Charges of nicotinamide adenine nucleotides and adenylate energy charge as regulatory parameters of the metabolism in Escherichia coli.

Methods for measurements of catabolic reduction charge (defined as NADH/(NADH+NAD+)) and anabolic reduction charge (defined as NADPH/(NADPH + NADP+)) are described using [14C]nicotinamide labeling of Escherichia coli cultures. Together with these parameters the adenylate energy charge (ATP + 1/2ADP)/(ATP + ADP + AMP) was measured using labeling with [2-3H]adenine. These three charges were found under different exponential growth conditions to have values independent of the growth conditions: catabolic reduction charge, 0.05; anabolic reduction charge, 0.45; and adenylate energy charge, 0.9. The charges were examined during interruption of growth primarily affecting catabolism, respiration, or anabolism, leading to changes of the charges. The changes of charges are evaluated as a possible regulation of the metabolic rates utilizing or producing the nucleotides by their respective charges.     

Structural basis of AMPK regulation by adenine nucleotides and glycogen

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a central cellular energy sensor and regulator of energy homeostasis, and a promising drug target for the treatment of diabetes, obesity, and cancer. Here we present low-resolution crystal structures of the human α1β2γ1 holo-AMPK complex bound to its allosteric modulators AMP and the glycogen-mimic cyclodextrin, both in the phosphorylated (4.05 Å) and non-phosphorylated (4.60 Å) state. In addition, we have solved a 2.95 Å structure of the human kinase domain (KD) bound to the adjacent autoinhibitory domain (AID) and have performed extensive biochemical and mutational studies. Together, these studies illustrate an underlying mechanism of allosteric AMPK modulation by AMP and glycogen, whose binding changes the equilibria between alternate AID (AMP) and carbohydrate-binding module (glycogen) interactions.     

Effects of added adenine nucleotides on renal carbohydrate metabolism

1. The regulatory effects that adenine nucleotides are known to exert on enzymes of glycolysis and gluconeogenesis were demonstrated to operate in kidney-cortex slices and in the isolated perfused rat kidney by the addition of exogenous ATP, ADP and AMP to the incubation or perfusion media. 2. Both preparations rapidly converted added ATP into ADP and AMP, and ADP into AMP; added AMP was rapidly dephosphorylated. AMP formed from ATP was dephosphorylated at a lower rate than was added AMP, especially when the initial ATP concentration was high (10mm). Deamination of added AMP occurred more slowly than dephosphorylation of AMP. 3. Gluconeogenesis from lactate or propionate by rat kidney-cortex slices, and from lactate by the isolated perfused rat kidney, was inhibited by the addition of adenine nucleotides to the incubation or perfusion media. In contrast, oxygen consumption and the utilization of propionate or lactate by slices were not significantly affected by added ATP or AMP. 4. The extent and rapidity of onset of the inhibition of renal gluconeogenesis were proportional to the AMP concentration in the medium and the tissue, and were not due to the production of acid or P(i) or the formation of complexes with Mg(2+) ions. 5. Glucose uptake by kidney-cortex slices was stimulated 30-50% by added ATP, but the extra glucose removed was not oxidized to carbon dioxide and did not all appear as lactate. Glucose uptake, but not lactate production, by the isolated perfused kidney was also stimulated by the addition of ATP or AMP. 6. In the presence of either glucose or lactate, ATP and AMP greatly increased the concentrations of C(3) phosphorylated intermediates and fructose 1,6-diphosphate in the kidney. There was a simultaneous rise in the concentration of malate and fall in the concentration of alpha-oxoglutarate. 7. The effects of added adenine nucleotides on renal carbohydrate metabolism seem to be mainly due to an increased concentration of intracellular AMP, which inhibits fructose diphosphatase and deinhibits phosphofructokinase. This conclusion is supported by the accumulation of intermediates of the glycolytic pathway between fructose diphosphate and pyruvate. 8. ATP or ADP (10mm) added to the medium perfusing an isolated rat kidney temporarily increased the renal vascular resistance, greatly diminishing the flow rate of perfusion medium for a period of several minutes.     

Role of free fatty acid receptors in the regulation of energy metabolism

Free fatty acids (FFAs) are energy-generating nutrients that act as signaling molecules in various cellular processes. Several orphan G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that act as FFA receptors (FFARs) have been identified and play important physiological roles in various diseases. FFA ligands are obtained from food sources and metabolites produced during digestion and lipase degradation of triglyceride stores. FFARs can be grouped according to ligand profiles, depending on the length of carbon chains of the FFAs. Medium- and long-chain FFAs activate FFA1/GPR40 and FFA4/GPR120. Short-chain FFAs activate FFA2/GPR43 and FFA3/GPR41. However, only medium-chain FFAs, and not long-chain FFAs, activate GPR84 receptor. A number of pharmacological and physiological studies have shown that these receptors are expressed in various tissues and are primarily involved in energy metabolism. Because an impairment of these processes is a part of the pathology of obesity and type 2 diabetes, FFARs are considered as key therapeutic targets. Here, we reviewed recently published studies on the physiological functions of these receptors, primarily focusing on energy homeostasis.     

The effects of adenine nucleotides on carbohydrate metabolism in pigeon-liver homogenates

1. The effects of added AMP on carbohydrate metabolism were investigated in pigeon-liver homogenates, which can degrade glucose and synthesize it from lactate. Suitable experimental conditions were established for studying such effects, including the addition of P(i) (20mm) to stabilize adenine nucleotides and supplementation with NAD(+) (0.5mm). 2. Lactate increased the rate of oxygen consumption and kept the concentration of ATP high and that of AMP relatively low. 3. Added AMP (1.25-5mm) raised the net rate of carbohydrate removal and inhibited the net formation of glucose from lactate, as well as the incorporation of lactate into glucose. These effects were accompanied by a fall in the concentrations of hexose 6-phosphates and a rise in those of fructose diphosphate and triose phosphates. When the activity of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase was limited experimentally by a low concentration of NAD(+) or when it was blocked by iodoacetate, the accumulations of fructose diphosphate and triose phosphates were large and accounted for most of the carbohydrate degraded in the presence of AMP. 4. AMP also inhibited the conversion of pyruvate into phosphoenolpyruvate. Data on the concentrations of pyruvate, phosphoenolpyruvate and intermediates of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, as well as on isotope distribution, suggest that the effect was due to inhibition of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase. 5. The results indicate that in the homogenates phosphofructokinase and fructose diphosphatase, controlled in their activity by adenine nucleotides and other cell constituents, are enzymes which regulate the direction of carbohydrate metabolism (degradation or synthesis) in the liver. 6. It is suggested that active transport of adenine nucleotides, citrate, Mg(2+), Ca(2+), P(i) and other cell constituents may play a role in regulating the activity of enzymes which are affected by these substances. 7. A procedure is described for generating alkali in a closed manometer vessel, by mixing mercuric oxide and a solution of sodium iodide, for use in a method for measuring the oxygen consumption at physiological bicarbonate concentrations.     

Extracellular adenine nucleotides metabolism in astrocyte cultures from different brain regions

Primary astrocyte cultures from hippocampus, cortex and cerebellum presented different extracellular pattern of adenine nucleotide hydrolysis. The ATP/ADP hydrolysis ratio was 8:1 for hippocampal and cortical astrocytes and 5:1 for cerebellar astrocytes. The AMP hydrolysis in cerebellar astrocytes was seven-fold higher than in cortical or hippocampal cells. No accumulation of extracellular adenosine in all structures studied was observed. Dipyridamol increased significantly inosine levels in the extracellular medium of hippocampal and cortical, but not in cerebellar astrocytes medium. A higher expression of ecto-5′-nucleotidase was identified by RT-PCR in cerebellum. The differences observed may indicate functional heterogeneity of nucleotides in the brain.     

Intracellular regulation of human ClC‐5 by adenine nucleotides

ClC-5, an endosomal Cl⁻/H⁺ antiporter that is mutated in Dent disease, is essential for endosomal acidification and re-uptake of small molecular weight proteins in the renal proximal tubule. Eukaryotic chloride channels (CLCs) contain two cytoplasmic CBS domains, motifs present in different proteins, the function of which is still poorly understood. Structural studies have shown that ClC-5 can bind to ATP at the interface between the CBS domains, but so far the potential functional consequences of nucleotide binding to ClC-5 have not been investigated. Here, we show that the direct application of ATP, ADP and AMP in inside-out patch experiments potentiates the current mediated by ClC-5 with similar affinities. The nucleotides increase the probability of ClC-5 to be in an active, transporting state. The residues Tyr 617 and Asp 727, but not Ser 618, are crucial for the potentiation. These results provide a mechanistic and structural framework for the interpretation of nucleotide regulation of a CLC transporter.     

A theoretical and experimental analysis of bacterial growth in the bladder

A mathematical model of human micturition dynamics and bacterial growth predicts the population growth rate required for a bladder infection to become established in the absence of adhesin-mediated surface growth. Escherichia coli strains isolated from the urinary tract have significantly higher in vitro growth rates in urine than strains isolated from the intestinal flora. The results suggest that, for E. coli isolated from the urinary tract, adhesin-mediated surface growth may not be required for infections to become established and persist. The growth-rate differences observed between urinary tract and intestinal isolates suggests that the ability to survive and efficiently utilize the resources available in urine is an important adaptation for E. coli inhabiting the urinary tract.     

Measurement of adenine nucleotides in plasma

The goal of this study was to identify the most important variables affecting bioluminescent ATP, ADP and AMP measurements in plasma and to develop an assay that takes these variables into account. Blood samples were drawn from conscious dogs. A ‘stop solution’ containing EDTA was prepared, which greatly retarded plasma ATP degradation by chelating Mg⁺² and Ca⁺² that are co‐factors for many ATPases. Stop solution and blood were mixed using a two‐syringe withdrawal system. Samples were centrifuged twice in order to remove red blood cells, and ATP was measured in the supernatant using the firefly luciferase assay. Sample pH was adjusted to the optimal range (7.75–7.95) and Mg²⁺ (necessary for the luciferase reaction) was added back to the sample within the luminometer 2 s prior to luciferase addition. Four assay tubes were prepared for each plasma sample, containing standard additions of 0–15 pmol added ATP, in order to quantify native plasma ATP content. In separate plasma/stop solution samples ADP + ATP was measured after converting ADP to ATP via the pyruvate kinase reaction, and AMP + ADP + ATP was measured after addition of both myokinase and pyruvate kinase. Addition of forskolin and isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX) to the stop solution to inhibit platelets resulted in lower ATP concentrations. Measurement of ATP and haemoglobin from lysed erythrocytes revealed that haemolysis exerts a strong influence on plasma ATP concentration that must be taken into account. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Control of respiration and metabolism in growing Klebsiella aerogenes. The role of adenine nucleotides

1. A rapid-sampling technique was used to obtain perchloric acid extracts of cells growing in a chemostat culture, so that meaningful values for ATP content could be obtained in spite of the fact that the turnover time for the total ATP content was about 1sec. 2. For steady-state growth, it was found that, in a glucose-limited chemostat culture, the ATP/ADP concentration ratio was approximately constant with changes in dissolved-oxygen tensions above the critical value, but fell when the culture was grown under oxygen-limited conditions and was at a minimum in anaerobically grown cultures. The steady-state ATP content was lower in cells growing under nitrogen-limited conditions with glucose in excess than in glucose-limited cells. The steady-state ATP content was independent of growth rate at growth rates over 0.1hr.(-1). 3. When the respiration rate of the cells was stimulated by lowering the oxygen tension the ATP content did not increase, indicating either an increased turnover rate of ATP or a fall in the P/O ratio. The sudden addition of extra glucose or succinate to a glucose-limited culture increased the respiration rate of the cells, but the ATP content quickly returned to the steady-state value after initial perturbations. This control over ATP content is explained in terms of regulation by adenine nucleotides of the catabolism and anabolism of glucose. An exception to this control over ATP content was found when the respiration rate was stimulated by addition of an antifoam.