Einbau von H3-d-glucose während der Oogenese beiApis mellifica L.

Summary The incorporation of tritiated glucose into the ovary of honey bee queens was studied by autoradiography. During the last stages of oogenesis, the synthesis of respectable amounts of glycogen was found in the reticuloplasm of the developing eggs. The follicle epithelium and also the nurse cells only appeared more lightly and transitory labelled at medium stages. An hypothesis was established concerning an antagonism of protein and polysaccharide formation in the cytoplasm corresponding to the rather late occurrence of glycogen in insect oogenesis.     

Dial variations in the levels of blood glucose and hepatopancreatic glycogen in the slug,Laevicaulis alte (Ferussac 1821)

Summary InLaevicaulis alte maximal blood glucose level at 00.00 h alternates with minimal level at 12.00 h of the day, while hepatopancreatic glycogen showed an opposite trend. Variations in blood glucose levels are inversely proportional to the corresponding variations in hepatopancreatic glycogen content, while blood glucose level shoots up to a maximum, hepatopancreatic glycogen declines to a minimum and vice versa.Acknowledgment. The authors thank Prof. K.S. Swami for providing facilities. The financial assistance rendered by ICMR (DCR), UGC (VJ) and CSIR (KS), New Delhi, India is gratefully acknowledged.     

Interaction of mitochondrial porin with cytosolic proteins.

Intracellular phosphorylation is an important step in active uptake and utilization of carbohydrates. For example glucose and glycerol enter the liver cell along the extra intracellular gradient by facilitated diffusion through specific carriers and are concentrated inside the cell by phosphorylation via hexokinase or glycerol kinase. Depending on the function of the respective tissue the uptake of carbohydrates serves different metabolic purposes. In brain and kidney medulla cells which depend on carbohydrates, glucose and glycerol are taken up according to the energy demand. However, in tissues such as muscle which synthesize glycogen or like liver which additionally produce fat from glucose, the uptake of carbohydrates has to be regulated according to the availability of glucose and glycerol. How the reversible coupling of the kinases to the outer membrane pore and the mitochondrial ATP serves to fulfil these specific requirements will be explained as well as how this regulates the carbohydrate uptake in brain according to the activity of the oxidative phosphorylation and how this allows glucose uptake in liver and muscle to persist in the presence of high glucose 6-phosphate without activating the rate of glycolysis.     

Insulin action in cultured human skeletal muscle cells during differentiation: assessment of cell surface GLUT4 and GLUT1 content

In mature human skeletal muscle, insulin-stimulated glucose transport is mediated primarily via the GLUT4 glucose transporter. However, in contrast to mature skeletal muscle, cultured muscle expresses significant levels of the GLUT1 glucose transporter. To assess the relative contribution of these two glucose transporters, we used a novel photolabelling techniques to assess the cell surface abundance of GLUT1 and GLUT4 specifically in primary cultures of human skeletal muscle. We demonstrate that insulin-stimulated glucose transport in cultured human skeletal muscle is mediated by GLUT4, as no effect on GLUT1 appearance at the plasma membrane was noted. Furthermore, GLUT4 mRNA and protein increased twofold (p < 0.05), after differentiation, whereas GLUT1 mRNA and protein decreased 55% (p < 0.005). Incubation of differentiated human skeletal muscle cells with a non-peptide insulin mimetic significantly (p < 0.05) increased glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis. Thus, cultured myotubes are a useful tool to facilitate biological and molecular validation of novel pharmacological agents aimed to improve glucose metabolism in skeletal muscle.     

Interaction of mitochondrial porin with cytosolic proteins

Summary Intracellular phosphorylation is an important step in active uptake and utilization of carbohydrates. For example glucose and glycerol enter the liver, cell along the extra intracellular gradient by facilitated diffusion through specific carriers and are concentrated inside the cell by phosphorylation via hexokinase or glycerol kinase. Depending on the function of the respective tissue the uptake of carbohydrates serves different metabolic purposes. In brain and kidney medulla cells which depend on carbohydrates, glucose and glycerol are taken up according to the energy demand. However, in tissues such as muscle which synthesize glycogen or like liver which additionally produce fat from glucose, the uptake of carbohydrates has to be regulated according to the availability of glucose and glycerol. How the reversible coupling of the kinases to the outer membrane pore and the mitochondrial ATP serves to fulfil these specific requirements will be explained as well as how this regulates the carbohydrate uptake in brain according to the activity of the oxidative phosphorylation and how this allows glucose uptake in liver, and muscle to persist in the presence of high glucose 6-phosphate without activating the rate of glycolysis.     

Effect of hypoxia on glycolysis in isolated fetal rat heart]

Glycolysis was assessed in the isolated foetal Rat in hypoxia. Measurements were made of glucose uptake, lactate output, C14 glucose incorporation into glycogen and tissular levels of ATP, PCr, glycogen and lactate. Glycolysis was stimulated by hypoxia to a greater extent in the young foetal heart of 16.5 days post coitum than in the foetal heart at term. Thus high energy phosphates were maintained at a higher level in the younger heart. The results are discussed in relation to the high resistance to hypoxia of the foetal heart.     

Über die Wirkung blutzuckersenkender Sulfonylharnstoffe auf das isolierte Rattenzwerchfell

Summary The action of blood sugar depressing sulfonylureas on glucose and oxygen uptake, as well as on glycogen content and formation of C¹⁴O₂ from uniformly labelled C¹⁴-glucose was investigated in rat hemidiaphragms incubated in phosphate buffer. The following results were obtained: (1) Tolbutamide and Carbutamide increased the glucose uptake. (2) Tolbutamide decreased the glycogen-content. (3) Oxygen uptake as well as formation of C¹⁴O₂ were increased by Tolbutamide. (4) The action of Tolbutamide and insuline was equal with respect to glucose uptake but different as regarding the glycogen content, oxygen uptake and CO₂-formation.It is concluded that sulfonylureas increase glucose oxidation in the rat hemidiaphragm probably without increasing insulin sensitivity. To our knowledge this mechanism of action has hitherto not been described.     

Possible involvement of indolamines in the glycogenic effect of the convulsant methionine sulfoximine in rat brain.

The aim of the present investigation was to look for the mechanisms causing disturbances in carbohydrate metabolism during the action of the epileptogenic agent methionine sulfoximine. The levels of glucose, glycogen, and indolamines were measured in seven different regions of rat brain. Methionine sulfoximine induced a decrease in serotonin level which was roughly dose-dependent. There were no obvious changes in tryptophan and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic levels in any area. Methionine sulfoximine induced the known increase in glucose and glycogen levels. The direct precursor of serotonin. 5-hydroxytryptophan, and benserazide (a decarboxylase inhibitor) were then injected into rats in association with methionine sulfoximine. In this case, methionine sulfoximine failed to induce seizures. Moreover, the serotonin level was unchanged and the carbohydrate content did not significantly increase. There was only a rise in 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid level. This work shows a striking parallelism between serotonin decrease and glycogen increase.     

Post-transcriptional gene silencing of ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 restores insulin action in leucine-treated skeletal muscle

Excessive nutrients, especially amino acids, impair insulin action on glucose metabolism in skeletal muscle. We tested the hypothesis that the branched-chain amino acid leucine reduces acute insulin action in primary myotubes via a negative feedback mechanism involving ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 (S6K1). The effect of S6K1 on glucose metabolism was determined by applying RNA interference (siRNA). Leucine (5 mM) reduced glucose uptake and incorporation to glycogen by 13% and 22%, respectively, compared to the scramble siRNA-transfected control at the basal level. Leucine also reduced insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation, glucose uptake and glucose incorporation to glycogen (39%, 39% and 37%, respectively), and this reduction was restored after S6K1 silencing. Depletion of S6K1 enhanced basal glucose utilization and protected against the development of impaired insulin action, in response to excessive leucine. In conclusion, S6K1 plays an important role in the regulation of insulin action on glucose metabolism in skeletal muscle. Received 22 December 2008; received after revision 19 February 2009; accepted 23 February 2009     

Possible involvement of indolamines in the glycogenic effect of the convulsant methionine sulfoximine in rat brain

Summary The aim of the present investigation was to look for the mechanisms causing disturbances in carbohydrate metabolism during the action of the epileptogenic agent methionine sulfoximine The levels of glucose, glycogen, and indolamines were measured in seven different regions of rat brain. Methionine sulfoximine induced a decrease in serotonin level which was roughly dose-dependent. There were no obvious, changes in tryptophan and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic levels in any area. Methionine sulfoximine induced the known increase in glucose and glycogen levels. The direct precursor of serotonin, 5-hydroxytryptophan, and benserazide (a decarboxylase inhibitor) were then injected into rats in association with methionine sulfoximine. In this case, methionine sulfoximine failed to induce seizures. Moreover, the serotonin level was unchanged and the carbohydrate content did not significantly increase. There was only a rise in 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid level. This work shows a striking parallelism between serotonin decrease and glycogen increase.     

Effect of organophosphate pesticide Sumithion (Fenitrothion) on some aspects of carbohydrate metabolism in a freshwater fish,Sarotherodon (Tilapia)mossambicus (Peters)

Summary A lethal (Lc₅₀/48 h — 6 mg/l) concentration of the organophosphate (OP) pesticide Sumithion increased blood glucose levels and phosphorylase activity, but hepatic glycogen registered a fall which indicated that the observed hyperglycemia was due to breakdown of hepatic glycogen.This work was supported by UGC grant to R.R.     

Effect of organophosphate pesticide Sumithion (Fenitrothion) on some aspects of carbohydrate metabolism in a freshwater fish, Sarotherodon (Tilapia) mossambicus (Peters)

A lethal (Lc50/48 h - 6 mg/l) concentration of the organophosphate (OP) pesticide Sumithion increased blood glucose levels and phosphorylase activity, but hepatic glycogen registered a fall which indicated that the observed hyperglycemia was due to breakdown of hepatic glycogen.     

High glucose-induced enzyme activity changes in cultured cell lines established from the kidneys of Chinese hamsters with aglycosuria or spontaneous glycosuria

Summary Chinese hamster kidney epithelial-like cells derived from highly inbred nondiabetic (AV) and diabetic (XA) genetic sublines were passaged in medium containing 100 or 400 mg/dl glucose. The effect of high medium glucose on the activities of 5 enzymes involved in glucose metabolism was followed and significant glucose-dependent difference was observed. The effects, however, were opposite in cells derived fromAV andXA sublines.     

Phosphorylase activity of human placenta perfused in vitro: effect of gonadotropins, dibutyryl cyclic AMP and prostaglandins]

The gonadotropic hormones stimulate the glycogen phosphorylase activity of human full-term placenta perfused in vitro. This effect is reproduced by dibutyryl cAMP and PG F2alpha and accompanied by an increased glucose liberation in the perfusion fluid.     

Glykogenbildung nach Thymektomie

Summary (1) No differences were found in the glycogen contents in liver, heart, and various other muscles between thymectomized and normal rats.(2) There are likewise no differences in glycogen synthesis in the diaphragm in the presence of glucose, alone and with insulin, between thymectomized and normal rats.(3) The weight of adrenal glands, absolute as well as in relation to the body-weight, shows no difference too between thymectomized and normal rats.     

Myocardial function and energy metabolism in carnitine-deficient rats

Carnitine is essential for mitochondrial metabolism of long-chain fatty acids and thus for myocardial energy production. Accordingly, carnitine deficiency can be associated with cardiomyopathy. To better understand this disease, we determined myocardial function and energy metabolism in a rat model of carnitine deficiency. Carnitine deficiency was induced by a 3- or 6-week diet containing N-trimethyl-hydrazine-3-propionate, reducing cardiac and plasma carnitine by 70-85%. Myocardial function was investigated in isolated isovolumic heart preparations. Carnitine-deficient hearts showed left ventricular systolic dysfunction, reduced contractile reserve, and a blunted frequency-force relationship independently of the substrate used (glucose or palmitate). After glycogen depletion, palmitate could not sustain myocardial function. Histology and activities of carnitine palmitoyl transferase, citrate synthase, and cytochrome c oxidase were unaltered. Thus, as little as 3-6 weeks of systemic carnitine deficiency can lead to abnormalities in myocardial function. These abnormalities are masked by endogenous glycogen and are not accompanied by structural alterations of the myocardium or by altered activities of important mitochondrial enzymes.     

Aeromonas caviae: ecologic adaptation in the intestinal tract of infants coupled to adherence and enterotoxin production as factors in enteropathogenicity

Aeromonas caviae isolated from stools of diarrheic formula-fed infants and environmental sources produce acetic acid when grown in glucose broth, which is bactericidal (suicide phenomenon). A. caviae grows anaerobically in a minimal medium or under permissive conditions such as the intestinal tract of formula-fed infants. These isolates adhered to HEp-2 cells and produced a cytotoxic and a cytotonic enterotoxin which underscore their enteropathogenicity.     

Stimulation of G-6-P independent glycogen synthase activity in the human placenta]

In immature human placentas, the activity of the I (glucose-6-phosphate-independent) form of glycogen synthase is significantly increased by insulin, glucose and by both compounds associated. In full-term placentas, the same kind of results has been found in each organ studied; due to the great variability observed in synthetase I control activities, the stimulation is significant only in the presence of insulin.     

Influence of oral glucose feeding on endotoxin lethality in mice

Summary Prolonged feeding of physiological solutions of glucose (5%) by gavage did not protect against either endotoxin death or liver glycogen depletion in mice.Supported by grants from the INSERM (CL 76.5.001.4), the CNRS (03 7860) and the DGRST. Thanks are due to M. Philippe for technical assistance.Maitre de Recherche au CNRS, to whom all correspondance should be addressed.