[Morphology of glycogen. Electron microscopic study of the negative stains of particulate glycogen]

Molecular exploration of the diurnal alteration of glycogen structural fragility and stability in time-restricted-feeding mouse liver

The structure of glycogen α particles in healthy mouse liver has two states: stability and fragility. In contrast, glycogen α particles in diabetic liver present consistent fragility, which may exacerbate hyperglycemia. Currently, the molecular mechanism behind glycogen structural alteration is still unclear. In this study, we characterized the fine molecular structure of liver glycogen α particles in healthy mice under time-restricted feeding (TRF) mode during a 24-h cycle. Then, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the liver during daytime and nighttime were revealed via transcriptomics, which identified that the key downregulated DEGs were mainly related to insulin secretion in daytime. Furthermore, GO annotation and KEGG pathway enrichment found that negative regulation of the glycogen catabolic process and insulin secretion process were significantly downregulated in the daytime. Therefore, transcriptomic analyses indicated that the structural stability of glycogen α particles might be correlated with the glycogen degradation process via insulin secretion downregulation. Further molecular experiments confirmed the significant upregulation of glycogen phosphorylase (PYGL), phosphorylated PYGL (p-PYGL), and glycogen debranching enzyme (AGL) at the protein level during the daytime. Overall, we concluded that the downregulation of insulin secretion in the daytime under TRF mode facilitated glycogenolysis, contributing to the structural stability of glycogen α-particles.

Beyond homogenates: New tool available for estimating glycogen's numerical subcellular distribution

This Commentary discusses the implications of a recent JGP study (Ríos et al. https://www.doi.org/10.1085/jgp.202413595) demonstrating an AI model to quantify glycogen granules.

Normal and abnormal glycogen structure - A review

Glycogen, a complex branched glucose polymer, is found in animals and bacteria, where it serves as an energy storage molecule. It has linear (1 → 4)-α glycosidic bonds between anhydroglucose monomer units, with branch points connected by (1 → 6)-α bonds. Individual glycogen molecules are referred to as β particles. In organs like the liver and heart, these β particles can bind into larger aggregate α particles, which exhibit a rosette-like morphology. The mechanisms and bonding underlying the aggregation process are not fully understood. For example, mammalian liver glycogen has been observed to be molecularly fragile under certain conditions, such as glycogen from diabetic livers fragmenting when exposed to dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), while glycogen from healthy livers is much less fragile; this indicates some difference, as yet unknown, in the bonding between β particles in healthy and diabetic glycogen. This fragility may have implications for blood sugar regulation, especially in pathological conditions such as diabetes.

Liver glycogen fragility in the presence of hydrogen-bond breakers

Glycogen, a complex branched glucose polymer, is responsible for sugar storage in blood glucose homeostasis. It comprises small β particles bound together into composite α particles. In diabetic livers, α particles are fragile, breaking apart into smaller particles in dimethyl sulfoxide, DMSO; they are however stable in glycogen from healthy animals. We postulate that the bond between β particles in α particles involves hydrogen bonding. Liver-glycogen fragility in normal and db/db mice (an animal model for diabetes) is compared using various hydrogen-bond breakers (DMSO, guanidine and urea) at different temperatures. The results showed different degrees of α-particle disruption. Disrupted glycogen showed changes in the mid-infra-red spectrum that are related to hydrogen bonds. While glycogen α-particles are only fragile under harsh, non-physiological conditions, these results nevertheless imply that the bonding between β particles in α particles is different in diabetic livers compared to healthy, and is probably associated with hydrogen bonding.

Formation mechanism of α particles in glycogen: Testing the budding hypothesis by Monte-Carlo simulation

Glycogen, a complex branched glucose polymer and a blood-sugar reservoir in animals, comprises small β particles joined together into composite α particles. In diabetic animals, α particles fragment more easily than those in healthy animals. Finding evidence for or against postulated mechanisms for α-particle formation is thus important for diabetes research. Insight into this is obtained here using Monte-Carlo simulations, including addition and loss of glucose monomer, branching and debranching, based on earlier simulations which were in acceptable agreement with experiment [Zhang et al., Int J Biol Macromolecules 2018, 116, 264]. One postulated mechanism for α-particle formation is "budding": occasionally a glucan chain temporarily protrudes from the particle, and if its growing end is sufficiently far from its parent particle, it propagates to a new linked particle. We tested this by simulations in which an "artificial" bud (a chain extending well outside the average particle radius) is added to a glycogen molecule in a dynamic steady state, and the system allowed to evolve. In some simulations, the particle reached a new steady state having an irregular dumbbell shape: a rudimentary α particle. Thus 'budding' is a possible mechanism for α particles to form. If no simulations had shown this behaviour, it would have refuted the postulate.

Hyperglycemia - A culprit of podocyte pathology in the context of glycogen metabolism

Prolonged disruption in the balance of glucose can result in metabolic disorders. The kidneys play a significant role in regulating blood glucose levels. However, when exposed to chronic hyperglycemia, the kidneys' ability to handle glucose metabolism may be impaired, leading to an accumulation of glycogen. Earlier studies have shown that there can be a significant increase in glucose storage in the form of glycogen in the kidneys in diabetes. Podocytes play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of filtration barrier. In diabetes, exposure to elevated glucose levels can lead to significant metabolic and structural changes in podocytes, contributing to kidney damage and the development of diabetic kidney disease. The accumulation of glycogen in podocytes is not a well-established phenomenon. However, a recent study has demonstrated the presence of glycogen granules in podocytes. This review delves into the intricate connections between hyperglycemia and glycogen metabolism within the context of the kidney, with special emphasis on podocytes. The aberrant storage of glycogen has the potential to detrimentally impact podocyte functionality and perturb their structural integrity. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the alterations in cellular signaling pathways that may potentially lead to glycogen overproduction in podocytes.

Stochastic modelling of a three-dimensional glycogen granule synthesis and impact of the branching enzyme

In humans, glycogen storage diseases result from metabolic inborn errors, and can lead to severe phenotypes and lethal conditions. Besides these rare diseases, glycogen is also associated to widely spread societal burdens such as diabetes. Glycogen is a branched glucose polymer synthesised and degraded by a complex set of enzymes. Over the past 50 years, the structure of glycogen has been intensively investigated. Yet, the interplay between the detailed three-dimensional glycogen structure and the related enzyme activity is only partially characterised and still to be fully understood. In this article, we develop a stochastic coarse-grained and spatially resolved model of branched polymer biosynthesis following a Gillespie algorithm. Our study largely focusses on the role of the branching enzyme, and first investigates the properties of the model with generic parameter values, before comparing it to in vivo experimental data in mice. It arises that the ratio of glycogen synthase over branching enzyme reaction rates drastically impacts the structure of the granule. We deeply investigate the mechanism of branching and parametrise it using distinct lengths. Not only do we consider various possible sets of values for these lengths, but also distinct rules to apply them. We show how combining various values for these lengths finely tunes glycogen macromolecular structure. Comparing the model with experimental data confirms that we can accurately reproduce glycogen chain length distributions in wild type mice. Additional granule properties obtained for this fit are also in good agreement with typically reported values in the experimental literature. Nonetheless, we find that the mechanism of branching must be more flexible than usually reported. Overall, our model provides a theoretical basis to quantify the effect that single enzymatic parameters, in particular of the branching enzyme, have on the chain length distribution. Our generic model and methods can be applied to any glycogen data set, and could in particular contribute to characterise the mechanisms responsible for glycogen storage disorders.

Molecular mechanisms of glycogen particle assembly in Escherichia coli

It has been reported that glycogen in Escherichia coli has two structural states, that is, fragility and stability, which alters dynamically. However, molecular mechanisms behind the structural alterations are not fully understood. In this study, we focused on the potential roles of two important glycogen degradation enzymes, glycogen phosphorylase (glgP) and glycogen debranching enzyme (glgX), in glycogen structural alterations. The fine molecular structure of glycogen particles in Escherichia coli and three mutants (ΔglgP, ΔglgX and ΔglgP/ΔglgX) were examined, which showed that glycogen in E. coli ΔglgP and E. coli ΔglgP/ΔglgX were consistently fragile while being consistently stable in E. coli ΔglgX, indicating the dominant role of GP in glycogen structural stability control. In sum, our study concludes that glycogen phosphorylase is essential in glycogen structural stability, leading to molecular insights into structural assembly of glycogen particles in E. coli.

The fragility of liver glycogen from humans with type 2 diabetes: A pilot study

Liver glycogen is a highly branched glucose polymer found as β particles (~20 nm in diameter), which can bind together into larger composite α particles. Hepatic α particles have been shown to be structurally fragile (breaking up into smaller particles in certain solvents) in mouse models of diabetes; if occurring in vivo, the resulting small glycogen particles could exacerbate the poor blood-sugar homeostasis characteristic of the disease. Here we tested if this α-particle fragility also occurred in liver glycogen obtained from humans with diabetes. It was found that liver glycogen from diabetic humans was indeed more fragile than from non-diabetic humans, which was also seen in the mouse experiments we ran in parallel. Proteomic analysis revealed three candidate proteins from differentially expressed glycogen proteins (Diabetes/ Non-diabetes) in both human and mouse groups. Identifying these proteins may give clues to the binding mechanism that holds together α particles together, which, being different in diabetic glycogen, is relevant to diabetes prevention and management.

The structural mechanism of human glycogen synthesis by the GYS1-GYG1 complex

Glycogen is the primary energy reserve in mammals, and dysregulation of glycogen metabolism can result in glycogen storage diseases (GSDs). In muscle, glycogen synthesis is initiated by the enzymes glycogenin-1 (GYG1), which seeds the molecule by autoglucosylation, and glycogen synthase-1 (GYS1), which extends the glycogen chain. Although both enzymes are required for proper glycogen production, the nature of their interaction has been enigmatic. Here, we present the human GYS1:GYG1 complex in multiple conformations representing different functional states. We observe an asymmetric conformation of GYS1 that exposes an interface for close GYG1 association, and propose this state facilitates handoff of the GYG1-associated glycogen chain to a GYS1 subunit for elongation. Full activation of GYS1 widens the GYG1-binding groove, enabling GYG1 release concomitant with glycogen chain growth. This structural mechanism connecting chain nucleation and extension explains the apparent stepwise nature of glycogen synthesis and suggests distinct states to target for GSD-modifying therapeutics.

The effect of high-amylose resistant starch on the glycogen structure of diabetic mice

Glycogen is a complex branched glucose polymer found in many tissues and acts as a blood-glucose buffer. In the liver, smaller β glycogen particles can bind into larger composite α particles. In mouse models of diabetes, these liver glycogen particles are molecularly fragile, breaking up into smaller particles in the presence of solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). If this occurs in vivo, such a rapid enzymatic degradation of these smaller particles into glucose could exacerbate the poor blood-glucose control that is characteristic of the disease. High-amylose resistant starch (RS) can escape digestion in the small intestine and ferment in the large intestine, which elicits positive effects on glycemic response and type 2 diabetes. Here we postulate that RS would help attenuate diabetes-related liver glycogen fragility. Normal maize starch and two types of high-amylose starch were fed to diabetic and non-diabetic mice. Molecular size distributions and chain-length distributions of liver glycogen from both groups were characterized to test glycogen fragility before and after DMSO treatment. Consistent with the hypothesis that high blood glucose is associated with glycogen fragility, a high-amylose RS diet prevented the fragility of liver-glycogen α particles. The diets had no significant effect on the glycogen chain-length distributions.

From Prokaryotes to Eukaryotes: Insights Into the Molecular Structure of Glycogen Particles

Glycogen is a highly-branched polysaccharide that is widely distributed across the three life domains. It has versatile functions in physiological activities such as energy reserve, osmotic regulation, blood glucose homeostasis, and pH maintenance. Recent research also confirms that glycogen plays important roles in longevity and cognition. Intrinsically, glycogen function is determined by its structure that has been intensively studied for many years. The recent association of glycogen α-particle fragility with diabetic conditions further strengthens the importance of glycogen structure in its function. By using improved glycogen extraction procedures and a series of advanced analytical techniques, the fine molecular structure of glycogen particles in human beings and several model organisms such as Escherichia coli, Caenorhabditis elegans, Mus musculus, and Rat rattus have been characterized. However, there are still many unknowns about the assembly mechanisms of glycogen particles, the dynamic changes of glycogen structures, and the composition of glycogen associated proteins (glycogen proteome). In this review, we explored the recent progresses in glycogen studies with a focus on the structure of glycogen particles, which may not only provide insights into glycogen functions, but also facilitate the discovery of novel drug targets for the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Optimization of liver glycogen extraction when considering the fine molecular structure

Liver glycogen is a branched glucose polymer that functions as a blood-sugar buffer in animals. Previous studies have shown that glycogen's molecular structure affects its properties. This makes it important to develop a technique that extracts and purifies a representative sample of glycogen. Here we aim to optimize the sucrose density gradient centrifugation method for preserving glycogen's molecular structure by varying the density of the sucrose solution. The preservation of glycogen's structure involves: 1) minimizing molecular damage and 2) obtaining a structurally representative sample of glycogen. The addition of a 10-minute boiling step was also tested as a means for denaturing any glycogen degrading enzymes. Lower sucrose concentrations and the introduction of the boiling step were shown to be beneficial in obtaining a more structurally representative sample, with the preservation of smaller glycogen particles and decreased glycogen chain degradation.

The dynamic changes of glycogen molecular structure in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)

Diurnal alteration of glycogen molecular structure has been identified in healthy mice. Recently, both fragile (disintegration in dimethyl sulfoxide) and stable (not disintegrating in DMSO) glycogen particles were found in Escherichia coli. However, how glycogen structure changes dynamically in E. coli is not clear. The question examined here is whether fragile, stable glycogen α particles occur in bacteria, following a similar pattern as in mice. In this study, we examine the dynamic changes of glycogen molecular structure over 24-h in E. coli BL21(DE3), using transmission electron microscopy, size exclusion chromatography and fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis at representative time points. It was found that glycogen structure was mainly fragile at the synthesis stage and largely stable during the degradation stage. qRT-PCR results indicated that balance of anabolic and catabolic gene expression levels in glycogen metabolism could be a key factor affecting the fragility of glycogen α particles in bacteria.

Glycogen as a Building Block for Advanced Biological Materials

Biological nanoparticles found in living systems possess distinct molecular architectures and diverse functions. Glycogen is a unique biological polysaccharide nanoparticle fabricated by nature through a bottom-up approach. The biocatalytic synthesis of glycogen has evolved over time to form a nanometer-sized dendrimer-like structure (20-150 nm) with a highly branched surface and a dense core. This makes glycogen markedly different from other natural linear or branched polysaccharides and particularly attractive as a platform for biomedical applications. Glycogen is inherently biodegradable, nontoxic, and can be functionalized with diverse surface and internal motifs for enhanced biofunctional properties. Recently, there has been growing interest in glycogen as a natural alternative to synthetic polymers and nanoparticles in a range of applications. Herein, the recent literature on glycogen in the material-based sciences, including its use as a constituent in biodegradable hydrogels and fibers, drug delivery vectors, tumor targeting and penetrating nanoparticles, immunomodulators, vaccine adjuvants, and contrast agents, is reviewed. The various methods of chemical functionalization and physical assembly of glycogen nanoparticles into multicomponent nanodevices, which advance glycogen toward a functional therapeutic nanoparticle from nature and back again, are discussed in detail.

Characterization of glycogen molecular structure in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans

Glycogen, a glucose homopolymer with many glucose chains, is the primary blood-sugar reservoir in many organisms. It comprises β particles (∼20 nm) which can bind together to form large α particles with a rosette morphology. When dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is added to glycogen from diabetic livers, α particles break apart to β particles ('fragility'), possibly due to H-bond disruption; this is not seen in healthy livers. Glycogen α and β particles, and α-particle fragility, are observed in mammals and bacteria, and are examined here in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, with glycogen from two C. elegans strains, cultured in normal and high-glucose conditions. There were mainly β particles, with some large α particles. Most particles were fragile in DMSO. Growing in a high-glucose medium results in more long chains and more fragility, consistent with previous observations in diabetic animal models. Why high glucose levels facilitate fragility is worthy of further investigation.

Some molecular structural features of glycogen in the kidneys of diabetic rats

Glycogen, a highly-branched glucose polymer, functions as a sugar reservoir in many organs and tissues. Liver glycogen comprises small β particles which can bind to form into large agglomerates (α particles) which readily degrade to β particles in diabetic livers. Muscle glycogen has only β particles, optimal for quick energy release. Healthy kidney contains negligible glycogen, but there is an abnormally high accumulation in diabetic kidneys. We here compare the molecular structure of glycogen in diabetic kidneys with that in liver and muscle, using a diabetic rat model. This involved exploring extraction techniques to minimize glycogen degradation. Using size exclusion chromatography and transmission electron microscopy, it was found that there were only β particles in diabetic kidneys. These are postulated to form during periods of abnormally high blood sugar, the driving force being the need to reduce blood sugar under such circumstances.

Brain Glycogen Structure and Its Associated Proteins: Past, Present and Future

This chapter reviews the history of glycogen-related research and discusses in detail the structure, regulation, chemical properties and subcellular distribution of glycogen and its associated proteins, with particular focus on these aspects in brain tissue.

The dynamic life of the glycogen granule

Glycogen, the primary storage form of glucose, is a rapid and accessible form of energy that can be supplied to tissues on demand. Each glycogen granule, or "glycosome," is considered an independent metabolic unit composed of a highly branched polysaccharide and various proteins involved in its metabolism. In this Minireview, we review the literature to follow the dynamic life of a glycogen granule in a multicompartmentalized system, i.e. the cell, and how and where glycogen granules appear and the factors governing its degradation. A better understanding of the importance of cellular compartmentalization as a regulator of glycogen metabolism is needed to unravel its role in brain energetics.

Diurnal changes of glycogen molecular structure in healthy and diabetic mice

Glycogen is a complex branched glucose polymer functioning as a blood-sugar reservoir in animals. Liver glycogen β particles can bind together to form α particles, which have a slower enzymatic degradation to glucose. The linkage between β particles in α particles in diabetic liver breaks (is fragile) in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), a H-bond disruptor, consistent with blood-sugar homeostasis loss in diabetes. We examined diurnal changes in the molecular structure of healthy and diabetic mouse-liver glycogen. Healthy mouse glycogen was fragile to DMSO during glycogen synthesis but not degradation; diabetic glycogen was always fragile. Two alternative mechanisms for this are suggested: healthy glycogen is fragile when formed and becomes stable during subsequent degradation, a process damaged in diabetes; alternatively, there are two types of glycogen: one compact but fragile and the other loose but non-fragile. This suggests potential types of diabetes drug targets through modifying the activities of glycogen synthesis enzymes.

Molecular Structure of Human-Liver Glycogen

Glycogen is a highly branched glucose polymer which is involved in maintaining blood-sugar homeostasis. Liver glycogen contains large composite α particles made up of linked β particles. Previous studies have shown that the binding which links β particles into α particles is impaired in diabetic mice. The present study reports the first molecular structural characterization of human-liver glycogen from non-diabetic patients, using transmission electron microscopy for morphology and size-exclusion chromatography for the molecular size distribution; the latter is also studied as a function of time during acid hydrolysis in vitro, which is sensitive to certain structural features, particularly glycosidic vs. proteinaceous linkages. The results are compared with those seen in mice and pigs. The molecular structural change during acid hydrolysis is similar in each case, and indicates that the linkage of β into α particles is not glycosidic. This result, and the similar morphology in each case, together imply that human liver glycogen has similar molecular structure to those of mice and pigs. This knowledge will be useful for future diabetes drug targets.

Liver glycogen in type 2 diabetic mice is randomly branched as enlarged aggregates with blunted glucose release

Glycogen is a vital highly branched polymer of glucose that is essential for blood glucose homeostasis. In this article, the structure of liver glycogen from mice is investigated with respect to size distributions, degradation kinetics, and branching structure, complemented by a comparison of normal and diabetic liver glycogen. This is done to screen for differences that may result from disease. Glycogen α-particle (diameter ∼ 150 nm) and β-particle (diameter ∼ 25 nm) size distributions are reported, along with in vitro γ-amylase degradation experiments, and a small angle X-ray scattering analysis of mouse β-particles. Type 2 diabetic liver glycogen upon extraction was found to be present as large loosely bound, aggregates, not present in normal livers. Liver glycogen was found to aggregate in vitro over a period of 20 h, and particle size is shown to be related to rate of glucose release, allowing a structure-function relationship to be inferred for the tissue specific distribution of particle types. Application of branching theories to small angle X-ray scattering data for mouse β-particles revealed these particles to be randomly branched polymers, not fractal polymers. Together, this article shows that type 2 diabetic liver glycogen is present as large aggregates in mice, which may contribute to the inflexibility of interconversion between glucose and glycogen in type 2 diabetes, and further that glycogen particles are randomly branched with a size that is related to the rate of glucose release.

Improving size-exclusion chromatography separation for glycogen

Glycogen is a hyperbranched glucose polymer comprised of glycogen β particles, which can also form much larger composite α particles. The recent discovery using size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) that fewer, smaller, α particles are found in diabetic-mouse liver compared to healthy mice highlights the need to achieve greater accuracy in the size separation methods used to analyze α and β particles. While past studies have used dimethyl sulfoxide as the SEC eluent to analyze the molecular size and structure of native glycogen, an aqueous eluent has not been rigorously tested and compared with dimethyl sulfoxide. The conditions for SEC of pig-liver glycogen, phytoglycogen and oyster glycogen were optimized by comparing two different eluents, aqueous 50 mM NH₄NO₃/0.02% NaN₃ and dimethyl sulfoxide/0.5% LiBr, run through different column materials and pore sizes at various flow rates. The aqueous system gave distinct size separation of α- and β-particle peaks, allowing for a more detailed and quantitative analysis and comparison between liver glycogen samples. This greater resolution has also revealed key differences between the structure of liver glycogen and phytoglycogen.

Changes in glycogen structure over feeding cycle sheds new light on blood-glucose control

Liver glycogen, a highly branched polymer of glucose, is important for maintaining blood-glucose homeostasis. It was recently shown that db/db mice, a model for Type 2 diabetes, are unable to form the large composite glycogen α particles present in normal, healthy mice. In this study, the structure of healthy mouse-liver glycogen over the diurnal cycle was characterized using size exclusion chromatography and transmission electron microscopy. Glycogen was found to be formed as smaller β particles, and then only assembled into large α particles, with a broad size distribution, significantly after the time when glycogen content had reached a maximum. This pathway, missing in diabetic animals, is likely to give optimal blood-glucose control during the daily feeding cycle. Lack of this control may contribute to, or result from, diabetes. This discovery suggests novel approaches to diabetes management.

The Molecular Size Distribution of Glycogen and its Relevance to Diabetes

Glycogen is a highly branched polymer of glucose, functioning as a blood-glucose buffer. It comprises relatively small β-particles, which may be joined as larger aggregate α-particles. The size distributions from size-exclusion chromatography (SEC, also known as GPC) of liver glycogen from non-diabetic and diabetic mice show that diabetic mice have impaired α-particle formation, shedding new light on diabetes. SEC data also suggest the type of bonding holding β-particles together in α-particles. SEC characterisation of liver glycogen at various time points in a day/night cycle indicates that liver glycogen is initially synthesised as β-particles, and then joined by an unknown process to form α-particles. These α-particles are more resistant to degradation, presumably because of their lower surface area-to-volume ratio. These findings have important implications for new drug targets for diabetes management.

Recombinant prion protein refolded with lipid and RNA has the biochemical hallmarks of a prion but lacks in vivo infectivity

During prion infection, the normal, protease-sensitive conformation of prion protein (PrP^C) is converted via seeded polymerization to an abnormal, infectious conformation with greatly increased protease-resistance (PrP^Sc). In vitro, protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) uses PrP^Sc in prion-infected brain homogenates as an initiating seed to convert PrP^C and trigger the self-propagation of PrP^Sc over many cycles of amplification. While PMCA reactions produce high levels of protease-resistant PrP, the infectious titer is often lower than that of brain-derived PrP^Sc. More recently, PMCA techniques using bacterially derived recombinant PrP (rPrP) in the presence of lipid and RNA but in the absence of any starting PrP^Sc seed have been used to generate infectious prions that cause disease in wild-type mice with relatively short incubation times. These data suggest that lipid and/or RNA act as cofactors to facilitate the de novo formation of high levels of prion infectivity. Using rPrP purified by two different techniques, we generated a self-propagating protease-resistant rPrP molecule that, regardless of the amount of RNA and lipid used, had a molecular mass, protease resistance and insolubility similar to that of PrP^Sc. However, we were unable to detect prion infectivity in any of our reactions using either cell-culture or animal bioassays. These results demonstrate that the ability to self-propagate into a protease-resistant insoluble conformer is not unique to infectious PrP molecules. They suggest that the presence of RNA and lipid cofactors may facilitate the spontaneous refolding of PrP into an infectious form while also allowing the de novo formation of self-propagating, but non-infectious, rPrP-res.

Molecular insights into glycogen α-particle formation

Glycogen, a hyperbranched complex glucose polymer, is an intracellular glucose store that provides energy for cellular functions, with liver glycogen involved in blood-glucose regulation. Liver glycogen comprises complex α particles made up of smaller β particles. The recent discovery that these α particles are smaller and fewer in diabetic, compared with healthy, mice highlights the need to elucidate the nature of α-particle formation; this paper tests various possibilities for binding within α particles. Acid hydrolysis effects, examined using dynamic light scattering and size exclusion chromatography, showed that the binding is not simple α-(1→4) or α-(1→6) glycosidic linkages. There was no significant change in α particle size after the addition of various reagents, which disrupt disulfide, protein, and hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. The results are consistent with proteinaceous binding between β particles in α particles, with the inability of protease to break apart particles being attributed to steric hindrance.

The structure of cardiac glycogen in healthy mice

Transmission electron micrographs of glycogen extracted from healthy mouse hearts reveal aggregate structures around 133 nm in diameter. These structures are similar to, but on average somewhat smaller than, the α-particles of glycogen found in mammalian liver. Like the larger liver glycogens, these new particles in cardiac tissue appear to be aggregates of β-particles. Free β-particles are also present in liver, and are the only type of particle seen in skeletal muscle. They have diameters from 20 to 50 nm. We discuss the number distributions of glycogen particle diameters and the implications for the structure-function relationship of glycogens in these tissues. We point out the possible implications for the study of glycogen storage diseases, and of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.

Glycogen and its metabolism: some new developments and old themes

Glycogen is a branched polymer of glucose that acts as a store of energy in times of nutritional sufficiency for utilization in times of need. Its metabolism has been the subject of extensive investigation and much is known about its regulation by hormones such as insulin, glucagon and adrenaline (epinephrine). There has been debate over the relative importance of allosteric compared with covalent control of the key biosynthetic enzyme, glycogen synthase, as well as the relative importance of glucose entry into cells compared with glycogen synthase regulation in determining glycogen accumulation. Significant new developments in eukaryotic glycogen metabolism over the last decade or so include: (i) three-dimensional structures of the biosynthetic enzymes glycogenin and glycogen synthase, with associated implications for mechanism and control; (ii) analyses of several genetically engineered mice with altered glycogen metabolism that shed light on the mechanism of control; (iii) greater appreciation of the spatial aspects of glycogen metabolism, including more focus on the lysosomal degradation of glycogen; and (iv) glycogen phosphorylation and advances in the study of Lafora disease, which is emerging as a glycogen storage disease.

Differential pattern of glycogen accumulation after protein phosphatase 1 glycogen-targeting subunit PPP1R6 overexpression, compared to PPP1R3C and PPP1R3A, in skeletal muscle cells

BACKGROUND

PPP1R6 is a protein phosphatase 1 glycogen-targeting subunit (PP1-GTS) abundant in skeletal muscle with an undefined metabolic control role. Here PPP1R6 effects on myotube glycogen metabolism, particle size and subcellular distribution are examined and compared with PPP1R3C/PTG and PPP1R3A/G(M).

RESULTS

PPP1R6 overexpression activates glycogen synthase (GS), reduces its phosphorylation at Ser-641/0 and increases the extracted and cytochemically-stained glycogen content, less than PTG but more than G(M). PPP1R6 does not change glycogen phosphorylase activity. All tested PP1-GTS-cells have more glycogen particles than controls as found by electron microscopy of myotube sections. Glycogen particle size is distributed for all cell-types in a continuous range, but PPP1R6 forms smaller particles (mean diameter 14.4 nm) than PTG (36.9 nm) and G(M) (28.3 nm) or those in control cells (29.2 nm). Both PPP1R6- and G(M)-derived glycogen particles are in cytosol associated with cellular structures; PTG-derived glycogen is found in membrane- and organelle-devoid cytosolic glycogen-rich areas; and glycogen particles are dispersed in the cytosol in control cells. A tagged PPP1R6 protein at the C-terminus with EGFP shows a diffuse cytosol pattern in glucose-replete and -depleted cells and a punctuate pattern surrounding the nucleus in glucose-depleted cells, which colocates with RFP tagged with the Golgi targeting domain of β-1,4-galactosyltransferase, according to a computational prediction for PPP1R6 Golgi location.

CONCLUSIONS

PPP1R6 exerts a powerful glycogenic effect in cultured muscle cells, more than G(M) and less than PTG. PPP1R6 protein translocates from a Golgi to cytosolic location in response to glucose. The molecular size and subcellular location of myotube glycogen particles is determined by the PPP1R6, PTG and G(M) scaffolding.

Size-separation characterization of starch and glycogen for biosynthesis-structure-property relationships

Starch and glycogen are highly branched polymers of glucose of great importance to humans in managing and mitigating nutrition-related diseases, especially diabetes and obesity, and in industrial uses, for example in food and paper-making. Size-separation characterization using multiple-detection size-exclusion chromatography (SEC, also known as gel-permeation chromatography, GPC) is able to furnish substantial amounts of information on the relationships between the biosynthesis, processing, structure, and properties of these biopolymers, and achieves superior characterization for use in industrial product and process improvements. Multi-detector SEC is able to give much more information about structure than simple averages such as total molecular weight or size; the detailed information yielded by this technique has already given new information on important biosynthesis-structure-property reactions, and has considerable potential in this field in the future. However, it must be used with care to avoid artifacts arising from incomplete dissolution of the substrate and shear scission during separation. It is also essential in interpreting data to appreciate that this size-separation technique can only ever give size distributions, never true molecular weight distributions. Other size-separation techniques, particularly field-flow fractionation, require substantial technical development to be used on undegraded native starches.

Nature of alpha and beta particles in glycogen using molecular size distributions

Glycogen is a randomly hyperbranched glucose polymer. Complex branched polymers have two structural levels: individual branches and the way these branches are linked. Liver glycogen has a third level: supramolecular clusters of beta particles which form larger clusters of alpha particles. Size distributions of native glycogen were characterized using size exclusion chromatography (SEC) to find the number and weight distributions and the size dependences of the number- and weight-average masses. These were fitted to two distinct randomly joined reference structures, constructed by random attachment of individual branches and as random aggregates of beta particles. The z-average size of the alpha particles in dimethylsulfoxide does not change significantly with high concentrations of LiBr, a solvent system that would disrupt hydrogen bonding. These data reveal that the beta particles are covalently bonded to form alpha particles through a hitherto unsuspected enzyme process, operative in the liver on particles above a certain size range.

Abnormal metabolism of glycogen phosphate as a cause for Lafora disease

Lafora disease is a progressive myoclonus epilepsy with onset in the teenage years followed by neurodegeneration and death within 10 years. A characteristic is the widespread formation of poorly branched, insoluble glycogen-like polymers (polyglucosan) known as Lafora bodies, which accumulate in neurons, muscle, liver, and other tissues. Approximately half of the cases of Lafora disease result from mutations in the EPM2A gene, which encodes laforin, a member of the dual specificity protein phosphatase family that is able to release the small amount of covalent phosphate normally present in glycogen. In studies of Epm2a(-/-) mice that lack laforin, we observed a progressive change in the properties and structure of glycogen that paralleled the formation of Lafora bodies. At three months, glycogen metabolism remained essentially normal, even though the phosphorylation of glycogen has increased 4-fold and causes altered physical properties of the polysaccharide. By 9 months, the glycogen has overaccumulated by 3-fold, has become somewhat more phosphorylated, but, more notably, is now poorly branched, is insoluble in water, and has acquired an abnormal morphology visible by electron microscopy. These glycogen molecules have a tendency to aggregate and can be recovered in the pellet after low speed centrifugation of tissue extracts. The aggregation requires the phosphorylation of glycogen. The aggregrated glycogen sequesters glycogen synthase but not other glycogen metabolizing enzymes. We propose that laforin functions to suppress excessive glycogen phosphorylation and is an essential component of the metabolism of normally structured glycogen.

AMP-activated protein kinase does not associate with glycogen alpha-particles from rat liver

The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is heterotrimer consisting of alpha catalytic subunit and beta/gamma regulatory subunits. It acts as a critical focal point for whole body and cellular mechanisms maintaining energy homeostasis by regulating carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, food intake, gene transcription, and protein synthesis. The AMPK beta subunit contains a glycogen-binding domain that has been shown to associate with glycogen particles in vitro and glycogen phosphorylase and glycogen synthase in cultured cells. To determine whether AMPK associates with glycogen particles in vivo, we developed a procedure to purify glycogen alpha-particles to apparent homogeneity from rat liver. Using immunoreactivity and mass spectrometry we determined that AMPK does not associate with the glycogen particle in livers from random-fed rats. This surprising finding indicates that the glycogen-binding properties of the AMPK beta subunit are likely regulated and responsive to the metabolic status of the hepatocyte.

Randomly hyperbranched polymers

We describe a model for the structures of randomly hyperbranched polymers in solution, and find a logarithmic growth of radius with polymer mass. We include segmental overcrowding, which puts an upper limit on the density. The model is tested against simulations, against data on amylopectin, a major component of starch, on glycogen, and on polyglycerols. For samples of synthetic polyglycerol and glycogen, our model holds well for all the available data. The model reveals higher-level scaling structure in glycogen, related to the beta particles seen in electron microscopy.

Insulin and the stimulation of glycogen synthesis. The road from glycogen structure to glycogen synthase to cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase to insulin mediators

The enhanced phosphorylations via cAMP, Ca2+ mobilization, and diacyl glycerol formation via the activation of the respective kinases is now classical. The decreased phosphorylation via inhibition of adenylate cyclase via the alpha adrenergic receptor is also becoming understood. What the insulin studies on the control of glycogen synthesis have taught us is that the rate limiting enzyme glycogen synthase is regulated by multiple covalent phosphorylation in an elegant but complex manner. The overall pattern of dephosphorylation is influenced by effecting both phosphatase and kinase activities in a set of interrelated mechanisms. In the presence of glucose, in muscle, fat, and liver under physiological conditions G-6-P acts as a signal to stimulate the phosphatase. An additional stimulation could occur via a novel insulin phosphatase stimulatory mediator. The phosphatase is also stimulated by at least three covalent mechanisms involving altered phosphorylation state. In one there is a decreased phosphorylation of the phosphatase inhibitor 1 potentially related to decreased cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity. In the second, there is decreased phosphorylation of the deinhibitor also potentially related to decreased cAMP-dependent protein kinase phosphorylation. In the third, an increased activity of casein kinase 2 could activate the ATP-Mg dependent phosphatase by an increased phosphorylation of phosphatase inhibitor 2 (modulatory subunit). In the liver, allosteric control of the phosphatase by G-6-P and nucleotides is of great importance. Insulin also stimulates the phosphatase in long-term experiments via increased protein synthesis. It is clear that future work will be required to determine which species of the various classes of phosphatases are regulated in short-term and long-term regulation by insulin. In terms of kinases, the effects of insulin to inactivate and desensitize the cAMP-dependent protein kinase are established. The molecular mechanisms of this effect remain to be worked out. The enhanced activity of MAP and S-6 kinase would appear to be part of a cascade of reactions perhaps originating in the autophosphorylation and activation of the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase. The mechanism of the short-term activation of casein kinase 2 remains to be elucidated. A cAMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitory mediator, which also inhibits adenylate cyclase is an important element in the regulation of kinase and adenylate cyclase activity by insulin. Its physiological significance must be established in the future, in terms of its control of glycogen synthase activation by insulin. Clearly this kinase inhibitor as well as the phosphatase stimulator are potential regulators of glycogen synthase activity by insulin.

Alpha-D-glucan-based dendritic nanoparticles prepared by in vitro enzymatic chain extension of glycogen

The recombinant amylosucrase from Neisseria polysaccharea was used to glucosylate glycogen particles in vitro in the presence of sucrose as the glucosyl donor. The morphology and structure of the resulting insoluble products were shown to strongly depend on the initial sucrose/glycogen weight ratio. For the lower ratio (1.14), all glucose molecules produced from sucrose were transferred onto glycogen, yielding a slight elongation of the external chains and their organization into small crystallites at the surface of the glycogen particles. With a high initial sucrose/glycogen ratio (342), the external glycogen chains were extended by amylosucrase, yielding dendritic nanoparticles with a diameter 4-5 times that of the initial particle. A partial crystallization of the elongated chains induced a "shrinkage" of the nanospheres. The synthesis of linear alpha-(1,4) chains occurred simultaneously, yielding semicrystalline fibrous entities. All products displayed a B-type crystal structure. The kinetics of chain elongation and aggregation were thoroughly investigated in order to explain how the action of amylosucrase resulted in such different structures. These results emphasize the potentiality of amylosucrase in the design of original carbohydrate-based dendritic nanoparticles.

Organ of Bellonci of an Antarctic crustacean, the marine isopod Glyptonotus antarcticus

The paired organ of Bellonci protrudes from the optic lobe of the giant Antarctic isopod, Glyptonotus antarcticus. It is linked to the cortex by a broad peduncle. No connection to the cuticle or "sensory pore organ" was found. A cluster of sensory-like cells forms two outer ciliary segments branching into numerous microvilli with microtubules. The putative sensory somata are irregular in shape and contain a very high density of glycogen granules. The two outer segments sprout from two pits of the soma in different directions, forming a right angle. Glial cells wrap around the sensory cells and also delimit lacunae into which bundles of microvilli project. These lacunae contain electron-dense granules of small size and with species-specific patterns. Lacunae and dense granules show features typical of a degeneration process in the sensory cells. This general morphology corresponds to the unilobular type of organ of Bellonci, known in other isopods; it differs from the plurilobular type with onion bodies found in other Crustacea.

Quantification of subcellular glycogen in resting human muscle: granule size, number, and location

A few qualitative investigations suggested that location of muscle glycogen (G) granules in specific sites may be associated with distinct metabolic roles. Similarly, it has been suggested that the acid-soluble and -insoluble G fractions (macro- and proglycogen, respectively) are different metabolic pools and also could exist as separate entities. We employed a transmission electron microscopic technique to quantify subcellular G particle size, number, and location in human vastus lateralis biopsies of 11 resting men. The intra- and interobserver variability for the various measures was generally <4%. Granule size and number were quantified in subcellular compartments (subsarcolemmal, intra- and intermyofibrillar). Subcellular location was critical: G was more densely concentrated in the subsarcolemmal than in the myofibrillar space, whereas the single-particle volume was greater in the latter. Single-particle diameter ranged from 10 to 44 etam and followed a continuous, normal distribution. This implies that proglycogen is not a distinct entity, but rather that pro- and macroglycogen are divisions of smaller and larger molecules. These results demonstrate a compartmentalized pattern of subcellular G deposition in human skeletal muscle for both the size and density of granules.

Glycogenin-dependent organization of Ascaris suum muscle glycogen

In Ascaris suum, muscle glycogen is synthesized during host feeding intervals and degraded during nonfeeding intervals. Glycogen accumulation is up to 12-fold greater than that observed in mammalian muscle. Previous studies have established that many aspects of the parasite glycogen metabolism are comparable with the host, but a novel form of glycogen synthase designated GSII also occurs in the parasite. In this report glycogenin has been identified as the core protein in both mature glycogen and the GSII complex. Digestion of GSII complex glycogen generates discreet intermediates that may correspond to a proglycogen pool, whereas digestion of mature glycogen does not generate these intermediates. Because both GSII complex glycogen and mature glycogen serve as GSII substrates, the GSII complex likely represents an intermediate between glycogenin and mature glycogen. The regulation of glycogenin synthesis or the regulation of GSII activity that converts glycogenin to proglycogen, or both, may account for high levels of polysaccharide accumulation that are essential for A. suum survival.

The xenobiotic methionine sulfoximine modulates carbohydrate anabolism and related genes expression in rodent brain

Methionine sulfoximine is a xenobiotic amino acid derived from methionine. One of its major properties is to display a glycogenic activity in the brain. After studying this property, we investigate here a possible action of this xenobiotic on the expression of genes related to carbohydrate anabolism in the brain. Glycogen was studied by the means of electron microscopy. Astrocytes were cultured and the influence of methionine sulfoximine on carbohydrate anabolism in these cells was investigated. In vivo, methionine sulfoximine induced a large increase in glycogen accumulation. It also enhanced the glycogen accumulation in cultured astrocytes principally, when the medium was enriched in glucose. The gluconeogenic enzyme fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase may account for glycogen accumulation. Plasmids were built using antisens cDNA to permanently block the expression of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase. An eukaryotic vector was used and the expression of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase gene was under the control of the promoter of the glial fibrillary acidic protein. In this case, the glycogen content in cultured astrocytes largely decreased. This work shows that methionine sulfoximine enhances energy carbohydrate synthesis in the brain. Since this xenobiotic also enhances the expression of some genes related to one of the key step of glucose synthesis, it is possible that genes may be one target of methionine sulfoximine. Next investigations will study the actual effect of methionine sulfoximine in the cells.

Ultrastructural aspects of phytoglycogen from cryo-transmission electron microscopy and quasi-elastic light scattering data

Phytoglycogen particles extracted from the sugary maize mutant su 1 and dispersed in water were studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and light scattering. Dried specimens were either negatively stained with uranyl acetate or shadowed with W/Ta. Frozen-hydrated unstained particles embedded in a thin film of vitreous ice were also observed using cryo-TEM. The particles exhibited a spheroidal shape, with a diameter ranging from 30 to 100 nm. Some of them presented a multilobular morphology and appeared to be formed by smaller subunits, 20-30 nm in diameter, resembling the described beta-particles for animal glycogen. The diameter of stained and ice-embedded particles was measured from electron micrographs. The corresponding size distribution histograms showed that the average weight diameter of ice-embedded particles was higher than that of stained ones. In the latter case, a shrinkage of the particle was believed to occur during the drying process. Light scattering experiments confirmed the diameter of ice-embedded particles and indicated that they could be considered as uniformly dense spheroidal objects.

1H NMR spectroscopy study of the dynamic properties of glycogen in solution by steady-state magnetisation measurement with off-resonance irradiation

The dynamics of size-selected fractions of glycogen in solution have been investigated by proton NMR spectroscopy, using a recently described relaxation study method which relies on strong offresonance irradiation. The dependence of the steady-state magnetisation on angle and intensity of the effective radio-frequency field was measured and compared to theoretical curves derived from different models of motion. Absence or presence of contributions to relaxation from molecular motions on the microsecond time scale can be tested with this method, without having to resort to models. We found that glycogen dipolar relaxation did not result from isotropic Brownian rotation, and despite some contribution from slow motion (> 1 microsecond) to relaxation in glycogen alpha-particles extracted from rat liver, bulk movement of the molecules did not appear to participate in averaging the dipolar term to zero. Whereas hepatic glycogen rat beta-particles and commercial oyster glycogen displayed very similar relaxation properties, alpha-particles showed significantly different behaviour. However, all results were compatible with a diversity of movements within the molecule, ranging from freely rotating pyranoside rings through collective chain motion and possibly to bulk movement of the beta sub-units within the alpha-particle.