Comparative metabolic effects of fructose and glucose in human fibroblast cultures

A glucose response element from the S. cerevisiae hexose transporter HXT1 gene is sensitive to glucose in human fibroblasts

Glucose is an essential nutrient, and a regulator of gene expression in eukaryotic cells. Here, a comparative, function-based genomic approach has been used to identify glucose regulatory elements and transduction pathways common to both yeast and mammalian cells. We have isolated a region in the promoter of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae hexose transporter gene HXT1 that conferred glucose sensitivity in yeast, when located upstream of the minimal CYC1 promoter. This element contained binding motifs for Rgt1, a transcriptional modulator involved in the yeast glucose-induction pathway, that were sufficient to elicit glucose responsiveness. The HXT1 regulatory element was then fused to the minimal cytomegalovirus promoter (HXT1-MIN) and inserted into an adenovirus for delivery to human fibroblasts, where it exhibited glucose-dependent transcriptional activation. Glucose action was mimicked by fructose and unrelated to glucose 6-P content, whilst non-metabolizable glucose analogues showed no effect. Activation of AMP kinase by 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide 1-beta-D-ribofuranosanide blocked glucose induction, revealing parallels with the yeast glucose-repressing pathway. In contrast, delivery of Rgt1 to fibroblasts did not modify HXT1-MIN responsiveness. Thus, elements of the S.cerevisiae HXT1 gene conserve glucose regulation in human fibroblasts equivalent to the metabolism-dependent, glucose-repressing pathway in yeast. These data suggest that the instructions carried within gene regulatory elements controlling nutrient regulation of gene expression have been conserved throughout evolution.

An investigation of fructose utilization in Acanthocheilonema viteae

The capacity of Acanthocheilonema viteae to metabolize fructose was investigated in vitro. In common with other filarial species A. viteae oxidized fructose to lactate but its rate of consumption was only 40% of the glucose-containing control value. Fructose was not incorporated into glycogen. Release of 14CO2 from [U-14C]fructose was not detected in the presence of glucose and was about 40% of the glucose-containing value under conditions where fructose was the sole hexose substrate. Fructose consumption and lactate excretion increased in proportion to the external concentration of fructose. However, worm viability was not maintained in fructose over a 120 h in vitro incubation. In the presence of fructose, protein synthesis (measured incorporation of [35S]methionine into acid-insoluble material) was reduced compared to the glucose-containing control group; but was significantly greater than the value obtained under glucose-free conditions.

Glutamine dependency of human skin fibroblasts: modulation by hexoses

The combined effects of carbohydrates and glutamine were investigated in diploid strains of normal human skin fibroblasts cultured for 21 days under eight different culture conditions: hexose-free medium or medium containing D-glucose, D-galactose, or D-fructose, with or without added glutamine. Cell growth, hexose consumption, lactate production, intracellular glycogen content and extracellular amino acid levels were measured every third to fourth day. In the presence of glutamine, cells reached a higher saturation density in fructose medium than in glucose or galactose medium but per cell consumption of fructose and galactose was much less than that of glucose. Consumption of all three carbohydrates per unit cell growth exhibited three distinct phases: Days 1-3, 3-10, and 10-20, respectively. In the absence of glutamine the rate of cell growth was not altered in glucose or galactose medium, but slowed down considerably in fructose medium. Glutamine deprivation also led to changes in hexose consumption. In hexose-free media the cell growth rate at first was very slow, but rose after 2 or 3 weeks of culture. The levels of extracellular nonessential amino acids varied according to medium and growth phase. One of the most exciting findings was that human fibroblasts are able to maintain a slight excess of glutamine in all media not supplemented with glutamine and, more surprisingly, to synthesize it in a medium containing galactose and glutamine.