The regulation of fatty acid synthesis in brown adipose tissue by insulin.
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Purified mitochondria from potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv Bintje) tubers were incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP. Total 32P incorporation into proteins saturated after about 2 min and showed a Km (ATP) of 0.2 mM and a broad pH optimum of 6.5-8. About 30 polypeptides were labelled as shown by SDS-PAGE and autoradiography. The major labelled polypeptides were at 11, 14, 16 22-23, 40, 42 (the alpha-subunit of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex), 45-46, 60, 62, 69, 84-86 and 97 kDa. By the use of atractylate, EGTA and trypsin the major phosphoproteins of 40 and 42 kDa and possibly some minor phosphoproteins in the range 26-33 kDa were localized to the matrix or the inner surface of the inner membrane. All other labelled polypeptides as well as (at least) two kinases (one Ca2(+)-dependent, the other Ca2(+)-independent) are outside the inner membrane.
Dichloroacetate (DCA) activates the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex enhancing carbohydrate and lactate utilization in animals. As a result it is used clinically in the treatment of acute lactic acidosis and has therapeutic potential in the treatment of stroke. Adverse effects of chronic DCA treatment include polyneuropathy and testicular degeneration. Since DCA is a principal product of the aqueous chlorination of fulvic acids concern has arisen regarding the agent's impact on environmental health. We treated male Long-Evans rats with 0, 31.25, 62.5, or 125 mg DCA/kg/day by oral gavage for 10 weeks. Compared to controls, preputial gland and epididymis weights were reduced at 31.25 mg/kg, body and liver weights at 62.5 mg/kg, and accessory organ weights at 125 mg/kg. Epididymal sperm counts were reduced and sperm morphology was impacted at the 62.5 and 125 mg/kg doses levels. Histologic examination of the testis and epididymis revealed inhibited spermiation in testes at the 125 mg/kg dose level. Computer-assisted sperm motion analysis revealed reductions in percentage motile sperm, curvilinear and straight-line velocity, linearity, and amplitude of lateral head displacement at both the 62.5 and the 125 mg/kg dose levels. In the assessment of fertility after an overnight mating, the number of viable implants on Day 14 of gestation was decreased only in the highest dose group. These studies demonstrate adverse effects of NaDCA treatment on the rat male reproductive system, primarily on the accessory organs and sperm within them at lower doses (31.25 and 62.5 mg/kg), and on the testis at the highest dose (125 mg/kg).
Two tumor cell lines (C6 glioma and N1E-115 neuroblastoma), primary glia and primary neurons (from rat) were incubated with 2-13C-pyruvate and 3-13C-pyruvate in culture dishes. 13C NMR spectra of the cell extracts were used to determine the ratio of pyruvate carboxylase to pyruvate dehydrogenase activity. Pyruvate carboxylase activity was found higher in primary glia cells than in neurons. Glial cells synthesized more amino acids, ie, their TCA cycle was used to a larger extent for biosynthesis than is the case of neurons, where it is preferentially used for the energy metabolism.
The effects of dichloroacetate (DCA), an inhibitor of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase, on the phosphorylation of the alpha-subunit of pyruvate dehydrogenase and on the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase (pyruvate:lipoamide oxidoreductase (decarboxylating and acceptor-acetylating), EC 1.2.4.1, PDH) were investigated in rat hippocampal slices. Incubating hippocampal slices with increasing concentrations of DCA resulted in an increase in the active portion of PDH, without changes in the total PDH activity, as well as an increase in the in vitro phosphorylation of alpha-PDH. The effect of DCA on PDH activity was very rapid, being almost maximal after 5 min. These results indicate that DCA in the hippocampal slice preparation inhibits PDH kinase and consequently stimulates PDH activity by decreasing its endogenous state of phosphorylation. Moreover the time-course of the effect of DCA suggests that the turnover rate of the phosphate group carried by alpha-PDH is very rapid and can be manipulated by altering PDH kinase activity.
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Urine and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were collected from 10 healthy male volunteers after ingestion of 120 g ethanol and under similar conditions without ethanol. Dopamine (DA), homovanillic acid (HVA), norepinephrine (NE), 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylglycol (HMPG), 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid (HMMA = VMA), 1-carboxysalsolinol (1-CSAL), salsolinol (SAL) and methylated salsolinol (M-SAL) were analyzed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In CSF collected 6 h after ethanol intake the concentration of NE and its metabolite HMPG were significantly elevated (P less than 0.025 and P less than 0.005, respectively) compared to control conditions. The other compounds analyzed did not change significantly. In urine collected during 10 h after ethanol administration the excretion of HMMA was significantly reduced (P less than 0.01) and the HMPG/HMMA ratio was significantly elevated (P less than 0.005) reflecting a change in the peripheral red-ox state during ethanol oxidation. The excretion of DA and its major metabolite HVA did not change. However, the DA-derived condensation products 1-CSAL (from DA and pyruvate) increased (P less than 0.001), while SAL (from DA and acetaldehyde) decreased (P less than 0.005) after ethanol ingestion compared to the control situation. The increased excretion of 1-CSAL indicated that the ethanol metabolism interferes with the glucose metabolism, probably through an acetaldehyde-mediated inhibition of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex.
Pyruvate dehydrogenase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase are important enzymes in the regulation of muscle pyruvate metabolism and their in vitro measured activities have been studied in muscle from rested and exercised rats. In addition, the muscle concentration of metabolic intermediates associated with pyruvate metabolism has been measured after exercise. Phosphoenolpyruvate concentration was decreased to less than half the value found in rested muscle but pyruvate concentration did not change. This suggests an increase in the in vivo rate of conversion of phosphoenolpyruvate to pyruvate. Concentrations of malate and aspartate increased two- to threefold which suggests that oxaloacetate concentration was also increased. An increase in oxaloacetate availability would increase acetyl CoA metabolism and therefore would increase pyruvate dehydrogenase activity in vivo. The basal activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase measured in vitro increased approximately twofold after 2 hr of exercise and returned to control values 5 min after the cessation of exercise. Total pyruvate dehydrogenase activity (activated to the maximal extent) was not changed by exercise. Muscle PEPCK activity was also increased during exercise suggesting an increased rate of conversion of oxaloacetate to pyruvate to provide net oxidation of oxaloacetate and other citric acid cycle intermediates. Results of this study demonstrate that the rates of formation and metabolism of pyruvate are increased during exercise.
In a 2-year-old boy with Leigh disease, spasticity, dysarthria, and optic atrophy gradually developed. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging disclosed progressive, symmetric basal ganglia lesions. In muscle tissue, a defect of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex was found. Magnetic resonance volume selective proton spectroscopy (MRVS) of the basal ganglia demonstrated an abnormal lactate peak. A ketonemic diet coincided with clinical stabilization and arrest of progressive brain lesions. Lactate could no longer be demonstrated by MRVS. It reappeared with a new brain lesion coinciding with discontinuation of the diet. MRVS, therefore, appears to be a sensitive tool to evaluate pathologic lactate production in metabolic brain disease with disturbed energy metabolism and allows noninvasive therapy monitoring.
The number of autoantibodies associated with chronic liver disease continues to burgeon and characterization of these immunoreactivities will undoubtedly enhance understanding of the autoantigens that are targeted by cytodestructive immunocytes. Assays for the majority of these immunoserological species are not generally available and in most instances, assessments are restricted to individual laboratories with vested interests in characterizing a particular species. For clinical diagnosis and management of autoimmune liver disease, assays for ANA, SMA, anti-LKM1 and AMA are essential. This conventional armamentarium, however, must be upgraded on a regular basis to ensure availability and application of the most useful assays. Unfortunately, there are no formal mechanisms for improving the diagnostic resources and standardizing testing strategies. An important first step must be taken by the basic laboratories that advocate individual assay systems. These facilities must share methodologies and exchange serum samples so that the most clinically pertinent and cost-effective immunoserological batteries can be defined and promulgated. Industry can then respond to need and facilitate the commercialization of assays for general use. Currently, the assays that warrant dissemination are those that detect antibodies to the E2 subunits of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and antibodies to asialoglycoprotein receptor. Both assays have high diagnostic specificity and each reflects reactivity to an important target autoantigen of probable pathogenic importance. Each autoantibody species can supplant conventional assays such as those for AMA and ANA and they each may impart useful clinical information. In the case of antibodies to the E2 subunits, titres may reflect histological progression of PBC. In the case of anti-ASGPR, disappearance of the autoantibodies in patients with autoimmune hepatitis may secure a confident treatment end-point. Great progress has been made in defining the immunoserological manifestations of chronic liver disease but little has been done to distribute the resources.
It is of interest to calculate equilibrium compositions of systems of biochemical reactions at specified concentrations of coenzymes because these reactants tend to be in steady states. Thermodynamic calculations under these conditions require the definition of a further transformed Gibbs energy G" by use of a Legendre transform. These calculations are applied to the pyruvate dehydrogenase reaction plus the citric acid cycle, but steady-state concentrations of CoA, acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA cannot be specified because they are involved in the conservation of carbon atoms. These calculations require the use of linear algebra to obtain further transformed Gibbs energies of formation of reactants and computer programs to calculate equilibrium compositions. At specified temperature, pH, ionic strength and specified concentrations of several coenzymes, the equilibrium composition depends on the specified concentrations of the coenzymes and the initial amounts of reactants.
Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase isoenzyme 4 (PDK4) cDNA was cloned from the brain of greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum). The deduced amino acid sequence shares strong homology with these PDK4 of other mammals. Moreover, we partially cloned homologues of dual-specificity tyrosine-phosphorylated and regulated protein kinase 1A (DYRK1A), and forkhead box protein O1A (FOXO1A) from greater horseshoe bat. Among five different tissues tested, PDK4 mRNA was highly expressed in the heart, white adipose tissue and muscle, but weakly expressed in the brain and liver, while DYRK1A and FOXO1A were expressed in all five tissues. Moreover, the transcript levels of PDK4, DYRK1A, and FOXO1A were measured in the heart, white adipose tissue and muscle of hibernating and arousal greater horseshoe bats by Northern blot and real time PCR. The results showed that transcript level of PDK4 was significantly higher in white adipose tissue. Expression level of DYRK1A was significantly higher in hibernating state in white adipose tissue, and expression level of FOXO1A was significantly higher in muscle in aroused state. These results suggest that up-regulation of the transcript levels of PDK4 during hibernation were not regulated via DYRK1A and FOXO1A in white adipose tissue and muscle, and the possible presence of another isoenzyme of PDK which is responsible for the tissue-specific regulation of Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) activity in the bat heart during hibernation.
Thiamine (Vitamin B1) deficiency (TD) leads to memory deficits and neurological disease in animals and humans. The thiamine-dependent enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle are reduced following TD and in the brains of patients that died from multiple neurodegenerative diseases. Whether reductions in thiamine or thiamine-dependent enzymes leads to changes in all TCA cycle enzymes has never been tested. In the current studies, the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC) and all of enzymes of the TCA cycle were measured in the brains of TD mice. Non-thiamine-dependent enzymes such as succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), succinate thiokinase (STH) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) were altered as much or more than thiamine-dependent enzymes such as the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (KGDHC) (-21.5%) and PDHC (-10.5%). Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity decreased by 27% and succinate thiokinase (STH) decreased by 24%. The reductions in these other enzymes may result from oxidative stress because of TD or because these other enzymes of the TCA cycle are part of a metabolon that respond as a group of enzymes. The results suggest that other TCA cycle enzymes should be measured in brains from patients that died from neurological disease in which thiamine-dependent enzymes are known to be reduced. The diminished activities of multiple TCA cycle enzymes may be important in our understanding of how metabolic lesions alter brain function in neurodegenerative disorders.
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Apicomplexan parasites contain a vestigial plastid called apicoplast which has been suggested to be a site of [Fe-S] cluster biogenesis. Here we report the cloning of lipoic acid synthase (LipA) from Toxoplasma gondii, a well known [Fe-S] protein. It is able to complement a LipA-deficient Escherichia coli strain, clearly demonstrating that the parasite protein is a functional LipA. The N-terminus of T. gondii LipA is unusual with respect to an internal signal peptide preceding an apicoplast targeting domain. Nevertheless, it efficiently targets a reporter protein to the apicoplast of T. gondii whereas co-localization with the fluorescently labeled mitochondrion was not detected. In silico analysis of several apicomplexan genomes indicates that the parasites, in addition to the presumably apicoplast-resident pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, contain three other mitochondrion-localized target proteins for lipoic acid attachment. We also identified single genes for lipoyl (octanoyl)-acyl carrier protein:protein transferase (LipB) and lipoate protein ligase (LplA) in these genomes. It thus appears that unlike plants, which have only two LipA and LipB isoenzymes in both the chloroplasts and the mitochondria, Apicomplexa seem to use the second known lipoylating activity, LplA, for lipoylation in their mitochondrion.
UNLABELLED: Impaired myocardial metabolism after cardioplegic arrest results in persistent anaerobic lactate production. Insulin may protect the heart from ischemia and reperfusion by enhancing myocardial metabolic recovery. However, the stimulation of glycolysis during ischemia may be detrimental because of an accumulation of metabolic end-products. We examined the effect of insulin on quiescent human ventricular cardiomyocytes subjected to simulated cardioplegic ischemia and reperfusion. METHODS: Primary cardiomyocyte cultures were established from patients undergoing corrective repair of tetralogy of Fallot. Cells were exposed to varying concentrations of glucose and insulin during 30 minutes of stabilization in 10 mL of phosphate-buffered saline solution. Ischemia was simulated by exposing the cells to a low volume (1.5 mL) of deoxygenated phosphate-buffered saline solution for 90 minutes followed by 30 minutes of simulated reperfusion in 10 mL of normoxic phosphate-buffered saline solution. Cell viability was assessed by trypan blue exclusion. The activity of mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase was measured in 3 states: stabilization, ischemia, and reperfusion. In addition intracellular lactate, adenine nucleotides, extracellular lactate, pyruvate, and acid release were measured. RESULTS: Higher ambient glucose concentrations resulted in greater cellular injury although insulin-treated cells displayed less injury after ischemia and reperfusion. Insulin increased the pyruvate dehydrogenase activity by 31% in cardiomyocytes and reduced extracellular lactate production by 40%. Intracellular adenosine triphosphate was improved by 75% in cells exposed to high glucose concentrations in the presence of insulin. CONCLUSIONS: Insulin protected human ventricular cardiomyocytes from ischemia and reperfusion. This protection may be due to a stimulation of pyruvate dehydrogenase activity which resulted in improved aerobic metabolism.
Glucose metabolism in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is characterized by substantial lactate production even in fully oxygenated conditions. Insulin and metformin, an insulin-sensitizing agent, have direct effects on the vascular tissue metabolism. We investigated whether insulin or metformin can induce a switch in VSMC glucose metabolism from lactate production to pyruvate oxidation, by measuring lactate oxidation as determined by the conversion of [1-14C]-D,L-lactate to [1-14C]-pyruvate and subsequent oxidation to acetyl coenzyme A and 14CO2 by pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH). Lactate oxidation was measured in control rat aortic cultured VSMCs incubated for 30 minutes in media with and without additional glucose compared with VSMCs cultured in the presence of insulin or metformin. The addition of glucose to VSMCs decreased lactate oxidation (4.6+/-1.7 v 9.6+/-2.4 pmol/cell/min, P < .001). In the absence of additional glucose, metformin decreased lactate oxidation in VSMCs compared with controls (4.9+/-1.4 v 9.6+/-2.4 pmol/cell/min, P < .01). Metformin in the presence of glucose caused the greatest decline in lactate oxidation (2.5+/-0.4 pmol/cell/min, P < .001). In contrast to the effects of metformin, insulin increased lactate oxidation both with (12.9+/-1.5 pmol/cell/min, P < .001) and without (17.9+/-4.4, P < .01) additional glucose. This suggests that insulin facilitates VSMC utilization of lactate as a source of pyruvate and energy production even during noncontractile periods.
Differential 'fuel usage' has been proposed as a mechanism for life-span extension by caloric restriction (CR). Here, we report the effects of CR, initiated after weaning, on metabolic enzyme gene expression 0, 1.5, 5, and 12 h after feeding of 24-month-old mice. Plasma glucose and insulin were reduced by approximately 20 and 80%. Therefore, apparent insulin sensitivity, as judged by the glucose to insulin ratio, increased 3.3-fold in CR mice. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase mRNA and activity were transiently reduced 1.5 h after feeding, but were 20-100% higher in CR mice at other times. Glucose-6-phosphatase mRNA was induced in CR mice and repressed in control mice before, and for 5 h following feeding. Feeding transiently induced glucokinase mRNA fourfold in control mice, but only slightly in CR mice. Pyruvate kinase and pyruvate dehydrogenase activities were reduced approximately 50% in CR mice at most times. Feeding induced glutaminase mRNA, and carbamyl phosphate synthetase I and glutamine synthase activity (and mRNA). They were each approximately twofold or higher in CR mice. These results indicate that in mice, CR maintains higher rates of gluconeogenesis and protein catabolism, even in the hours after feeding. The data are consistent with the idea that CR continuously promotes the turnover and replacement of extrahepatic proteins.