Induction of rat liver malic enzyme messenger RNA activity by insulin and by fructose

Overnutrition in spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus): beta-cell expansion leading to rupture and overt diabetes on fat-rich diet and protective energy-wasting elevation in thyroid hormone on sucrose-rich diet

PREVIOUS STUDIES

The investigation of diabetes propensity in spiny mice, performed in Geneva and Jerusalem colonies, is reviewed. Spiny mice live in semi-desert regions of the eastern Mediterranean countries. Those transferred to Geneva in the 1950s were maintained on a rodent diet supplemented by fat-rich seeds. They became obese, exhibited pancreatic islet hyperplasia and hypertrophy. Low insulin secretion response was characteristic of this species, despite ample pancreatic content of insulin. After a few months, diabetes with ketosis occurred, often suddenly, in association with islet cell disintegration. In Jerusalem the spiny mice were collected from their native habitat and placed on diets containing 50% sucrose or fat-rich seed diets. On a sucrose-rich diet, spiny mice developed hepatomegaly, lipogenic enzyme hyperactivity, and elevation in very low density lipoproteins as a result of metabolism of the fructose component mainly in the liver. No overt diabetes or pancreatic islet disintegration were observed, although insulin content and beta-cell hypertrophy and hyperplasia were apparent. On a fat-rich diet, spiny mice exhibited marked weight gain, adipose tissue growth and low hepatic lipogenesis. The obesity was accompanied by mild hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia with glucose intolerance leading to an occasional glucosuria after several months on the diet.

NOVEL EXPERIMENTS

The sucrose diet induced an extrathyroidal elevation of triiodothyronine (T(3)). Serum T(3) level and hepatic T(4)-T(3) conversion were increased, while serum T(4) levels tended to decrease. The activity of the T(3)-inducible hepatic mitochondrial FAD-glycerophosphate oxidase and K(+)/Na(+)-ATPase, as well as body temperature were increased, indicating that the sucrose diet was associated with enhanced thermogenesis and energy-wasting metabolic cycling. The sucrose-rich diet might exert an adaptive thermogenesis-mediated defense mechanism, protecting against excessive weight gain and disruptive pancreatic islet lesion. After 18 months maintenance on sucrose-rich versus fat-rich diets the number of animals surviving was significantly higher on the sucrose diet whereas on the fat diet a significant number of animals succumbed to expansive islet cell disruption and diabetes.

Effects of nutrients and insulin on transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase synthesis in rat liver

The transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase induction of rat liver was investigated using a cDNA cloned in our laboratory. By feeding a carbohydrate/protein diet to fasted rats, the mRNA concentration and enzyme induction of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.49) reached maximal levels about 10-fold those in the fasted rats at 16 h and 72 h, respectively, whereas the transcriptional rate was increased about 3-fold in 6 h. In the protein fed (without carbohydrate) group, both the mRNA concentration and enzyme induction were increased to about 60% of the levels in the carbohydrate/protein fed group and in the group fed on a carbohydrate diet (without protein) to 30-40%. Further, dietary fat significantly reduced the transcriptional rate, mRNA concentration and enzyme induction to less than half, suggesting that dietary fat primarily reduced transcription. Thus, dietary nutrients appear to be involved in the steps preceding the translation. On the other hand, in diabetic rats, the transcriptional rate was significantly decreased as compared to the normal level and restored by insulin-treatment in 4 h. The mRNA concentration was very low in diabetic rats, and was restored to the normal level by insulin treatment in 8 h, and was half restored by fructose feeding. However, the enzyme induction of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was scarcely restored by fructose, unless accompanied by insulin treatment. Thus, it is suggested that insulin is involved in translation as well as in transcription. Further, the insulin-dependent increase of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase mRNA was blocked by cycloheximide, suggesting that synthesis of a peptide is required.

Effects of insulin and fructose on transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of malic enzyme synthesis in diabetic rat liver

Insulin action on regulation of hepatic malic enzyme has been investigated in comparison with fructose, using streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Insulin-treatment caused a 2.8-fold increase in the transcriptional rate of malic enzyme (EC 1.1.1.40) after 8 h, and a 5-fold increase in the mRNA concentration of the liver. In Northern blot analysis, we demonstrated that after insulin treatment, the nuclear mRNA of malic enzyme tended to increase more rapidly than the total cellular mRNA. Therefore, it is suggested that the nuclear mRNA was primarily increased by insulin. The insulin-dependent increase of malic enzyme mRNA was blocked by cycloheximide, suggesting that synthesis of a peptide is required. On the other hand, by feeding a high-fructose diet to diabetic rats, the malic enzyme mRNA concentration was considerably increased, though with a delayed peaking in comparison with the insulin-treated animals, whereas the transcriptional rate was not significantly increased. Dietary fructose may stabilize the transcripts. Fructose increased the enzyme level far less than the mRNA level. These results suggest that insulin is required in both the translational and transcriptional regulation of malic enzyme.

Transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of malic enzyme synthesis by insulin and triiodothyronine

To investigate the transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of malate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.40) induction by insulin, the transcriptional rate, mRNA concentration and enzyme induction of malic enzyme were compared in livers of normal and diabetic rats fed a high-carbohydrate diet. When rats were fed the diet for 4 days, the enzyme induction and mRNA concentration in livers of diabetic rats were only about 10% and 39%, respectively, of the values of normal rats, and the transcriptional rate was about 64%. Insulin treatment restored the transcriptional rate and mRNA concentration in 8 h and the enzyme induction in 4 days. Thus, it is suggested that insulin is involved in malic enzyme transcription of the gene and also possibly in the translation of the cytoplasm. On the other hand, by giving triiodothyronine treatment, the transcriptional rate and mRNA concentration were increased about twice and the enzyme induction, about 10-times in the diabetic animals. Triiodothyronine appears to stimulate malic enzyme transcription and possibly post-transcriptional steps even at a very low insulin level.

Effect of dichloroacetic acid on rat hepatic messenger RNA activity profiles

We have previously suggested that the ability of glucose to induce rat hepatic lipogenic enzymes is mediated by the mitochondrial oxidation of pyruvate. In part, this hypothesis is supported by the finding that an activator of pyruvate dehydrogenase, dichloroacetic acid (DCA), is capable of inducing malic enzyme in hepatocyte cultures. In order to further test this hypothesis, we compared the mRNA responses induced by carbohydrate feeding in vivo and by glucose administration to hepatocytes in culture with those mRNA responses induced in DCA both in vivo and in culture. DCA administration to rats resulted in a significant increase in liver:body weight ratio. It was, in addition, a potent inducer of malic enzyme. Hepatic mRNA activity profiles were examined by two-dimensional gel electrophoretic analysis of in vitro translation products. Six of the seven mRNAs altered by carbohydrate feeding were similarly altered by DCA feeding in vivo. In cultured hepatocytes 10 mmol/L DCA significantly increased four of six glucose-induced mRNAs. The mRNA for malic enzyme was among those mRNA sequences induced both in vivo and in culture. Increasing glucose concentrations in the culture medium resulted in an expected rise in pyruvate levels, whereas DCA caused a significant decrease in the concentration of this intermediate. It is likely, therefore, that augmentation of the flux of pyruvate through pyruvate dehydrogenase rather than alterations in pyruvate levels per se, is a proximal event leading to the induction of multiple mRNAs. The marked overlap in mRNA response to both carbohydrate and DCA indicates that the signal regulating the content of the carbohydrate responsive mRNAs is derived from mitochondrial pyruvate oxidation.

Interaction of thyroid hormone and nutritional signals on thyroid hormone action

The interaction between thyroid hormone (T3) and nutritional signals has been of interest for nearly a century. Thus, enhanced glucose production, absorption and utilization are associated with hyperthyroidism, whereas diminished glucose utilization and lipogenesis characterize hypothyroidism. Recent studies have uncovered what appears to be yet another area of interaction at the molecular level. On the one hand, a marked overlap exists between the changes in rat hepatic mRNA activity profile induced by hyperthyroidism and high carbohydrate administration. On the other hand, the patterns produced by hypothyroidism, starvation and diabetes are characterized by oppositely directed shifts. These findings may be due, in part, to a synergistic relationship between carbohydrate feeding and T3 administration in the induction of many hepatic lipogenic enzymes and their respective mRNAs. Studies both in the intact rat as well as in isolated hepatocyte cultures indicate that this synergism arises from the ability of T3 to multiply an intracellular signal derived from the metabolism of glucose. The development of recombinant DNA techniques can now be applied to the study of the interaction of T3 with nutritional signals. Initial efforts have demonstrated a hepatic mRNA (mRNAS14) rapidly responsive to both T3 and carbohydrates. With this probe, studies are under way to define the precise molecular mechanisms by which T3 and carbohydrates interact to influence gene expression.

Polychlorinated biphenyls interfere with the regulation of hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase activity in rat liver via enzyme-lipid interaction and at the transcriptional level

Feeding a 0.05% polychlorinated biphenyl-supplemented diet to rats resulted in an increase of liver 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activity within 9 days, followed by a decrease towards normal levels. Polychlorinated biphenyls were incorporated into the microsomal membrane. There was a concomitant decrease in the cholesterol/phospholipid ratio in the microsomal fraction. Immunotitration studies strongly suggested that polychlorinated biphenyls modulate preexisting 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activity by changing the lipid environment of the enzyme. 32P-labeled cDNA probes were used to study the levels of mRNA coding for 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase during polychlorinated biphenyl feeding. Northern dot hybridization experiments showed an increase in the amount of this mRNA. This stimulation correlated with the increase in the activity of the enzyme but was more pronounced. The data suggest that polychlorinated biphenyls act on the regulation of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A reductase activity by enzyme-lipid interaction and at the transcriptional level.

Insulin mediates the asynchronous accumulation of hepatic albumin and malic enzyme messenger RNAs

We have compared the rate of accumulation of hepatic albumin and malic enzyme mRNAs following insulin treatment of diabetic rats to determine whether insulin coordinately increases mRNA levels or specifically induces the accumulation of individuals mRNAs. Initially, the quantities of both albumin and malic enzyme mRNAs are reduced in diabetic rats compared to normal rats as determined by RNA blot analysis using complementary DNA probes. Following insulin administration for 12 h, albumin and malic enzyme mRNA levels increase at similar rates. However, after 12 h the rate of malic enzyme mRNA accumulation increases dramatically while albumin mRNA continues to increase at its initial rate. This accelerated rate of accumulation of malic enzyme mRNA continued through 60 h of hormone treatment and was associated with the onset of hepatic lipogenesis. Thus, our results suggest that insulin regulates the accumulation of mRNAs encoding these two inducible proteins in an asynchronous manner directly related to the metabolic requirements of the animal.

Diurnal variations of lipogenic enzymes, their substrate and effector levels, and lipogenesis from tritiated water in rat liver

The activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, malic enzyme, fatty acid synthetase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (extracted with or without phosphatase inhibitor) in rat liver did not vary significantly during 24 h. The hepatic levels of glucose 6-phosphate and malate increased coordinately 3-6 h after the beginning (1900 h) of food intake and were high until morning, whereas the levels of acetyl-CoA and citrate peaked at 1900 h and then decreased. However, it is remarkable that the in vivo incorporation of 3H from tritiated water into fatty acids in liver increased with the level of malonyl-CoA after food intake. Comparing the substrate and effector levels with the Km and Ka values for the enzymes, the levels of acetyl-CoA, malonyl-CoA and citrate appear to limit the enzyme activities. It is suggested that, after food intake, the physiological activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase was increased with the substrate increase and/or with the catalytic activation with citrate, and consequently, the fatty acid synthetase activity was also increased, whereas the enzyme activities measured under optimum conditions were not.

Role of protein synthesis in the carbohydrate-induced changes in the activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase in cultured rat hepatocytes

Changes in the activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA) reductase were studied in primary cultures of adult-rat hepatocytes after exposure of the cells to insulin and/or carbohydrates. To determine the contribution of protein synthesis to changes in enzyme activity, the relative rate of synthesis of each enzyme was measured and the amount of translatable mRNA coding for the enzymes was determined by translation in vitro and immunoprecipitation. Addition of insulin to the culture medium increased the activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and HMG-CoA reductase by approx. 4- and 3-fold respectively. Although similar increases in the relative rate of synthesis of each protein and template activity were noted, initial increases in the activity of each enzyme occurred before any changes in protein synthesis were observed, suggesting the involvement of post-translational modification of enzyme activity in addition to changes in protein synthesis. The addition of fructose to the culture medium, in the absence of insulin, increased the activity of the carboxylase and the reductase approx. 3-fold, similar to the effects of insulin. However, the effect of fructose was to increase the rate of synthesis and the amount of translatable mRNA coding for acetyl-CoA carboxylase, whereas the increase in the activity of HMG-CoA reductase was not accompanied by any changes in the rate of synthesis or template activity. The effects of fructose could not be mimicked by glucose unless insulin was also present in the culture medium. Similar to observations in vitro, the injection of insulin or the feeding of a high-fructose diet to rats made diabetic by the injection of streptozotocin produced an increase in the activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and HMG-CoA reductase, and only the increase in the activity of the carboxylase was accompanied by an increase in the amount of translatable mRNA coding for the enzyme. The results are discussed in terms of the effects of fructose on the synthesis of enzymes involved in lipogenesis.

Effect of aging on changes in substrate and effector levels of rat-liver glycolytic and lipogenic enzymes during induction

When 1-, 2- and 9-month-old rats adapted to a stock diet were fed a fat-free/high-sucrose diet, the changes in the substrate and effector levels of glycolytic and lipogenic enzymes in liver, and the effects of aging on the changes were investigated. By the sucrose diet feeding, the activities of phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase and fructokinase were increased, whereas hexokinase activity was markedly decreased. The fructose 1-phosphate levels were significantly increased in the liver, while conversely, the glucose 6-phosphate and fructose 6-phosphate levels were decreased. As a result of sucrose diet feeding, the changed enzyme activities would appear to be consistent with the metabolic pathway for fructose being predominant over that for glucose. Consequently, the concentrations of acetyl-CoA, citrate and malate were increased and would in turn appear to favour an increase in lipogenesis. The changes in the substrate and effector levels of lipogenic enzymes were reduced with aging, as were those in the enzyme activities. However, the changes in enzyme activities and metabolite levels of glycolysis were not much affected with aging.

Insulin and fructose regulate malic enzyme activity by different processes

A comparison of the regulatory processes controlling hepatic malic enzyme activity following treatment of diabetic rats with insulin or with a high fructose diet demonstrated several important differences. Insulin treatment caused a 50-fold increase in activity, due to a 12-fold increase in enzyme quantity and a 4-fold increase in specific activity(units/nmol). Dietary fructose caused a 3-fold increase in enzyme activity, due to a 3-fold increase in enzyme quantity, with no change in the specific activity of the enzyme. Thus, while fructose initiated a minor increase in malic enzyme activity, insulin was more effective, causing a substantially greater increase in enzyme activity and activating a hormone specific alteration in the catalytic activity of each enzyme molecule.