Glucose-6-phosphatase Activity in Copper-Deficient Rats

Copper deficiency has been reported to cause glucose intolerance in rats by interfering with normal glucose utilization. Accordingly, copper deficiency was produced in rats to study its effects on glucose-6-P phosphohydrolase and carbamyl-P: glucose phosphotransferase activities of hepatic glucose-6-phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.9), a major enzyme involved in maintaining glucose homeostasis. When measured in homogenates treated with deoxycholate, total glucose-6-P phosphohydrolase was 23% lower and total carbamyl-P:glucose phosphotransferase was 17% lower in copper-deficient rats compared to controls. Latency, or that portion of total activity that is not manifest unless the intact membranous components are disrupted with deoxycholate also was lower in copper-deficient rats. Glucose-6-P phosphohydrolase was 5% latent in copper-deficient rats compared to 24% in controls and carbamyl-P : glucose phosphotransferase was 55% latent in copper-deficient rats compared to 65% in controls. The decrease in latency appears to compensate for the lower total enzyme activities in such a manner as to allow the net expression of these activities in the intact membranous components of the homogenate to remain unaltered by copper deficiency. It thus appears unlikely that copper deficiency affects glucose homeostasis in vivo by altering the net rate of glucose-6-P hydrolysis or synthesis by glucose-6-phosphatase. These observations are interpreted on the basis of a multicomponent glucose-6-phosphatase system in which the total enzyme activity expressed in intact membranous preparation is limited by substrate specific translocases that transport substrate to the membrane-bound catalytic unit. A decrease in latency can then be interpreted as a functional increase in translocase activity and may constitute a compensating mechanism for maintaining constant glucose homeostasis when glucose-6-phosphatase catalytic activity is depressed as it is in copper deficiency.     

Activity of glucose-6-phosphate metabolism enzymes in the livers of rats with experimental valekson poisoning]

The activity of hexokinase, glucose-6-phosphatase and glucose-6-phosphoric dehydrogenase was studied in the liver of rats after one hour, one and five days after a single oral administration of organic phosphorus insecticide valekson. It was determined that administration of the preparation led to an increase of activity in the homogenate and solubilization of glucose-6-phosphatase, activation of glucose-6-phosphoric dehydrogenase and inhibition of hexokinase. The changes were maximum one hour after the administration of the compound. The results show that a decrease of the intensity of glucose-6-phosphate formation and metabolism is one of the pathogenetic factors in the development of valekson-induced intoxication.     

Glucose phosphorylation and dephosphorylation in chicken liver.

1. Glucokinase was absent from chicken liver and only the low Km hexokinases, inhibited by AMP, ADP but not ATP, were present. 2. The Km of chicken liver glucose-6-phosphatase for glucose-6-phosphate was reduced from 5.65 to 3.75 mM following starvation, and the enzyme was inhibited by glucose. 3. Starvation of chickens for 24 hr slightly lowered the hexokinase activity and doubled glucose-6-phosphatase activity; it did not change subcellular distribution of the enzymes. Oral glucose rapidly restored the activities to fed values. 4. It was concluded that glucose uptake into, and efflux from, chicken hepatocytes, was regulated by the activity and kinetic characteristics of glucose-6-phosphatase and by the glucose-6-phosphate concentration, and that the hexokinases had little regulatory function.     

Late hexokinase activity expression during Bufo bufo development.

Hexokinase activity was detected in cytosols and homogenates from different developmental stages of Bufo bufo embryos starting from stage 17. Free glucose was measured in the embryo cytosol and was detected at each stage tested. At stage 15, a large increase of glucose content of the embryo cytosol occurs. Hexokinase expression in the embryo thus occurs after the increase of cytosol glucose content occurring at stage 15. The findings rule out that glucose by itself is the hexokinase inducer in vivo. The very low glucose utilization found by many authors during early amphibian development may be related to the late hexokinase expression during Bufo bufo development.     

Late hexokinase activity expression during Bufo bufo development

Hexokinase activity was detected in cytosols and homogenates from different developmental stages of Bufo bufo embryos starting from stage 17. Free glucose was measured in the embryo cytosol and was detected at each stage tested. At stage 15, a large increase of glucose content of the embryo cytosol occurs. Hexokinase expression in the embryo thus occurs after the increase of cytosol glucose content occuring at stage 15. The findings rule out that glucose by itself is the hexokinase inducer in vivo. The very low glucose utilization found by many authors during early amphibian development may be related to the late hexokinase expression during Bufo bufo development.     

DIFFERENTIATION OF ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM IN HEPATOCYTES : I. Glucose-6-Phosphatase Distribution In Situ

The distribution of glucose-6-phosphatase activity in rat hepatocytes during a period of rapid endoplasmic reticulum differentiation (4 days before birth-1 day after birth) was studied by electron microscope cytochemistry. Techniques were devised to insure adequate morphological preservation, retain glucose-6-phosphatase activity, and control some other possible artifacts. At all stages examined the lead phosphate deposited by the cytochemical reaction is localized to the endoplasmic reticulum and the nuclear envelope. At 4 days before birth, when the enzyme specific activity is only a few per cent of the adult level, the lead deposit is present in only a few hepatocytes. In these cells a light deposit is seen throughout the entire rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum. At birth, when the specific activity of glucose-6-phosphatase is approximately equal to that of the adult, nearly all cells show a positive reaction for the enzyme and, again, the deposit is evenly distributed throughout the entire endoplasmic reticulum. By 24 hr postparturition all of the rough endoplasmic reticulum, and in addition the newly formed smooth endoplasmic reticulum, contains heavy lead deposits; enzyme activity at this stage is 250% of the adult level. These findings indicate that glucose-6-phosphatase develops simultaneously within all of the rough endoplasmic reticulum membranes of a given cell, although asynchronously in the hepatocyte population as a whole. In addition, the enzyme appears throughout the entire smooth endoplasmic reticulum as the membranes form during the first 24 hr after birth. The results suggest a lack of differentiation within the endoplasmic reticulum with respect to the distribution of glucose-6-phosphatase at the present level of resolution.     

Noradrenaline and glycogen content and the activity of several enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism in normal, embryonic, and partly denervated livers and in hepatomas of the rat]

The noradrenaline and glycogen contents as well as hexokinase, glucokinase and glucose-6-phosphatase activities were determined in normal, embryonic and partially denervated (bilateral dissection of the Nervus splanchnicus or Nervus vagus) rat liver and in two transplantable hepatomas. In embryonic liver and hepatomas a strong decrease or complete loss of noradrenaline and glycogen levels and glucokinase and glucose-6-phosphatase activities is demonstrable as compared to the livers of adult animals, while the hexokinase activity is enhanced. Following bilateral splanchnicotomy the glycogen content and hexokinase activity are enhanced; the glucose-6-phosphatase activity is reduced, and the liver does not contain any noradrenaline. Bilateral vagotomy causes decrease of the glycogen content, of the hexokinase and glucokinase activities and an enhancement of glucose-6-phosphatase activity. The results lend support to the idea of antagonistic action of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems upon several partial reactions of carbohydrate metabolism of liver. In addition, it can be assumed that the alterations of the carbohydrate metabolism demonstrable in hepatomas as compared to normal liver are not solely attributable to disturbance or breakdown of the nervous regulation.     

Evidence for the cerebral uptake in vivo from two pools of glucose and the role of glucose-6-phosphatase in removing excess substrate from brain

We propose the following scheme for cerebral uptake and overall metabolism of glucose in vivo: that brain selects from two pools of glucose anomers in arterial blood, that it takes up excess glucose, that glucose enters the brain tissue as glucose-6-phosphate through the actions of mutarotase and hexokinase, that some glucose-6-phosphate becomes metabolized to CO₂ and some becomes incorporated into brain carbon pools, and that excess glucose-6-phosphate leaves brain through glucose-6-phosphatase and mutarotase activities. This results from our observations in arterio-venous studies for the determination of cerebral metabolism in humans in vivo that the cerebral uptake of [¹⁴C]glucose often appeared to differ from that of unlabeled glucose. With rapidly falling arterial radioactivity, unlabeled glucose uptake was more than [¹⁴C]glucose. With rising arterial radioactivity, [¹⁴C]glucose extraction extraction exceeded unlabeled glucose. Studies with [¹⁴C]glucose-6-phosphate suggested that glucose-6-phosphatase in brain removes excess substrate by dephosphorylation. However, when arterial [¹⁴C]glucose increased slowly, [¹⁴C]glucose uptake varied considerably and the data resembled human cerebral metabolism of glucose anomers. An experiment employing [¹³C]glucose and NMR provided further support for our proposed scheme.     

Effects of chronic ethanol ingestion on glucose homeostasis in males and females

Liver glycogen levels were decreased about 61% in both males and females after chronic ethanol ingestion. In contrast, blood glucose concentration was decreased only in males. In an attempt to explain these data, six enzymes involved with the metabolism of glucose and glycogen were measured. Sex differences were found in the effects of ethanol on the activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, UDPG- pyrophosphorylase and phosphoglucomutase. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and UDPG-pyrophosphorylase were decreased by ethanol in males 42 and 62%, respectively. Females were not changed. Phosphoglucomutase was decreased 29% in females, and males were not changed. Glucose-6-phosphatase was increased and hexokinase and phosphorylase $\text{a}$ were decreased about the same extent in both sexes by ethanol. The data suggest that both sexes have been altered in such a manner as to keep liver glucose in the unphosphorylated form and thus readily available to other tissues; however, the mechanism appears to be different between the sexes. The decrease in liver glycogen may be explained by an increased utilization of glucose by peripherial tissues; however, the lack of change in blood glucose in females argues against this.     

In vitro effects of mebendazole on the carbohydrate metabolism of Avitellina lahorea (Cestoda)

Mebendazole (3.3 mumol), causes in vitro glycogen depletion and inhibits glucose uptake in Avitellina lahorea. Inhibition of non-specific phosphomonoesterases and adenosine triphosphatase by mebendazole discussed in the light of the role of phosphatases in uptake mechanisms. Mebendazole has no effect on hexokinase which has broad substrate specificity but influences the activities of some glycolytic enzymes such as phosphorylase, phosphoglucomutase and glucose-6-phosphatase. Thus, it appears that mebendazole also acts to disrupt certain enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism which may ultimately cause death of the parasite.     

Carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in rats during adaptation to cold

Cold adapted rats are shown to have glucose and fatty acids concentration in blood inchanged, lactate concentration increased and triglyceride concentration decreased against the control level. Glucose utilization rate in the tolerance test grows. Glycogen content falls, hexokinase and succinate dehydrogenase activity increases, glucose-6-phosphatase and NAD+-isocytratedehydrogenase activity decreases in the liver of experimental animals. The results indicate that utilization of carbohydrate and lipid substrates for thermogenesis is intensified in cold-adapted rats. The hypothesis is supported by the data of tests dealing with IPNA injection or with bringing the animals back under thermocomfortable conditions.     

Glycogen metabloism in the developing chick glycogen body: functional significance of the direct oxidative pathway.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, and glucose-6-phosphatase were quantitatively determined for the first time in glycogen body tissue from late embryonic and neonatal chicks. For comparative purposes, the activities of these enzymes were examined also in liver and skeletal muscle from pre- and post-hatched chicks. The present data show that both the embryonic and neonatal glycogen body lack glucose-6-phosphatase, but contain relatively high levels of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. The activity of each dehydrogenase in either embryonic or neonatal glycogen body tissue is two- to five-fold greater than that found in muscle or liver from pre- or post-hatched chicks. The relatively high activities observed for both dehydrogenases in the glycogen body, together with the absence of glucose-6-phosphatase activity in that tissue, suggest that the direct oxidative pathway (pentose phosphate cycle) of glucose metabolism is a functionally significant route for glycogen utilization in the glycogen body. It is hypothesized that the glycogen body is metabolically linked to lipid synthesis and myelin formation in the central nervous system of the avian embryo.     

Antagonistic regulation of the glucose/glucose 6-phosphate cycle by insulin and glucagon in cultured hepatocytes.

Flux through the glucose/glucose 6-phosphate cycle in cultured hepatocytes was measured with radiochemical techniques. Utilization of [2-3H]glucose was taken as a measure of glucokinase flux. Liberation of [14C]glucose from [U-14C]glycogen and from [U-14C]lactate, as well as the difference between the utilization of [2-3H]glucose and of [U-14C]glucose, were taken as measures of glucose-6-phosphatase flux. At constant 5 mM-glucose and 2 mM-lactate concentrations insulin increased glucokinase flux by 35%; it decreased glucose-6-phosphatase flux from glycogen by 50%, from lactate by 15% and reverse flux from external glucose by 65%, i.e. overall by 40%. Glucagon had essentially no effect on glucokinase flux; it enhanced glucose-6-phosphatase flux from glycogen by 700%, from lactate by 45% and reverse flux from external glucose by 20%, i.e. overall by 110%. At constant glucose concentrations cellular glucose 6-phosphate concentrations were essentially not altered by insulin, but were increased by glucagon by 230%. In conclusion, under basic conditions without added hormones the glucose/glucose 6-phosphate cycle showed only a minor net glucose uptake, of 0.03 mumol/min per g of hepatocytes; this flux was increased by insulin to a net glucose uptake of 0.21 mumol/min per g and reversed by glucagon to a net glucose release of 0.22 mumol/min per g. Since the glucose 6-phosphate concentrations after hormone treatment did not correlate with the glucose-6-phosphatase flux, it is suggested that the hormones influenced the enzyme activity directly.     

On the nature of the interaction between 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene 2,2'-disulfonic acid and microsomal glucose-6-phosphatase. Evidence for the involvement of sulfhydryl groups of the phosphohydrolase

The effect of 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene 2,2'-disulfonic acid (DIDS) on microsomal glucose 6-phosphate hydrolysis has been reinvestigated and characterized in order to elucidate the topological and functional properties of the interacting sites of the glucose-6-phosphatase. The studies were performed on microsomal membranes, partially purified and reconstituted glucose-6-phosphatase preparations and show the following. (a) DIDS inhibits activity of the glucose-6-phosphatase of native microsomes as well as the partially purified glucose-6-phosphatase. (b) Inhibition is reversed when the microsomes and the partially purified phosphohydrolase, incorporated into asolectin liposomes, are modified with Triton X-114. (c) Treatment of native microsomes with DIDS and the following purification of glucose-6-phosphatase from these labeled membranes leads to an enzyme preparation which is labeled and inhibited by DIDS. (d) Preincubation of native microsomes or partially purified glucose-6-phosphatase with a 3000-fold excess of glucose 6-phosphate cannot prevent the DIDS-induced inhibition. (e) Inhibition of glucose-6-phosphatase by DIDS is completely prevented when reactive sulfhydryl groups of the phosphohydrolase are blocked by p-mecuribenzoate. (f) Reactivation of enzyme activity is obtained when DIDS-labeled microsomes are incubated with 2-mercaptoethanol or dithiothreitol. Therefore, we conclude that inhibition of microsomal glucose 6-phosphate hydrolysis by DIDS cannot result from binding of this agent to a putative glucose-6-phosphate-carrier protein. Our results rather suggest that inhibition is caused by chemical modification of sulfhydryl groups of the integral phosphohydrolase accessible to DIDS attack itself. An easy interpretation of these results can be obtained on the basis of a modified conformational model representing the glucose-6-phosphatase as an integral channel-protein located within the hydrophobic interior of the microsomal membrane [Schulze et al. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 16,571-16,578].     

Determination of glucose-6-phosphatase activity using the glucose dehydrogenase-coupled reaction

We present a method to determine glucose 6-phosphate activity. This assay measures the rate of glucose released in the glucose-6-phosphatase reaction. The glucose is oxidized to beta-D-gluconolactone by glucose dehydrogenase in a coupled reaction that uses NAD(P)+. The determination is rapid, reproducible, and does not require withdrawal, precipitation, centrifugation, or neutralization steps. This method provides a simple resolution to the problem of the nonspecific appearance of Pi, which is especially important in studies of regulation of glucose-6-phosphatase performed in the presence of ATP.     

Hexose metabolism in pancreatic islets. Insignificance of D-glucose futile cycling in rat islets.

When rat pancreatic islets were incubated in the presence of unlabelled D-glucose (16.7 mM) and 3HOH, the production of 3H-labelled material susceptible to be phosphorylated by yeast hexokinase and then detritiated by yeast phosphoglucoisomerase did not exceed 2.66 +/- 0.21 pmol/islet per 180 min, i.e. about 1% of the rate of exogenous D-[5-3H]glucose utilization. Such a material accounted for 43 +/- 4% of the total radioactivity, associated with tritiated hexose(s). It is proposed, therefore, that the futile cycling of D-glucose in the reactions catalyzed in the islet cells by the hexokinase isoenzymes and glucose-6-phosphatase represents a negligible fraction of the total rate of D-glucose phosphorylation.     

The role of the membrane in the regulation of activity of microsomal glucose-6-phosphatase

The factors regulating glucose-6-phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.9) activity and substrate specificity in hepatic microsomes were studied by determining the rate-limiting reaction for the hydrolysis of glucose-6-P, and by examining the effect of detergent activation on phosphotransferase activity. Examination of the pre-steady state kinetics of glucose-6-phosphatase revealed that the steady state rate is determined by the rate of hydrolysis of the enzyme-P intermediate. Treatment of the enzyme with detergent does not alter the extent of the rapid release of glucose per mg of protein, but activates the steady state rate of catalytic turnover. Specificity of the enzyme was evaluated by comparing the effects of mannose and glucose as phosphate acceptors in the phosphotransferase reaction catalyzed by glucose-6-phosphatase. Untreated glucose-6-phosphatase discriminates against mannose as compared with glucose in that mannose and glucose bind to the enzyme-P intermediate of untreated enzyme, but mannose is not an acceptor of Pi. Mannose is an acceptor, however, after treatment of microsomes with detergent. These data cannot be explained in terms of the currently accepted "compartmentation" model for the regulation of glucose-6-phosphatase. The detergent-induced changes in kinetic properties appear to reflect alterations in the intrinsic characteristics of glucose-6-phosphatase, which could result from interaction with its membrane environment.     

Enzymatic characterization of the pancreatic islet-specific glucose-6-phosphatase-related protein (IGRP)

Glucose is the main physiological stimulus for insulin biosynthesis and secretion by pancreatic beta-cells. Glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) catalyzes the dephosphorylation of glucose-6-phosphate to glucose, an opposite process to glucose utilization. G-6-Pase activity in pancreatic islets could therefore be an important factor in the control of glucose metabolism and, consequently, of glucose-dependent insulin secretion. While G-6-Pase activity has been shown to be present in pancreatic islets, the gene responsible for this activity has not been conclusively identified. A homolog of liver glucose-6-phosphatase (LG-6-Pase) specifically expressed in islets was described earlier; however, the authors could not demonstrate enzymatic activity for this protein. Here we present evidence that the previously identified islet-specific glucose-6-phosphatase-related protein (IGRP) is indeed the major islet glucose-6-phosphatase. IGRP overexpressed in insect cells possesses enzymatic activity comparable to the previously described G-6-Pase activity in islets. The K(m) and V(max) values determined using glucose-6-phosphate as the substrate were 0.45 mm and 32 nmol/mg/min by malachite green assay, and 0.29 mm and 77 nmol/mg/min by glucose oxidase/peroxidase coupling assay, respectively. High-throughput screening of a small molecule library led to the identification of an active compound that specifically inhibits IGRP enzymatic activity. Interestingly, this inhibitor did not affect LG-6-Pase activity, while conversely LG-6-Pase inhibitors did not affect IGRP activity. These data demonstrate that IGRP is likely the authentic islet-specific glucose-6-phosphatase catalytic subunit, and selective inhibitors to this molecule can be obtained. IGRP inhibitors may be an attractive new approach for the treatment of insulin secretion defects in type 2 diabetes.