Glycolytic enzyme interactions with tubulin and microtubules

Interactions of the glycolytic enzymes glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, aldolase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, triose-phosphate isomerase, enolase, phosphoglycerate mutase, phosphoglycerate kinase, pyruvate kinase, lactate dehydrogenase type-M, and lactate dehydrogenase type-H with tubulin and microtubules were studied. Lactate dehydrogenase type-M, pyruvate kinase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and aldolase demonstrated the greatest amount of co-pelleting with microtubules. The presence of 7% poly(ethylene glycol) increased co-pelleting of the latter four enzymes and two other enzymes, glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, and phosphoglycerate kinase with microtubules. Interactions also were characterized by fluorescence anisotropy. Since the KD values of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase for tubulin and microtubules were all found to be between 1 and 4 microM, which is in the range of enzyme concentration in cells, these enzymes are probably bound to microtubules in vivo. These observations indicate that interactions of cytosolic proteins, such as the glycolytic enzymes, with cytoskeletal components, such as microtubules, may play a structural role in the formation of the microtrabecular lattice.     

Enzymes of glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway during development of the rabbit stomach worm Obeliscoides cuniculi

The activities of glycolytic and other enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism were measured in free-living and parasitic stages of the rabbit stomach worm Obeliscoides cuniculi. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, phosphoglucomutase, hexokinase, glucosephosphate isomerase, phosphofructokinase, aldolase, triosephosphate isomerase, α-glycerophosphatase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase, pyruvate kinase, phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase, lactate dehydrogenase, alcohol dehydrogenase, and glucose-6-phosphatase activities were present in worms recovered 14, 20 and 190 days postinfection.The presence of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, and glucose-6-phosphatase indicates the possible function of a pentose phosphate pathway and a capacity for gluconeogenesis, respectively, in these worms.The ratio of pyruvate kinase (PK) to phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) less than I in parasitic stages suggests that their most active pathway is that fixing CO₂ into phosphoenol pyruvate to produce oxaloacetate.Low levels of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, triosephosphate isomerase, PEPCK and PK were recorded in infective third-stage larvae stored at 5°C for 5 and 12 mos. The ratio of PK to PEPCK greater than 1 indicates that infective larvae preferentially utilize a different terminal pathway than the parasitic stages.     

Trypanosoma evansi is alike to Trypanosoma brucei brucei in the subcellular localisation of glycolytic enzymes

Trypanosoma evansi, which causes surra, is descended from Trypanosoma brucei brucei, which causes nagana. Although both parasites are presumed to be metabolically similar, insufficient knowledge of T. evansi precludes a full comparison. Herein, we provide the first report on the subcellular localisation of the glycolytic enzymes in T. evansi, which is a alike to that of the bloodstream form (BSF) of T. b. brucei: (i) fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, phosphoglycerate kinase, triosephosphate isomerase (glycolytic enzymes) and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (a glycolysis-auxiliary enzyme) in glycosomes, (ii) enolase, phosphoglycerate mutase, pyruvate kinase (glycolytic enzymes) and a GAPDH isoenzyme in the cytosol, (iii) malate dehydrogenase in cytosol and (iv) glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in both glycosomes and the cytosol. Specific enzymatic activities also suggest that T. evansi is alike to the BSF of T. b. brucei in glycolytic flux, which is much faster than the pentose phosphate pathway flux, and in the involvement of cytosolic GAPDH in the NAD⁺/NADH balance. These similarities were expected based on the close phylogenetic relationship of both parasites.     

Disturbed sugar metabolism in a fully habituated nonorganogenic callus of Beta vulgaris (L.)

Habituated (H) nonorganogenic sugarbeet callus was found to exhibit a disturbed sugar metabolism. In contrast to cells from normal (N) callus, H cells accumulate glucose and fructose and show an abnormal high fructose/glucose ratio. Moreover, H cells which have decreased wall components, display lower glycolytic enzyme activities (hexose phosphate isomerase and phosphofructokinase) which is compensated by higher activities of the enzymes of the hexose monophosphate pathway (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase). The disturbed sugar metabolism of the H callus is discussed in relation to a deficiency in H₂O₂ detoxifying systems.Abbreviations 6PG-DH 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase - G6P-DH glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase - H fully habituated callus - HK hexokinase - HMP hexoses monophosphate - HPI hexose phosphate isomerase - N normal callus - PFK phosphofructokinase     

Activity of enzymes of carbon metabolism during the induction of Crassulacean acid metabolism in Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L.

The maximum extractable activities of twenty-one photosynthetic and glycolytic enzymes were measured in mature leaves of Mesembryanthemum crystallinum plants, grown under a 12 h light 12 h dark photoperiod, exhibiting photosynthetic characteristics of either a C₃ or a Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant. Following the change from C₃ photosynthesis to CAM in response to an increase in the salinity of in the rooting medium from 100 mM to 400 mM NaCl, the activity of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.31) increased about 45-fold and the activities of NADP malic enzyme (EC 1.1.1.40) and NAD malic enzyme (EC 1.1.1.38) increased about 4- to 10-fold. Pyruvate, Pi dikinase (EC 2.7.9.1) was not detected in the non-CAM tissue but was present in the CAM tissue; PEP carboxykinase (EC 4.1.1.32) was detected in neither tissue. The induction of CAM was also accompanied by large increases in the activities of the glycolytic enzymes enolase (EC 4.2.1.11), phosphoglyceromutase (EC 2.7.5.3), phosphoglycerate kinase (EC 2.7.2.3), NAD glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.12), and glucosephosphate isomerase (EC 2.6.1.2). There were 1.5- to 2-fold increases in the activities of NAD malate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.37), alanine and aspartate aminotransferases (EC 2.6.1.2 and 2.6.1.1 respectively) and NADP glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.13). The activities of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.39), fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.11), phosphofructokinase (EC 2.7.1.11), hexokinase (EC 2.7.1.2) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.49) remained relatively constant. NADP malate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.82) activity exhibited two pH optima in the non-CAM tissue, one at pH 6.0 and a second at pH 8.0. The activity at pH 8.0 increased as CAM was induced. With the exceptions of hexokinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, the activities of all enzymes examined in extracts from M. crystallinum exhibiting CAM were equal to, or greater than, those required to sustain the maximum rates of carbon flow during acidification and deacidification observed in vivo. There was no day-night variation in the maximum extractable activities of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, NADP malic enzyme, NAD malic enzyme, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and NADP malate dehydrogenase in leaves of M. crystallinum undergoing CAM.Abbreviations CAM Crassulacean acid metabolism - PEP phosphoenolpyruvate - RuBP ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate     

Heteromerous interactions among glycolytic enzymes and of glycolytic enzymes with F-actin: effects of poly(ethylene glycol)

Interactions of glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (D-glucose-6-phosphate ketol-isomerase, EC 5.3.1.9), aldolase (D-fructose-1,6-bisphosphate D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate lyase, EC 4.1.2.13), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate:NAD+ oxidoreductase (phosphorylating), EC 1.2.1.12), triose-phosphate isomerase (D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate ketol-isomerase, EC 5.3.1.1), phosphoglycerate mutase (D-phosphoglycerate 2,3-phosphomutase, EC 5.4.2.1), phosphoglycerate kinase (ATP:3-phospho-D-glycerate 1-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.3), enolase (2-phospho-D-glycerate hydro-lyase, EC 4.2.1.11), pyruvate kinase (ATP:Pyruvate O2-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.40) and lactate dehydrogenase [S)-lactate:NAD+ oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.27) with F-actin, among the glycolytic enzymes listed above, and with phosphofructokinase (ATP:D-fructose-6-phosphate 1-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.11) were studied in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol). Both purified rabbit muscle enzymes and rabbit muscle myogen, a high-speed supernatant fraction containing the glycolytic enzymes, were used to study enzyme-F-actin interactions. Following ultracentrifugation, F-actin and poly(ethylene glycol) tended to increase and KCl to decrease the pelleting of enzymes. In general, the greater part of the pelleting occurred in the presence of both F-actin and poly(ethylene glycol) and the absence of KCl. Enzymes that pelleted more in myogen preparations than as individual purified enzymes in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) and the absence of F-actin were tested for specific enzyme-enzyme associations, several of which were observed. Such interactions support the view that the internal cell structure is composed of proteins that interact with one another to form the microtrabecular lattice.     

Activity and androgenic control of glycolytic enzymes in the epididymis and epididymal spermatozoa of the rat.

1. Procedures were developed for the extraction and assay of glycolytic enzymes from the epididymis and epididymal spermatozoa of the rat. 2. The epididymis was separated into four segments for analysis. When rendered free of spermatozoa by efferent duct ligation, regional differences in enzyme activity were apparent. Phosphofructokinase, glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase were more active in the proximal regions of the epididymis, whereas hexokinase, lactate dehydrogenase and phosphorylase were more active in the distal segment. These enzymes were less active in the epididymis of castrated animals and less difference was apparent between the proximal and distal segments. However, the corpus epididymidis from castrated rats had lower activities of almost all enzymes compared with other epididymal segments. 3. Spermatozoa required sonication to obtain satisfactory enzyme release. Glycolytic enzymes were more active in spermatozoa than in epididymal tissue, being more than 10 times as active in the case of hexokinase, phosphoglycerate kinase and phosphoglycerate mutase. 4. The specific activities of a number of enzymes in the epididymis were dependent on the androgen status of the animal. These included hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, aldolase, glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, pyruvate kinase, glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and phosphorylase. 5. The caput and cauda epididymidis differed in the extent to which enzyme activities changed in response to an altered androgen status. The most notable examples were hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, aldolase, phosphoglycerate kinase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and phosphorylase.     

Key enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism as targets of the 11.5-kDa Zn(2+)-binding protein (parathymosin)

The 11.5-kDa Zn(2+)-binding protein (ZnBP) was covalently linked to Sepharose. Affinity chromatography with a cytosolic subfraction from liver resulted in purification of a predominant 38-kDa protein. In comparable experiments with brain cytosol a 39-kDa protein was enriched. The ZnBP-protein interactions were zinc-specific. Both proteins were identified as fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase. Experiments with crude cytosol showed zinc-specific interaction of additional enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism. From liver cytosol greater than 90% of the following enzymes were specifically retained: aldolase, phosphofructokinase-1, hexokinase/glucokinase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase. Glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, phosphoglycerate kinase, enolase, lactate dehydrogenase, and most of triosephosphate isomerase remained unbound. From L-type pyruvate kinase only the phosphorylated form seems to interact with ZnBP. Using brain cytosol hexokinase, phosphofructokinase-1, and aldolase were completely bound to the affinity column, whereas glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, phosphoglycerate kinase, enolase, lactate dehydrogenase, pyruvate kinase, and most of triose-phosphate isomerase remained unbound. The behavior of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from this tissue could not be followed. A possible function of ZnBP in supramolecular organization of carbohydrate metabolism is proposed.     

Enzyme activity profiles in an overwintering population of freeze-tolerant larvae of the gall fly,Eurosta solidaginis

The activity of some enzymes of intermediary metabolism, including enzymes of glycolysis, the hexose monophosphate shunt, and polyol cryoprotectant synthesis, were measured in freeze-tolerant Eurosta solidaginis larvae over a winter season and upon entry into pupation. Flexible metabolic rearrangement was observed concurrently with acclimatization and development. Profiles of enzyme activities related to the metabolism of the cryoprotectant glycerol indicated that fall biosynthesis may occur from two possible pathways: 1. glyceraldehyde-phosphate glyceraldehyde glycerol, using glyceraldehyde phosphatase and NADPH-linked polyol dehydrogenase, or 2. dihydroxyacetonephosphate glycerol-3-phosphate glycerol, using glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and glycerol-3-phosphatase. Clearance of glycerol in the spring appeared to occur by a novel route through the action of polyol dehydrogenase and glyceraldehyde kinase. Profiles of enzyme activities associated with sorbitol metabolism suggested that this polyol cryoprotectant was synthesized from glucose-6-phosphate through the action of glucose-6-phosphatase and NADPH-linked polyol dehydrogenase. Removal of sorbitol in the spring appeared to occur through the action of sorbitol dehydrogenase and hexokinase. Glycogen phosphorylase activation ensured the required flow of carbon into the synthesis of both glycerol and sorbitol. Little change was seen in the activity of glycolytic or hexose monophosphate shunt enzymes over the winter. Increased activity of the -glycerophosphate shuttle in the spring, indicated by greatly increased glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity, may be key to removal and oxidation of reducing equivalents generated from polyol cryoprotectan catabolism.Abbreviations 6PGDH 6-Phosphogluconate dehydrogenase - DHAP dihydroxy acetone phosphate - F6P fructose-6-phosphate - F6Pase fructose-6-phospha-tase - FBPase fructose-bisphosphatase - G3P glycerol-3-phosphate - G3Pase glycerol-3-phosphate phophatase - G3PDH glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase - G6P glucose-6-phosphate - G6Pase glucose-6-phosphatase - G6PDH glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase - GAK glyceraldehyde kinase - GAP glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate - GAPase glyceraldehyde-3-phosphatase - GAPDH glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase - GDH glycerol dehydrogenase - GPase glycogen phosphorylase - HMS hexose monophosphate shunt - LDH lactate dehydrogenase - NADP-IDH NADP⁺-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase - PDHald polyol dehydrogenase, glyceraldehyde activity - PDHgluc polyol dehydrogenase, glucose activity - PFK phosphofructokinase - PGI phosphoglucoisomerase - PGK phosphoglycerate kinase - PGM phosphoglucomutase - PK pyruvate kinase - PMSF phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride - SoDH sorbitol dehydrogenase - V _max maximal enzyme activity - ww wet weight     

Evidence for a higher glycolytic than oxidative metabolic activity in white matter of rat brain

Different values exist for glucose metabolism in white matter; it appears higher when measured as accumulation of 2-deoxyglucose than when measured as formation of glutamate from isotopically labeled glucose, possibly because the two methods reflect glycolytic and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle activities, respectively. We compared glycolytic and TCA cycle activity in rat white structures (corpus callosum, fimbria, and optic nerve) to activities in parietal cortex, which has a tight glycolytic-oxidative coupling. White structures had an uptake of [(3)H]2-deoxyglucose in vivo and activities of hexokinase, glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, and lactate dehydrogenase that were 40-50% of values in parietal cortex. In contrast, formation of aspartate from [U-(14)C]glucose in awake rats (which reflects the passage of (14)C through the whole TCA cycle) and activities of pyruvate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase, alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, and fumarase in white structures were 10-23% of cortical values, optic nerve showing the lowest values. The data suggest a higher glycolytic than oxidative metabolism in white matter, possibly leading to surplus formation of pyruvate or lactate. Phosphoglucomutase activity, which interconverts glucose-6-phosphate and glucose-1-phosphate, was similar in white structures and parietal cortex ( approximately 3 nmol/mg tissue/min), in spite of the lower glucose uptake in the former, suggesting that a larger fraction of glucose is converted into glucose-1-phosphate in white than in gray matter. However, the white matter glycogen synthase level was only 20-40% of that in cortex, suggesting that not all glucose-1-phosphate is destined for glycogen formation.     

Combined glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase/phosphoglycerate kinase in catecholamine-stimulated guinea-pig cardiac muscle. Comparison with mass-action ratio of creatine kinase.

The steady-state reactant levels of triose-phosphate isomerase and the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase/phosphoglycerate kinase system were examined in guinea-pig cardiac muscle. Key glycolytic intermediates, including glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate were directly measured and compared with those of creatine kinase. Non-working Langendorff hearts as well as isolated working hearts were perfused with 5 mM glucose (plus insulin) under normoxia conditions to maintain lactate dehydrogenase near-equilibrium. The cytosolic phosphorylation potential ([ATP]/([ADP].[Pi])) was derived from creatine kinase and the free [NAD+]/([NADH].[H+]) ratio from lactate dehydrogenase. In Langendorff hearts glycolysis was varied from near-zero flux (hyperkalemic cardiac arrest) to higher than normal flux (normal and maximum catecholamine stimulation). The triose-phosphate isomerase was near-equilibrium only in control or potassium-arrested Langendorff hearts as well as in postischemic 'stunned' hearts. However, when glycolytic flux increased due to norepinephrine or due to physiological pressure-volume work the enzyme was displaced from equilibrium. The alternative phosphorylation ratio [ATP]'/([ADP]).[Pi]) was derived from the magnesium-dependent glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase/phosphoglycerate kinase system assigning free magnesium different values in the physiological range (0.1-2.0 mM). As predicted, [ATP]/([ADP].[Pi]) and [ATP]'/([ADP]'.[Pi]') were in excellent agreement when glycolysis was virtually halted by hyperkalemic arrest (flux approximately 0.2 mumol C3.min-1.g dry mass-1). However, the equality between the two phosphorylation ratios was not abolished upon resumption of spontaneous beating and also not during adrenergic stimulation (flux approximately 5-14 mumol C3.min-1.g dry mass-1). In contrast, when flux increased due to transition from no-work to physiological pressure-volume work (rate increase from approximately 3 to 11 mumol C3.min-1.g dry mass-1), the two ratios were markedly different indicating disequilibrium of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase/phosphoglycerate kinase. Only during adrenergic stimulation or postischemic myocardial 'stunning', not due to hydraulic work load per se, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate levels increased from about 4 microM to greater than or equal to 16 microM. Thus the guinea-pig cardiac glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase/phosphoglycerate kinase system can realize the potential for near-equilibrium catalysis at significant flux provided glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate levels rise, e.g., due to 'stunning' or adrenergic hormones.     

Glycolytic, Pentose-Phosphate Shunt and Transaminase Enzymes in Gastrocnemius Muscle, Liver, Heart, and Brain of Two Mouse Mutants, 129 J-dy and A2G-adr, with Abnormal Muscle Function

Abstract: Aldolase and phosphoglycerate kinase activity were markedly reduced in muscle from two mouse mutants, 129 J-dy and A2G-adr, with abnormal muscle development. The pentose-phosphate shunt enzymes, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, were both greatly increased in the gastrocnemius of 129 J-dy mice, but only the former was slightly increased in A2G-adr muscle. Alanine and aspartate aminotransferase activities were normal or low in 129 J-dy muscle but increased to approximately 200% in A2G-adr muscle. Liver from 129 J-dy mice showed increased activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. These findings are compatible with the well-recognised lipid involvement in the 129 J-dy mutant but indicate that an abnormality of amino acid metabolism in relation to energy supply is probably more important in the A2G-adr mutant.     

The effect of dietary and hormonal conditions on the activities of glycolytic enzymes in rat epididymal adipose tissue

1. Measurements were made of the activities of nine glycolytic enzymes in epididymal adipose tissues obtained from rats that had undergone one of the following treatments: starvation; starvation followed by re-feeding with bread or high-fat diet; feeding with fat without preliminary starvation; alloxan-diabetes; alloxan-diabetes followed by insulin therapy. 2. In general, the activities of the glycolytic enzymes of adipose tissue, unlike those of liver, were not greatly affected by the above treatments. 3. The ;key' glycolytic enzymes, phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase, were generally no more adaptive in response to physiological factors than other glycolytic enzymes such as glucose phosphate isomerase, fructose diphosphate aldolase, triose phosphate isomerase, glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase. 4. Adiposetissue pyruvate kinase did not respond to feeding with fat in a manner similar to the liver enzyme. 5. Glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase had a behaviour pattern unlike the other eight glycolytic enzymes studied in that its activity was depressed by feeding with fat and was not restored to normal by re-feeding with a high-fat diet after starvation. These results are discussed in relation to the requirements of adipose tissue for glycerol phosphate in the esterification of fatty acids. 6. A statistical analysis of the results permitted the writing of linear equations describing the relationships between the activities of eight of the enzymes studied. 7. Evidence is presented for the existence of two constant-proportion groups amongst the enzymes studied, namely (i) glucose phosphate isomerase, phosphoglycerate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase, and (ii) triose phosphate isomerase, fructose diphosphate aldolase and pyruvate kinase. 8. Mechanisms for maintaining the observed relationships between the activities of the enzymes in the tissue are discussed.     

ColE1 hybrid plasmids for Escherichia coli genes of glycolysis and the hexose monophosphate shunt.

The Clarke-Carbon clone bank carrying ColE1-Escherichia coli DNA has been screened by conjugation for complementation of glycolysis and hexose monophosphate shunt mutations. Plasmids were identified for phosphofructokinase (pfkA), triose phosphate isomerase (tpi), phosphoglucose isomerase (pgi), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (zwf), gluconate-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (gnd), enolase (eno), phosphoglycerate kinase (pgk), and fructose-1,6-P2 aldolase (fda). Enzyme levels for the plasmid-carried gene ranged, for the various plasmids, from 4- to 25-fold the normal level.     

Effect of normal and waxy maize starch on growth, food utilization and hepatic glucose metabolism in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) juveniles

We determined the effect of dietary starch on growth performance and feed utilization in European sea bass juveniles. Data on the dietary regulation of key hepatic enzymes of the glycolytic, gluconeogenic, lipogenic and amino acid metabolic pathways (hexokinase, HK; glucokinase, GK; pyruvate kinase, PK; fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, FBPase; glucose-6-phosphatase, G6Pase; glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, G6PD; alanine aminotransferase, ALAT; aspartate aminotransferase, ASAT and glutamate dehydrogenase, GDH) were also measured. Five isonitrogenous (48% crude protein) and isolipidic (14% crude lipids) diets were formulated to contain 10% normal starch (diet NS10), 10% waxy starch (diet WS10), 20% normal starch (diet NS20), 20% waxy starch (diet WS20) or no starch (control diet). Another diet was formulated with no carbohydrate, and contained 68% crude protein and 14% crude lipids (diet HP). Each experimental diet was fed to triplicate groups of 30 fish (initial weight: 23.3 g) on an equivalent feeding scheme for 12 weeks. The best growth performance and feed efficiency were achieved with fish fed the HP diet. Neither the level nor the nature of starch had measurable effects on growth performance of sea bass juveniles. Digestibility of starch was higher with waxy starch and decreased with increasing levels of starch in the diet. Whole-body composition and plasma metabolites, mainly glycemia, were not affected by the level and nature of the dietary starch. Data on enzyme activities suggest that dietary carbohydrates significantly improve protein utilization associated with increased glycolytic enzyme activities (GK and PK), as well as decreased gluconeogenic (FBPase) and amino acid catabolic (GDH) enzyme activities. The nature of dietary carbohydrates tested had little influence on performance criteria.     

Density-dependent changes in hexose transport, glycolytic enzyme levels, and glycolytic rates, in uninfected and murine sarcoma virus-transformed rat kidney cells

In normal rat kidney (NRK) cell cultures, increased cell density results in a decrease in the rates of hexose transport, glucose utilization, and lactate production and an increase in the level of hexokinase activity. A murine sarcoma virus (Kirsten)-transformed cell line (KNRK) showed little or no density-dependent variation in sugar uptake, glucose consumption, or lactate production. On the other hand, hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase activities were elevated in dense transformed cultures as compared to sparse or uninfected cultures. In another virus-transformed cell line (ts339/NRK) exhibiting temperature-dependent morphology, growth pattern, and transport of 2-deoxy- -glucose, the levels of glycolytic enzyme activity were related to cell density but not to the culture temperature. The lack of correlation between glycolytic enzyme activity and lactate production by either uninfected or murine sarcoma virus-transformed cultures supports the suggestion that enhanced growth and/or hexose transport capacity rather than elevated glycolytic enzyme activity are responsible for the increased rate of lactate production by virus-transformed NRK cells.     

Regulation of carbohydrate metabolism by indole-3-carbinol and its metabolite 3,3′-diindolylmethane in high-fat diet-induced C57BL/6J mice

Indole glucosinolates, present in cruciferous vegetables have been investigated for their putative pharmacological properties. The current study was designed to analyse whether the treatment of the indole glucosinolates—indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and its metabolite 3,3′-diindolylmethane (DIM) could alter the carbohydrate metabolism in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced C57BL/6J mice. The plasma glucose, insulin, haemoglobin (Hb), glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), glycogen and the activities of glycolytic enzyme (hexokinase), hepatic shunt enzyme (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase), gluconeogenic enzymes (glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase) were analysed in liver and kidney of the treated and HFD mice. Histopathological examination of liver and pancreases were also carried out. The HFD mice show increased glucose, insulin and HbA1c and decreased Hb and glycogen levels. The elevated activity of glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and subsequent decline in the activity of glucokinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase were seen in HFD mice. Among treatment groups, the mice administered with I3C and DIM, DIM shows decreased glucose, insulin and HbA1c and increased Hb and glycogen content in liver when compared to I3C, which was comparable with the standard drug metformin. The similar result was also obtained in case of carbohydrate metabolism enzymes; treatment with DIM positively regulates carbohydrate metabolic enzymes by inducing the activity of glucokinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and suppressing the activity of glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase when compared to I3C, which were also supported by our histopathological observations.     

Interactions of nitric oxide and oxygen in cytotoxicity: proliferation and antioxidant enzyme activities of endothelial cells in culture

Nitric oxide (NO) shows cytotoxicity, and its reaction products with reactive oxygen species, such as peroxynitrite, are potentially more toxic. To examine the role of O2 in the NO toxicity, we have examined the proliferation of cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells in the presence or absence of NO donor, ((Z)-1-[N-(2-aminoethyl)-N-(2-ammonioethyl)amino]diazen-1-++ +ium-1,2-diolate) (DETA-NONOate) (100-500 microM), under normoxia (air), hypoxia (< 0.04% O2) or hyperoxia (88-94% O2). It was found that the dose dependency on NONOate was little affected by the ambient O2 concentration, showing no apparent synergism between the two treatments. We have also examined the effects of exogenous NO under normoxia and hyperoxia on the cellular activities of antioxidant enzymes involved in the H2O2 elimination, since many of them are known to be inhibited by NO or peroxynitrite in vitro. Under normoxia DETA-NONOate (500 microM) caused 25% decrease in catalase activity and 30% increases in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase activities in 24h. Under hyperoxia NO caused about 25% decreases in activities of catalase, glutathione reductase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. The H2O2 removal rate by NO-treated cells was computed on the mathematical model for the enzyme system. It was concluded that the cellular antioxidant function is little affected by NO under normoxia but that it is partially impaired when the cells are exposed to NO under hyperoxia.