Expression of the gene encoding glycogen phosphorylase is elevated in diabetic rat skeletal muscle and is regulated by insulin and cyclic AMP

Glucagon regulation of carbohydrate metabolism in rainbow trout: in vivo glucose fluxes and gene expression

Glucagon increases fish glycaemia, but how it affects glucose fluxes in vivo has never been characterized. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that glucagon stimulates hepatic glucose production (rate of appearance, R _a) and inhibits disposal (rate of disposal, R _d) in rainbow trout. Changes in the mRNA abundance of key proteins involved in glycolysis, gluconeogenesis and glycogen breakdown were also monitored. The results show that glucagon increases glycaemia (+38%) by causing a temporary mismatch between R _a and R _d before the two fluxes converge below baseline (-17%). A novel aspect of the regulation of trout gluconeogenesis is also demonstrated: the completely different effects of glucagon on the expression of three Pepck isoforms (stimulation of pck1, inhibition of pck2a and no response of pck2b). Glycogen phosphorylase was modulated differently among tissues, and muscle upregulated pygb and downregulated pygm Glucagon failed to activate the cAMP-dependent protein kinase or FoxO1 signalling cascades. We conclude that trout hyperglycaemia results from the combination of two responses: (i) an increase in R _a glucose induced by the stimulation of gluconeogenesis through transcriptional activation of pck1 (and possibly glycogen phosphorylase), and (ii) a decrease in R _d glucose via inhibition of glycogen synthase and glycolysis. The observed decrease in glucose fluxes after 4 h of glucagon administration may be caused by a counter-regulatory response of insulin, potentially linked to the decrease in pygm transcript abundance. Overall, however, these integrated effects of glucagon only lead to modest changes in glucose fluxes that partly explain why trout seem to be unable to control glycaemia very tightly.

2D DIGE proteomic analysis reveals fasting-induced protein remodeling through organ-specific transcription factor(s) in mice

Overnight fasting is a routine procedure before surgery in clinical settings. Intermittent fasting is the most common diet/fitness trend implemented for weight loss and the treatment of lifestyle‐related diseases. In either setting, the effects not directly related to parameters of interest, either beneficial or harmful, are often ignored. We previously demonstrated differential activation of cellular adaptive responses in 13 atrophied/nonatrophied organs of fasted mice by quantitative PCR analysis of gene expression. Here, we investigated 2‐day fasting‐induced protein remodeling in six major mouse organs (liver, kidney, thymus, spleen, brain, and testis) using two‐dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D DIGE) proteomics as an alternative means to examine systemic adaptive responses. Quantitative analysis of protein expression followed by protein identification using matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization–time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOFMS) revealed that the expression levels of 72, 26, and 14 proteins were significantly up‐ or downregulated in the highly atrophied liver, thymus, and spleen, respectively, and the expression levels of 32 proteins were up‐ or downregulated in the mildly atrophied kidney. Conversely, there were no significant protein expression changes in the nonatrophied organs, brain and testis. Upstream regulator analysis highlighted transcriptional regulation by peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor alpha (PPARα) in the liver and kidney and by tumor protein/suppressor p53 (TP53) in the thymus, spleen, and liver. These results imply of the existence of both common and distinct adaptive responses between major mouse organs, which involve transcriptional regulation of specific protein expression upon short‐term fasting. Our data may be valuable in understanding systemic transcriptional regulation upon fasting in experimental animals.

Unravelling the relationship between the tsetse fly and its obligate symbiont Wigglesworthia: transcriptomic and metabolomic landscapes reveal highly integrated physiological networks

Insects with restricted diets rely on obligate microbes to fulfil nutritional requirements essential for biological function. Tsetse flies, vectors of African trypanosome parasites, feed exclusively on vertebrate blood and harbour the obligate endosymbiont Wigglesworthia glossinidia. Without Wigglesworthia, tsetse are unable to reproduce. These symbionts are sheltered within specialized cells (bacteriocytes) that form the midgut-associated bacteriome organ. To decipher the core functions of this symbiosis essential for tsetse's survival, we performed dual-RNA-seq analysis of the bacteriome, coupled with metabolomic analysis of bacteriome and haemolymph collected from normal and symbiont-cured (sterile) females. Bacteriocytes produce immune regulatory peptidoglycan recognition protein (pgrp-lb) that protects Wigglesworthia, and a multivitamin transporter (smvt) that can aid in nutrient dissemination. Wigglesworthia overexpress a molecular chaperone (GroEL) to augment their translational/transport machinery and biosynthesize an abundance of B vitamins (specifically B₁-, B₂-, B₃- and B₆-associated metabolites) to supplement the host's nutritionally deficient diet. The absence of Wigglesworthia's contributions disrupts multiple metabolic pathways impacting carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism. These disruptions affect the dependent downstream processes of nucleotide biosynthesis and metabolism and biosynthesis of S-adenosyl methionine (SAM), an essential cofactor. This holistic fundamental knowledge of the symbiotic dialogue highlights new biological targets for the development of innovative vector control methods.

Molecular cloning and seasonal expression of oyster glycogen phosphorylase and glycogen synthase genes

To investigate the control at the mRNA level of glycogen metabolism in the cupped oyster Crassostrea gigas, we report in the present paper the cloning and characterization of glycogen phosphorylase and synthase cDNAs (Cg-GPH and Cg-GYS, respectively, transcripts of main enzymes for glycogen use and storage), and their first expression profiles depending on oyster tissues and seasons. A strong expression of both genes was observed in the labial palps and the gonad in accordance with specific cells located in both tissues and ability to store glucose. Cg-GPH expression was also found mainly in muscle suggesting ability to use glycogen as readily available glucose to supply its activity. For seasonal examinations, expression of Cg-GYS and Cg-GPH genes appeared to be regulated according to variation in glycogen content. Relative levels of Cg-GYS transcripts appeared highest in October corresponding to glycogen storage and resting period. Relative levels of Cg-GPH transcripts were highest in May corresponding to mobilization of glycogen needed for germ cell maturation. Expression of both genes would likely be driven by the oyster's reproductive cycle, reflecting the central role of glycogen in energy storage and gametogenic development in C. gigas. Both genes are useful molecular markers in the regulation of glycogen metabolism and reproduction in C. gigas but enzymatic regulation of glycogen phosphorylase and synthase remains to be elucidated.

Characterization of the human skeletal muscle glycogen synthase gene (GYS1) promoter

BACKGROUND

Impaired activation of the human skeletal muscle glycogen synthase by insulin is typical for type 2 diabetic patients. Regulation of glycogen synthase occurs mainly by phosphorylation/dephoshorylation but little is known whether there also is transcriptional regulation. Therefore we studied transcriptional regulation of the human skeletal muscle glycogen synthase gene (GYS1) and evaluated the effects of insulin and forskolin on the promoter activity.

METHODS

Seven promoter fragments were expressed in C2C12 myoblasts and myotubes and in HEK293 cells, and the luciferase assay was used to determine transcriptional activity.

RESULTS

The highest luciferase activity, 350-fold of the promoterless vector, was obtained with nucleotides -692 to +59 in myotubes (P < 0.001), while the nucleotides -250 to +59 provided the highest, 45-fold, activity in the HEK293 cells (P < 0.001). Longer promoter constructs (nucleotides -971, -1707 and -2158 to +59, respectively) had low promoter activity in both cell types. Forskolin treatment for 24 h resulted in approximately 30% decreased promoter activity in myotubes (P < 0.05). Insulin treatment for 0.5-3 h did not increase GYS1 promoter activity; instead the activity was slightly but significantly decreased after 24 h in myotubes (P < 0.005).

CONCLUSIONS

From our results we conclude that basal GYS1 promoter activity is obtained from the first 250 nucleotides of the promoter, while the nucleotides -692 to -544 seem to be responsible for muscle-specific expression, and nucleotides -971 to -692 for negative regulation. In myotubes, the GYS1 promoter was sensitive to negative regulation by forskolin, whereas insulin did not increase GYS1 transcription.

Primary cultures as a model for studying ependymal functions: glycogen metabolism in ependymal cells

Ependymal cells form a single-layered, ciliated epithelium at the interface between the cerebrospinal fluid and the brain parenchyma. Although their morphology has been studied in detail, ependymal functions remain largely speculative. We have established and characterized a previously described cell culture model to investigate ependymal glycogen metabolism. During growth in minimal medium lacking many non-essential amino acids including L-glutamate, but containing glucose at physiological concentration, the cells contained negligible amounts of glycogen (7+/-3 nmol glucosyl residues/mg protein) despite the presence of insulin. However, during a period of 24 h, the cells accumulated glycogen to very high levels after transferal to a medium containing insulin, glucose at a 5-fold higher concentration, and all proteinogenic amino acids except L-asparagine and L-serine (990+/-112 nmol glucosyl residues/mg protein). Omission of insulin resulted in a 50% reduction in glycogen accumulation. Upon glucose deprivation, glycogen was degraded with a half-life of 21 min. The ependymal primary cultures contained 80+/-5 mU glycogen phosphorylase (Pho)/mg protein and stained positively with antibodies raised against this enzyme. Astroglial cultures built up less glycogen and had less Pho activity under identical conditions. Ependymal glycogen was mobilized by noradrenaline and serotonin. Our results indicate that ependymal cells maintain glycogen as a functional energy store, subject to rapid turnover dependent on the availability of energy substrates and the presence of appropriate signal molecules. Thus ependymocytes appear to be active players in the multitude of processes resulting in normal brain function, and ependymal primary cultures are suggested as a suitable model for studying the role of ependymal cells in these processes.

Unbalanced expression of the different subunits of elongation factor 1 in diabetic skeletal muscle

In studies using subtraction cloning to screen for alterations in mRNA expression in skeletal muscle from humans with Type 2 diabetes mellitus and control subjects, one of the most prominent differences was in the mRNA for elongation factor (EF)-1alpha. With Northern blot analysis, EF-1alpha expression was enhanced by 2- to 6-fold in both Types 1 and 2 human diabetics. In contrast, no changes in expression of EF-1beta or -gamma were noted. We observed similar results in animal models of Type 1 diabetes. EF-1alpha expression, but not EF-1beta or -gamma expression, was also enhanced in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, and this effect was reversed by insulin treatment. An increased level of EF-1alpha mRNA was also observed in nonobese diabetic mice. This unbalanced regulation of the expression of the different subunits of EF-1 may contribute to alterations not only in protein synthesis but also in other cellular events observed in the diabetic state.

Reduced glycogen phosphorylase activity in denervated hindlimb muscles of rat is related to muscle atrophy and fibre type

Changes in the activity of muscle glycogen synthase or phosphorylase (GP) may be responsible for the deregulation of glycogen synthesis and storage which occurs in diabetes mellitus. To clarify the relationship between muscle atrophy, fibre type, insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and GP activity during insulin resistance, we used sciatic nerve severance to induce insulin resistance in rat hindlimb muscles and compared the above parameters in muscles with a range of fibre types. Changes were analysed by comparison with the contralateral hindlimb, which bears more weight due to denervation of the opposing limb, as well as the sham-operated and contralateral limb of a separate rat. Denervation caused a decrease in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake by 1 day after denervation and a decline of GP activity after 7 days in all muscles investigated. GP activity decreased by 73% in soleus, 36% in red gastrocnemius, 35% in tibialis and 13% in white gastrocnemius, which was related to the degree of muscle atrophy and inversely related to the overall GP activity in non-denervated muscles. GP activity in muscles of the contralateral limb from the denervated rat did not differ from either hindlimb of the sham-operated rat. We conclude that the fibre-type related reduction in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake of denervated muscle determines the change in its metabolism and it is this metabolic change which determines the mechanism, rate and degree of muscle atrophy, which is directly related to the decline in GP activity.