Influence of insulin and environmental factors on glucose uptake in epididymal fat tissue

Metabolic features of isolated rat lung cells. I. Factors controlling glucose utilization

Isolated rat lung cell suspensions were prepared by collagenase digestion of the lung stroma. These cells were functionally competent as judged, among other criteria, by their constant rates of oxygen uptake and glucose utilization. An important metabolic feature of these cells is that they display very high glycolytic rates. At least 60% of the glucose utilized was converted to lactate, regardless of the glucose concentration in the medium. The state of reduction of the nicotinamide system, as indicated by the lactate-to-pyruvate ratio, was normal, thus indicating that the high glycolytic fluxes are not related to poor oxygenation of the preparation. Utilization of glucose displayed Michaelis-Menten saturation type kinetics with a Vmax of 331 nmol/10(6) cells per h and an apparent Km of 2.4 mM. These values were not affected by the presence of ouabain (0.1 mM), mannoheptulose (5 mM), or insulin (1 mU/ml), whereas phloridzin produced a drastic inhibition of glucose utilzation showing an apparent Ki of 0.4 mM. The substitution of sodium by K+ or Li+ as the predominant cations in the incubation medium does not alter rates of glucose utilization. Optimal pH for glucose utilization was within the physiological range with a more pronounced inhibitory effect at alkaline pH's. The intracellular concentration glucose was found to be low. This finding, in conjunction with a Q10 (27-37 degrees C) for glucose utilization above 2.0 and the differential effects of D- and L-glucose on production, seems to indicate that a stereospecific glucose transport system exists in lung cells. Several findings point to glucose transport into the lung cells as a probable rate-limiting step for its metabolism:1) the activity of the glycolytic enzymes largely exceeded the observed rate of glucose utilization;2) the decrease in enzyme activity during starvation was not accompanied by a decreased glycolytic flux, suggesting that factors other than enzyme activity, perhaps the supply of fuel, are rate limiting in the overall process of glucose breakdown;3) fructose was able to increase lactate production in the presence of saturating concentrations of glucose. These additive effects of glucose and fructose seem to support the point of view that it is not the glycolytic machinery but the supply of fuel which is rate limiting for glucose utilization by isolated rat lung cells.

Measurement of concentrations of metabolites in adipose tissue and effects of insulin, alloxan-diabetes and adrenaline

1. Methods are described for the extraction and assay of ATP, ADP, AMP, glucose 6-phosphate, l-glycerol 3-phosphate and citrate in rat epididymal adipose tissue incubated in vitro for 1hr. At this time of incubation rates of glucose uptake and outputs of glycerol, free fatty acids, lactate and pyruvate were shown to be constant. 2. In fat pads incubated in medium containing glucose (3mg./ml.) and albumin (20mg./ml.) the concentrations (in mmumoles/g. wet wt.) were: ATP, 70; ADP, 36; AMP, 9.0; glucose 6-phosphate, 3.0; l-glycerol 3-phosphate, 3.3; citrate, 8.1. 3. The volume of intracellular water calculated from ([(3)H]water space-[(14)C]sorbitol space), ([(14)C]urea space-inulin space) and (weight loss on drying-[(14)C]sorbitol space) was 1.4ml./100g. wet wt. of tissue. The intracellular volume was not changed by insulin, alloxan-diabetes or adrenaline. 4. When compared in terms of mumoles/ml. of intracellular water the concentration of ATP in adipose tissue was less than in heart and diaphragm muscles. The concentrations of ADP and AMP were greater both in absolute terms and relative to ATP. Insulin, alloxan-diabetes and adrenaline had no significant effects on the concentrations of the adenine nucleotides in adipose tissue. 5. The concentration of glucose 6-phosphate was increased by insulin and lowered by alloxan-diabetes and adrenaline. The concentration of l-glycerol 3-phosphate was increased by insulin, unchanged by alloxan-diabetes and lowered by adrenaline. The concentration of citrate was increased by adrenaline and alloxan-diabetes and unchanged by insulin. 6. The effect of glucose concentration in the medium on rates of glucose uptake in adipose tissue from normal rats and alloxan-diabetic rats was investigated. The K(u) of glucose uptake was 29-44mg./100ml. and the V(max.) was 0.77mg./g. wet wt. of tissue/hr. Insulin increased the V(max.) and alloxan-diabetes diminished it, but neither agent significantly altered the K(u). 7. The significance of these results in relation to control of metabolism of adipose tissue is discussed.

The hydrolysis of phenylalanine methyl ester by bovine thrombin

Thrombin, usually regarded as a trypsin-like enzyme capable of hydrolyzing only esters of the amino acids arginine and lysine, was found to hydrolyze certain other amino acid esters which are considered specific chymotrypsin substrates. L-Phenylalanine methyl ester inhibited the activation of purified bovine prothrombin by autoprothrombin C, Ac-globulin, phospholipid, and calcium. It was subsequently shown that thrombin is capable of hydrolyzing L-phenylalanine methyl ester or L-tyrosine ethyl ester. This activity developed simultaneously with fibrogen clotting activity during activation of purified bovine prothrombin in 25% sodium citrate solutions. Moreover, the activity was closely associated with clotting activity on subsequent chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and Amberlite IRC-50 resin columns. All preparations of bovine thrombin, representing a wide range of purity, which have been examined, exhibited this hydrolyzing activity toward L-phenylalanine methyl ester. Further evidence linking this esterase activity with fibrinogen clotting activity was obtained when both activities were inhibited by 2-nitro-4-carboxyphenyl-N,N-diphenylcarbamate, an inhibitor of chymotrypsin.

THE EFFECT OF INSULIN ON HUMAN ADIPOSE TISSUE

The effects of insulin on glucose transport and dissimilation have been studied in the rat fat pad and in human omentum. Intracellular glucose could not be demonstrated in the non-diabetic rat fat pad, with or without insulin. Slices of omentum, obtained during surgery from diabetic and non-diabetic patients, were incubated in a bicarbonate medium with a glucose concentration of 5.6 mM. Omentum from non-diabetic patients had intracellular glucose while diabetic tissue had none. Diabetic tissue had a significantly lower glucose uptake. In both, insulin stimulated glucose uptake in inverse relation to the basal uptake; but for comparable basal uptakes, the response to insulin was decreased in diabetic tissue. Glucose phosphorylation in omental tissue from non-diabetic humans had an apparent Km of 1.10 m M and a Vmax of 1.44 mg/g hour.Insulin (0.1 units/ml), bovine or human serum albumin, or a combination of insulin and bovine albumin, each increased glucose utilization by slices of non-diabetic omentum without affecting the intracellular glucose content or the free fatty acid content. In omental homogenates (cell-free), insulin and bovine serum albumin each increased the glucose utilization. In the presence of albumin, insulin increased the utilization only after the addition of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and phosphohexose isomerase in amounts sufficient to establish that hexokinase was rate-limiting for glucose utilization.It is concluded that (A) in diabetic human omentum and in normal rat fat pad, transport is rate-limiting in glucose utilization; (B) insulin and albumin each stimulate both transport and phosphorylation in human omentum; (C) in human diabetes, the glucose transport process of omentum has a decreased basal rate and a decreased responsiveness to insulin.