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Pyruvate-enhanced phosphorylation potential and inotropism in normoxic and postischemic isolated working heart. Near-complete prevention of reperfusion contractile failure.

Bioenergetic and hemodynamic consequences of cellular redox manipulations by 0.2-20 mM pyruvate were compared with those due to adrenergic stress (0.7-1.1 microM norepinephrine) using isolated working guinea-pig hearts under the conditions of normoxia, low-flow ischemia, and reperfusion. 5 mM glucose (+ 5 U/l insulin) + 5 mM lactate were the basal energy-yielding substrates. To stabilize left ventricular enddiastolic pressure, ventricular filling pressure was held at 12 cmH2O under all conditions; this preload control minimized Frank-Starling effects on ventricular inotropism. Global low-flow ischemia was induced by reducing aortic pressure to levels (20-10 cmH2O) below the coronary autoregulatory reserve. Reactants of the creatine kinase, including H+ and other key metabolites, were measured by enzymatic, HPLC, and polarographic techniques. In normoxic hearts, norepinephrine stimulations of inotropism, heart rate x pressure product, and oxygen consumption (MVO2) were associated with a fall in the cytosolic phosphorylation potential [( ATP]/[( ADP].[Pi]] as judged by the creatine kinase equilibrium. In contrast, infusion of excess pyruvate (5 mM) markedly increased [ATP]/[( ADP].[Pi]) and ventricular work output, while intracellular phosphate decreased; MVO2 remained constant under the same conditions. During reperfusion following ischemia, pyruvate effected striking and concentration-dependent increases in MVO2, phosphorylation potential, and inotropism. Pyruvate dehydrogenase flux was augmented during reperfusion hyperemia followed by near-complete recoveries of [ATP]/([ADP].[Pi]), contractile force, heart rate x pressure product, and MVO2 in the presence of 5-10 mM pyruvate. Pyruvate also attenuated ischemic adenylate degradation. Omission of glucose from the perfusion medium rendered pyruvate ineffective in postischemic hearts. Similarly, excess lactate (5-15 mM) or acetate (5 mM) failed to reenergize reperfused hearts and severe depressions of MVO2 and inotropism developed despite the presence of glucose. Apparently, subcellular redox manipulations by pyruvate dissociated stimulated mitochondrial respiration and increased inotropism from low cytosolic phosphorylation potentials. This was evidence against the extramitochondrial [ADP].[Pi]/[ATP] ratio being the primary factor in the control of mitochondrial respiration. The mechanism of pyruvate enhancement of inotropism during normoxia and reperfusion is probably multifactorial. Thermodynamic effects on subcellular [NADH]/[NAD+] ratios are coupled with a rise in the cytosolic [ATP]/[( ADP].[Pi]) ratio at constant (normoxia) or increased (reperfusion) MVO2.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Acetates↗

Effect of carbonic anhydrase inhibition and acetoacetate on anaplerotic pyruvate carboxylase activity in cultured rat astrocytes.

In peripheral tissues, carbonic anhydrase (CA) inhibition secondarily decreases the anaplerotic activity of pyruvate carboxylase activity leading to a decline in citric acid cycle intermediates and glutamate. In view of the important role of pyruvate carboxylase in the brain, we examined the effects of CA inhibition on pyruvate-carboxylase-mediated [14C]CO2 fixation in cultured astrocytes from postnatal rat brains. Incubation with H[14C]O3 led to radiolabeling of metabolites found both in the cells and in the medium. These were separated by ion exchange chromatography for identification. Ethoxyzolamide (ETZ), a sulfonamide CA inhibitor (SCAI) with a heterocyclic side group, caused a 43-73% decrease in cell lysate [alpha-ketoglutarate] and 14C incorporation into major products of pyruvate carboxylation in the cell lysates and cell medium (i.e., released products). Half-maximal inhibition of [14C]CO2 fixation was observed between 1 and 3 x 10(7) M. This is similar to the IC50 value for ETZ inhibition of events in other cells that are thought to be mediated by CA. Inhibition was also observed with trifluormethanesulfonamide, an aliphatic SCAI, providing further evidence that this effect is mediated by CA. Western blot analysis using isozyme-specific antisera indicated that astrocytes contain CA II, a cytosolic isozyme, but CA III, CA IV and CA V could not be detected. This finding is unusual since the effects of SCAIs on pyruvate carboxylation in other tissues have been attributed to inhibition of the intramitochondrial isozyme. CA V. [14C]CO2 fixation was also decreased by lowering media [pyruvate] or by addition of 5 mM acetoacetate. It is hypothesized that SCAIs may inhibit pyruvate carboxylation in astrocytes by limiting the supply of bicarbonate to this enzyme while ketone bodies, by inhibiting glucose oxidation, may limit the supply of pyruvate. Interestingly, both SCAIs and ketogenic diets are used to treat adolescent forms of epilepsy. The possibility that these treatments might ultimately work by affecting anaplerotic pyruvate carboxylase activity in the brain is discussed.

Acetoacetates↗

[Application of a metabolic-pathway-analysis based breeding strategy enhances the production of pyruvate by Torulopsis glabrata].

To further enhance the pyruvate productivity by multi-vitamin auxotrophic yeast Torulopsis glabrata, a breeding strategy aiming at decreasing the activity of pyruvate decarboxylase but increasing the activity of acetyl-CoA synthetase was developed based on analysis of pyruvate-related metabolic pathways. Nitrosoguanidine mutagenized cells of T. glabrata WSH-IP303 were screened for mutants that require acetate for complete growth on glucose minimum medium. A mutant, T. glabrata CCTCC M202019, produced pyruvate 21% higher than that of the parent strain and was genetically stable in flask cultures, was selected as a working strain. To elucidate the metabolic changes that led to the increase of pyruvate production, the activities of enzymes that involved in pyruvate-related metabolic pathways of the mutant and the parent strain were determined. Enzymatic analysis revealed that, compared with the parent strain WSH-IP303, the activity of pyruvate decarboxylase of the mutant strain CCTCC M202019 decreased by roughly 40%, while the activity of acetyl-CoA synthetase of the latter increased by 103.5% or 57.4%, respectively, in the presence or absence of acetate. When 6 g/L sodium acetate was added to the medium, pyruvate production by the mutant strain CCTCC M202019 reached 68.7 g/L at 62 h (yield on glucose, 0.651 g/g) in fermentations performed in a 7-L jar fermentor, indicating the shortage of cytosolic acetyl-CoA resulted from the disruption of pyruvate decarboxylase was properly compensated by the increase of the activity of acetyl-CoA synthetase.

Acetates↗

Pyruvate is a lipid precursor for rat lymphocytes in culture: evidence for a lipid exporting capacity.

Since acetyl-CoA produced through pyruvate dehydrogenase reaction is poorly oxidized by the Krebs cycle in rat lymphocytes, the fate of acetyl units was investigated in these cells. The results presented here show that 24-h cultured lymphocytes actively synthesize lipids from [3-14C]pyruvate. Furthermore, a considerable amount of these lipids have shown to be exported into the culture medium. Experiments with [1-14C] acetate as a lipid precursor showed a close similarity with the rates of incorporation of [3-14C] pyruvate into the same lipid fractions. Treatment of lymphocytes with the mitogen concanavalin A (Con A) markedly enhanced [1-14C] acetate incorporation into a variety of lipids, but the lectin did not affect [3-14C] pyruvate incorporation. The results suggest that lymphocytes convert pyruvate into lipids via the acetyl-CoA pathway and that Con A interferes in lymphocyte lipogenesis but does not seem to affect the pyruvate dehydrogenase reaction. The ability to incorporate pyruvate into certain lipids may have an important role for the rapidly dividing capacity of lymphocytes since the human cancer strain HeLa 155 (a quickly proliferating cell line) also exhibits this feature by converting much more [3-14C] pyruvate into lipids than do lymphocytes. In addition, comparative experiments with lymphocytes, peritoneal macrophages and HeLa cells indicate that pyruvate may provide precursors for cells with active lipid producing and exporting capacities.

Acetates↗

Increased pyruvate flux capacities account for diet-induced increases in gluconeogenesis in vitro.

High-fat (HF) and high-sucrose (SU) diets increase gluconeogenesis. The present study was designed to determine the contributions of pyruvate dehydrogenase, pyruvate carboxylase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), and pyruvate kinase fluxes to this accelerated gluconeogenesis (GNEO) in the absence and presence of fatty acids. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed an HF, SU, or starch (ST) diet for 1 wk, and hepatocytes or mitochondria were isolated. In the absence of palmitate, the tracer estimated rates of GNEO (nmol. min(-1). mg(-1)) were elevated in hepatocytes isolated from SU (32.3 +/- 1.8) and HF (35.4 +/- 1.8) vs. ST (22.8 +/- 1.5). Pyruvate carboxylase and PEPCK flux rates (nmol. min(-1). mg(-1)) were increased in the SU (47.5 +/- 2.2 and 34.8 +/- 1.5) and HF (49.4 +/- 1.8 and 38.2 +/- 1.8) groups compared with the ST group (32.8 +/- 3.2 and 44.3 +/- 2.0). Palmitate (250-1,000 microM) stimulation of these fluxes was not significantly different among groups. Bromopalmitate, an inhibitor of fat oxidation, abolished differences in GNEO, pyruvate carboxylase, and PEPCK fluxes in HF and SU vs. ST. In isolated mitochondria, pyruvate carboxylation and palmitoyl carnitine oxidation were not significantly different among groups. The results of this study suggest that the increased gluconeogenic flux observed with HF and SU diets is associated with an increased pyruvate flux through pyruvate carboxylase and PEPCK. Moreover, the ability of bromopalmitate to normalize gluconeogenic fluxes suggests that endogenous fatty acids contribute to diet-induced increases in GNEO.

Animals↗

Estimates of glycolysis, pyruvate (de)carboxylation, pentose phosphate pathway, and methyl succinate metabolism in incapacitated pancreatic islets.

Pancreatic islets were cultured for 24 h in the presence of 1 mM glucose, which renders islets incapable of responding to glucose with insulin release. These islets were compared to islets maintained at 20 mM glucose for 24 h. Detritiation of [2-3H]glucose and [5-3H]glucose in 1 mM glucose islets was normal, suggesting that glucose transport and phosphorylation and all enzymes of glycolysis were not down-regulated in the incapacitated islets. 14CO2 formation from [U-14C]glucose and [6-14C]glucose was inhibited up to 80% and 14CO2 from methyl succinate was inhibited up to 60%, indicating that down-regulation at (a) mitochondrial site(s) might explain the incapacitated insulin release. 14CO2 formation from [3,4-14C]glucose (which becomes [1-14C]pyruvate) was decreased, indicating that the reaction catalyzed by pyruvate dehydrogenase was down-regulated. This decrease, however, was not as large as the decreases in 14CO2 formation from [U-14C]glucose, [2-14C]glucose (which becomes [2-14C]pyruvate), or [6-14C]glucose (which becomes [3-14C]pyruvate), indicating that other reactions were also down-regulated. 14CO2 formation from [1-14C]glucose was inhibited less than that from [6-14C]glucose in the incapacitated islets (34 vs 54%) and these rates indicated that flux of glucose through the pentose phosphate pathway was increased in the incapacitated islet, such that 29% (0.4 nmol of 1.4 glucose/100 islets/90 min) was metabolized via this pathway in the incapacitated islet but only 3.4% (0.1 of 2.9 nmol glucose/100 islets/90 min) was metabolized via the pentose pathway in the 20 mM glucose islets. With rates of 14CO2 evolved from glucose labeled at C2 and C6 and from methyl succinate labeled at C1 + C4 and C2 + C3 the 14CO2 ratio formula was used to calculate the ratios of carboxylated and decarboxylated pyruvate. Roughly equal amounts of pyruvate entered the citric acid cycle by each route in islets maintained for 24 h at 1, 5, or 20 mM glucose. The results indicate that decarboxylation and carboxylation of pyruvate were about equally suppressed in incapacitated islets and that direct inhibition of reactions of the cycle was unlikely. This is consistent with evidence which indicates that down-regulation of both pyruvate carboxylase and pyruvate dehydrogenase occurs in incapacitated islets, i.e., under long-term conditions that modify amounts of enzymes (MacDonald et al., 1991, J. Biol. Chem. 266, 22392-22397).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Acetates↗

Pyruvate potentiates beta-adrenergic inotropism of stunned guinea-pig myocardium.

UNLABELLED: This study tested the hypotheses that the sensitivity of stunned myocardium to beta-adrenergic stimulation is diminished, and that metabolic intervention with pyruvate can restore beta-adrenergic responsiveness to pre-ischemic levels. Isolated working guinea-pig hearts metabolizing 10 mM glucose were stunned by 45 min of low flow ischemia, and pyruvate and/or isoproterenol treatments were initiated 15 and 30 min after reperfusion, respectively. The dose: response for cardiac power from 0.1-100 nM isoproterenol was significantly shifted to the right in stunned hearts: EC50 (nm) increased from 0.3 +/- 0.06 to 5.2 +/- 1.86. Pyruvate (5 mM) largely restored isoproterenol responsiveness of stunned myocardium, lowering EC50 to 1.1 +/- 0.34 nM. Maximum power was similar in each group. Additional stunned hearts were treated with intermediate (2 nM) or high (30 nM) isoproterenol concentrations with or without pyruvate. Combining treatments produced a significant interaction at the low dose of isoproterenol, increasing cardiac power (mJ x min(-1) x g(-1)) to 149 +/- 20, twice the sum of the individual treatments (2 nM isoproterenol: 34 +/- 11; pyruvate: 33 +/- 8). Cyclic AMP content was unaltered by isoproterenol or pyruvate alone but was increased 41% by the combination. Power was maximized by 30 nM isoproterenol, which tripled cyclic AMP content; pyruvate did not augment these responses, but lessened the isoproterenol-induced decline in cytosolic phosphorylation potential. CONCLUSIONS: Beta-adrenergic inotropism is attenuated in stunned myocardium, although the maximal response is unchanged. Pyruvate potentiated the effects of sub-maximal doses of isoproterenol without depleting cellular energy reserves further, and attenuated energy depletion by high doses of isoproterenol. Pyruvate may allow restoration of contractile performance with lower, energetically less costly doses of beta-adrenergic agents.

Animals↗

The effect of pyruvate on nitrogenase activity in the blue-green alga Anabaena cylindrica.

Exogenous pyruvate added to cultures of the blue-green alga, Anabaena cylindrica stimulated nitrogenase activity (measured by acetylene reduction) only in the dark under low pO2 (0.05 atmospheres). Under aerobic conditions or in the light, stimulation was absent and replaced by an inhibition of activity above 5 mM added pyruvate. The curve of nitrogenase activity versus oxygen concentration had a similar maximal value of ethylene production with, or without added pyruvate, but in the presence of pyruvate this maximum occurred at 0.05 atmospheres O2, whilst in the absence of pyruvate the maximum occurred at 0.10 atmospheres O2. Malate, citrate, alpha-ketoglutarate, glucose and fructose were tested also, but none gave a similar effect to pyruvate. Addition of 14C-pyruvate and autoradiography indicated that exogenous pyruvate is metabolized through the interrupted Krebs cycle. These results are explained in terms of the activity of pyruvate: ferredoxin oxidoreductase and the ATP-induced oxygen sensitivity of nitrogenase.

Acetylene↗

Regulation of C4 photosynthesis: purification and properties of the protein catalyzing ADP-mediated inactivation and Pi-mediated activation of pyruvate,Pi dikinase.

Pyruvate,Pi dikinase regulatory protein (PDRP) has been highly purified from maize leaves, and its role in catalyzing both ADP-mediated inactivation (due to phosphorylation of a threonine residue) and Pi-mediated activation (due to dephosphorylation by phosphorolysis) of pyruvate,Pi dikinase has been confirmed. These reactions account for the dark/light-mediated regulation of pyruvate,Pi dikinase observed in the leaves of C4 plants. During purification to apparent homogeneity the ratio of these two activities remained constant. The molecular weight of the native PDRP was about 180,000 at pH 8.3 and 90,000 at pH 7.5. Its monomeric molecular weight was 45,000. It was confirmed that inactive pyruvate,Pi dikinase free of a phosphate group on a catalytic histidine was the preferred substrate for activation. Michaelis constants for orthophosphate and the above form of active pyruvate,Pi dikinase were determined, as well as the mechanism of inhibition of the PDRP-catalyzed reaction by ATP, ADP, AMP, and PPi. For the inactivation reaction, Km values were 1.2 microM for the active pyruvate,Pi dikinase and 52 microM for ADP. CDP and GDP but not UDP could substitute for ADP. The inactivation reaction is inhibited by inactive pyruvate,Pi dikinase competitively with respect to both active pyruvate,Pi dikinase and ADP. Both the activation and inactivation reactions catalyzed by PDRP have a broad pH optimum between 7.8 and 8.3. The results are discussed in terms of the likely mechanism of dark/light regulation of pyruvate,Pi dikinase in vivo.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

Regulation of pea mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex activity: inhibition of ATP-dependent inactivation.

In contrast to the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) from animal mitochondria, our in situ and in vitro studies indicate that the ATP:ADP ratio has little or no effect in regulating the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex from green pea seedlings. Pyruvate was a competitive inhibitor of ATP-dependent inactivation (Ki = 59 microM), while the PDC had a Km for pyruvate of microM. Thiamine pyrophosphate, the coenzyme for the pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) component of the complex, did not inhibit ATP-dependent inactivation when used alone but it enhanced inhibition by pyruvate. As such, thiamine pyrophosphate was a competitive inhibitor (Ki = 130 nM) of ATP-dependent inactivation. A model is proposed for the pyruvate plus thiamine pyrophosphate inhibition of ATP-dependent inactivation of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in which pyruvate exerts its inhibition of inactivation by altering or protecting the protein substrate from phosphorylation and not by directly inhibiting PDH kinase.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

Decreased activity of the pyruvate translocator and changes in the lipid composition in heart mitochondria from hypothyroid rats.

A study of the transport of pyruvate in heart mitochondria from normal and hypothyroid rats has been carried out. Heart mitochondria from hypothyroid rats translocate pyruvate via the alpha-cyanocinnamate sensitive carrier much more slowly than do mitochondria from normal rats. Kinetic analysis of the pyruvate transport shows that the Vmax of this process is decreased while there is practically no change in the Km values. Neither a decrease in the transmembrane delta pH value nor a decrease in the total number of the pyruvate carrier molecules, titrated with labeled alpha-cyanocinnamate, account for the decreased rate of pyruvate transport. The lower activity of the pyruvate translocator in mitochondria from hypothyroid rats is associated with a parallel decrease of the rate of pyruvate supported oxygen uptake. There is, however, no difference in either the respiratory control ratios or in the ADP/O ratios between these two types of mitochondria. The heart mitochondrial lipid composition is significantly altered in hypothyroid rats. Cardiolipin, particularly, was found to decrease by around 36%. In addition the pattern of fatty acids was found to be altered in mitochondrial membranes from hypothyroid rats. It is suggested that the decreased activity of the pyruvate translocator in heart mitochondria from hypothyroid rats can be ascribed to changes in the lipid environment which surrounds the pyruvate carrier molecule in the mitochondrial membrane.

Animals↗

Age-related changes in the activity of the pyruvate carrier and in the lipid composition in rat-heart mitochondria.

The effect of aging on the activity of the pyruvate translocator and on the lipid composition in rat-heart mitochondria has been investigated. It has been found that the rate of pyruvate transport in mitochondria from aged rats (28 months old) is markedly reduced (38%) as compared with that obtained with mitochondria from young adults rats (4 months old). Kinetic analysis of the pyruvate transport shows that only the Vmax of this process is decreased, while there is no change in the Km values. The age-related decrement in the activity of the pyruvate carrier is not due to a decrease in the transmembrane delta pH value, neither does it depend on a decrease in the total number of the pyruvate carrier molecules, titrated with radioactive alpha-cyanocinnamate. The lower activity of the pyruvate translocator in mitochondria from aged rats is associated to a parallel decrement of the rate of pyruvate-dependent oxygen uptake. There is, however no appreciable difference in either the respiratory control ratios or in the ADP/O ratios between these two types of mitochondrion. The Arrhenius plot characteristics differ for pyruvate transport activity in mitochondria from aged rats as compared with young rats in that the break point of the biphasic plot is shifted to a higher temperature. The heart mitochondrial lipid composition is significantly altered in aged rats. The total cholesterol increases (43%), the phospholipids decrease (15%) and the cholesterol/phospholipid molar ratio increases (68%). Among phospholipids, cardiolipin shows the greatest alteration (28% decrease in aged rats). The lower activity of the pyruvate carrier in mitochondria from aged rats may be ascribed to changes in the lipid domain surrounding the carrier molecule in the membrane.

Aging↗

Human erythrocyte pyruvate kinase. Total purification and evidence for its antigenic identity with L-type enzyme.

Erythrocyte pyruvate kinase (ATP:pyruvate 2-0-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.40) has been purified 40 000 times from human erythrocytes, according to an original method. The whole purification procedure included toluene extraction, ammonium sulphate fractionation, DEAE-Sephadex batchwise chromatography and affinity chromatography on a Dextran Blue-Sepharose column with specific elution by fructose 1,6-diphosphate. The final preparation had specific activity of 290 I.U./mg of proteins and the overall yield was about 30%. Pyruvate kinase showed only one protein band as judged by sodium dodecyl sulphate acrylamide gel electrophoresis. Pure enzyme was injected into rabbits and monospecific antiserum was obtained able to neutralize, per ml, 150 I.U. of erythocyte-type pyruvate kinase as well as of L-type enzyme. L-type and erythrocyte-type pyruvate kinases showed reactions of complete identity when tested in immunodiffusion against anti-erythrocyte type pyruvate kinase sera; in all cases a single precipitation line could be detected. L-type pyruvate kinase when mixed with anti-erythocyte pyruvate kinase serum suppressed all ability of that antiserum to react immunological with erythocyte enzyme. Finally the microcomplement fixation curves using anti-erythrocyte pyruvate kinase serum were identical for erythrocyte and L-type enzymes. From these results it appeared that no antigenic difference between L-type and erythocyte enzyme could be detected. Consequently the most likely hypothesis is that both these enzymes are coded by the same single gene, the slight electrophoretic differences between them being due to post-synthetic tissue-specific changes.

Antigens↗

Plant pyruvate dehydrogenase complex purification, characterization and regulation by metabolites and phosphorylation.

The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex was purified from mitochondria of cauliflower, Brassica oleracea var. botrytis floral buds to a specific activity of 5.4 mumol of NADH/min per mg of protein. The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex required CoASH, NAD+, thiamine pyrophosphate and Mg2+ for the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate. The kinetic analysis of the complex gave a series of parallel lines for all substrates. Product interaction patterns showed that NADH is competitive with NAD+; acetyl-CoA is competitive with CoASH; and NADH and acetyl-CoA uncompetitive with pyruvate. These kinetic patterns suggest a multisite ping-pong mechanism as described by Cleveland ((1973) J. Biol. Chem 248, 8353). The noncompetitive inhibition of NADH versus CoASH, and acetyl-CoASH versus NAD are not predicted by this mechanism. Regulation of the complex was more sensitive to the NADH/NAD+ ratio than acetyl-CoA/CoASH ratio. Hydroxypyruvate and glyoxylate inhibited the complex noncompetitively versus pyruvate. The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex was inactivated and phosphorylated by ATP. The ATP dependent inactivation is believed to be enzyme catalyzed by a pyruvate dehydrogenase complex kinase. However, no evidence was found for a plant pyruvate dehydrogenase complex phosphatase. The results suggest that the cauliflower pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is regulated by a phosphorylation-dephosphorylation mechanism.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Pyruvate regulation of growth and differentiation in primary cultures of rat tracheal epithelial cells.

These studies examined the effect of exogenous pyruvate on the growth and differentiation of primary cell cultures of rat tracheal epithelial cells. The cell cultures were derived from outgrowths of tracheal explants, and require pyruvate for survival and growth in the presence of 10% FBS. In pyruvate-supplemented (2 mM) medium, the number of cells attached to the dish increased rapidly, while exfoliation of cells into the medium as well as formation of cornified envelopes were relatively low. The growth response to pyruvate was concentration-dependent in these cell cultures. In the absence of pyruvate, the extent of terminal differentiation to keratinization gradually increased. This was characterized by a cessation of growth after one week, and an increase in exfoliation until all cells had sloughed from the dish. Accompanying these changes was a marked increase in the formation of cornified envelopes. Cells undergoing DNA synthesis were present throughout 2 weeks of culture in pyruvate-deprived medium, even as the total number of cells was diminishing. Several compounds, including other 2-oxocarboxylic acids, were ineffective growth substitutes for pyruvate. These results indicate that the requirement for pyruvate is quite stringent in these cultures and that one way pyruvate promotes the growth of tracheal epithelial cells is by inhibiting terminal differentiation.

Animals↗

Age-related changes in liver and adipose tissue pyruvate dehydrogenase of genetically obese mice.

Changes of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in liver and epididymal fat pad were examined longitudinally in obese mice (C57BL/6J-ob/ob) and their lean controls as a function of age. Total pyruvate dehydrogenase in liver was expressed on several reference bases because of differences in hepatic cellularity and protein content between obese mice and their age-matched lean controls. When total hepatic pyruvate dehydrogenase was expressed on a protein basis, the enzyme activity was elevated in obese mice older than 28 weeks in age when compared to lean controls of a similar age. However, when expressed on a DNA basis, total pyruvate dehydrogenase activity in livers of obese mice up to 10 weeks in age was increased when compared to the age-matched lean control. The proportion of hepatic pyruvate dehydrogenase in the active form was also augmented significantly in obese mice from 5 to 28 weeks of age. In 18-week-old obese mice, the proportion of total pyruvate dehydrogenase in the active form of adipose tissue was significantly higher than that of the lean controls. When expressed on a DNA basis, total pyruvate dehydrogenase in the fat pad was also increased in obese mice up to 10 weeks in age when compared to age-matched controls. Total pyruvate dehydrogenase activity in the epididymal fat pad was higher in obese mice than the lean controls in animals as old as 32 weeks in age when the enzyme activity was expressed per 100 g body weight. The increase in the active form and total activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase in both liver and epididymal fat pad during the dynamic early phase of obesity would augment the capacity for acetyl-coenzyme A formation necessary in the support of an accelerated lipogenesis and fat deposition.

Adipose Tissue↗

Pyruvate-induced stimulation of nitrogenase activity in Aulosira fertilissima.

The effect of pyruvate on nitrogenase activity in the N2-fixing cyanobacterium Aulosira fertilissima has been studied. Addition of 0.01-1.0 mM concentrations of pyruvate to actively N2-fixing cultures stimulated the enzyme activity in light; the maximum stimulation was observed with 0.3 mM pyruvate. There was no detectable stimulation of nitrogenase activity in the dark. Addition of pyruvate had no effect on the growth rate. DCMU gradually inhibited nitrogenase activity, but supplementation of 0.3 mM pyruvate to such cultures restored normal activity. Furthermore, pyruvate-induced stimulation of nitrogenase activity was found to be stimulated by anaerobic conditions. The inactivation of nitrogenase activity by the addition of O2 was restored by pyruvate. From 14CO2 uptake studies it appears that the alga preferred to take up pyruvate even in the presence of 14CO2. Thus it appears that pyruvate is taken up and metabolized by the alga, which manifests the observed effects.

Carbon Dioxide↗

Effect of pyruvate on glucose metabolism in Clostridium acetobutylicum.

Pyruvate effects on the metabolism of Clostridium acetobutylicum during glucose fermentation were studied. After addition to the culture medium, the pyruvate was rapidly used, provoking several changes in the metabolic pattern of the bacteria. When pyruvate addition occurred early in the fermentation, the glucose utilization decreased and the solventogenic phase was not induced. When pyruvate was added during solventogenesis, glucose consumption was slightly affected and the cells fermented both substrates simultaneously: however, the acidogenic phase started again to the detriment of solvent formation. Usually, during the solvent phase, the cells remetabolized acetic and butyric acids into solvents, but when pyruvate was added, the utilization of acids was stopped and the specific rates of acetate and butyrate formation increased immediately. The acidogenic growth phase was characterized by high levels of acetate and butyrate kinase which dropped during the solvent phase. Addition of pyruvate limited the down shift of these two enzymes and the levels of the activities remained constant during the course of the fermentation. Conversely, the acetoacetate decarboxylase, which is characteristic of the solvent phase, decreased sharply in the presence of pyruvate. The fact that the specific rate of glucose consumption was not decreased by the pyruvate metabolism, a cosubstrate, proves that the phosphoroclastic reaction is not a limiting step. Furthermore, the pyruvate utilization represented a promising approach to obtain useful data on the intracellular compounds implicated in the mechanism for switching from the acidogenic to the solventogenic phase.

Clostridium↗