. On the other hand, the same ratio for rRNA was 0.64. Specific radioactivity of polysomal mRNA containing poly-A sequences, was significantly lower at 14-hour labelling with 14C-orotate than at 4-hour labelling (control). Inhibitors (cycloheximide, puromycin, ethionine, actinomycin D) stabilized polysomal mRNA. Specific radioactivity of postmitochondrial fraction mRNA was higher at 14-hour labelling than at 4-hour labelling. Specific radioactivity of postmitochondrial fraction mRNA during protein synthesis blocking by different inhibitors was comparable to those of control animals. It is hypothesized that active translation is necessary for the initiation of rat liver mRNA degradation.     

Metabolic and molecular responses in Nile tilapia,Oreochromis niloticus during short and prolonged hypoxia

The strictly aquatic breathing Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus is an extremely hypoxia-tolerant fish. To augment our understanding of the effects of hypoxia on anaerobic glycolysis in the Nile tilapia, we studied the effect of short-term for 1 day (trial 1) and long-term for 30 days (trial 2) hypoxia on a selected glycolytic enzymes activity and mRNA expression in liver and white muscle. The hypoxic oxygen concentrations used in the two trials were 2, 1, and 0.5 mg O₂ L^?1 for comparison with a control normoxic group 8 mg O₂ L^?1. The activity of phosphofructokinase (PFK), pyruvate kinase (PK), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in liver and white muscle except liver LDH decreased in trial 1 and increased in trial 2. Assessments of mRNA levels in trial 1 revealed that PFK was downregulated and LDH was upregulated in liver and white muscle, while PK fluctuated between upregulation in liver and downregulation in white muscle. Meanwhile, PK and LDH were upregulated while PFK was similar to control values in both tissues in trial 2. Comet assay results demonstrated an increase in DNA damage that was directly proportional to increasing hypoxic concentrations. This damage was more pronounced in trial 1. This suggests that the Nile tilapia cope better with long-term hypoxic conditions, possibly as an adaptive response.