Characterization of the porcine transferrin gene (TF) and its association with disease severity following an experimental Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae infection.

Transferrin (TF)-mediated provision of iron is essential for a productive infection by many bacterial pathogens, and iron-depletion of TF is a first line defence against bacterial infections. Therefore, the transferrin (TF) gene can be considered a candidate gene for disease resistance. We obtained the complete DNA sequence of the porcine TF gene, which spans 40 kb and contains 17 exons. We identified polymorphisms on a panel of 10 different pig breeds. Comparative intra- and interbreed sequence analysis revealed 62 polymorphisms in the TF gene including one microsatellite. Ten polymorphisms were located in the coding sequence of the TF gene. Four SNPs (c.902A>T, c.980G>A, c.1417A>G, c.1810A>C) were predicted to cause amino acid exchanges (p.Lys301Ile, p.Arg327Lys, p.Lys473Glu, p.Asn604His). We performed association analyses using six selected TF markers and 116 pigs experimentally infected with Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotype 7. The analysis showed breed-specific TF allele frequencies. In German Landrace, we found evidence for a possible association of the severity of A. pleuropneumoniae infection with TF genotypes.

[Functional genome analysis investigating resistance to respiratory tract disease in a porcine Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae infection model]. / Funktionelle Genomanalyse zur Resistenz gegen Atemwegsinfektionen am Beispiel der Actinobacillus-Pleuropneumonie des Schweins.

Here we present the work of the multidisciplinary consortium IRAS (Development of Genetic Markers for Immune Defence and Resistance in the Porcine Respiratory Tract) which includes different commercial and research institutions and was formed as a response to the call "Functional Genome Analysis in the Animal Organism (FUGATO)" by the German Ministry of Education and Research. IRAS started work in the fall of 2005 and--using the experimental infection of pigs with Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae as model pathogen--aims at i) characterizing the course of infection by clinical as well as advanced laboratory tools (phenotypic-genetic approach) and ii) defining the diversity and distribution of allels known to be associated with immune defence in mouse and man (homolog-genetic approach). The intention is to identify genetic markers for increased resistance to infection thereby providing additional tools for the estimation of breeding values to the pig industry.

Respiratory components and oxidase activities in Alcaligenes eutrophus.

1. Cells of the hydrogen bacterium Alcaligenes eutrophus are broken by gentle lysis using lysozyme treatment in hypertonic sucrose followed by osmotic shock. By this method, 93% of the in vivo activity of the H2 oxidase is recovered and the ATPase remains particle bound. In contrast, cell disruption in a French pressure cell diminishes the in vivo activity of the H2 oxidase by 50% and solubilizes the bulk of the ATPase. 2. The bacterium contains a periplasmic cytochrome c with bands at 418, 521 and 550 nm (difference spectrum). In addition to cytochrome aa3, b-560, c-553 and o, low temperature difference spectra of membranes show the presence of two further cytochromes (shoulders at 551 and 553 nm). 3. The unsupplemented membrane fraction catalyses the oxidation of hydrogen, NADH, NADPH, succinate, formate and endogenous substrate (NAD linked) at rates 2--3-fold higher than membranes obtained from cells disrupted in a French pressure cell. With the exception of the H2 oxidase all oxidase activities in lysozyme membranes are sensitive to carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (20-100% stimulation of oxygen uptake). 4. The cytoplasmic fraction contains a B-type cytochrome with absorption maxima at 436 and 560 nm, capable of combining with CO; it contains non-covalently bound protohaem. In alkaline solutions a spectral transition to the haemochrome type with bands at 423, 526 and 556 nm occurs. The addition of NADH to an aerobic suspension of this cytochrome elicits new absorption maxima at 418, 545 and 577 nm (difference spectrum), which are believed to represent an oxygenated form of the reduced cytochrome.

An oxygen-binding flavohemoprotein from Alcaligenes eutrophus.

A procedure is described for the purification of a soluble flavohemoprotein from the hydrogen bacterium Alcaligenes eutrophus. The isolated protein exists as a monomer with a molecular weight of approx. 43,000. The molecule contains two prosthetic groups, 1 mol each of noncovalently bound FAD and protoheme per monomer. The absorption spectra of the protein in its ferric, ferrous-deoxy and ferrous-carboxy forms are similar to those of hemoglobins, with the exception of the flavin contribution (absorption maxima--ferric form: 395, 456, 483, 645 nm; ferrous-deoxy form: 436, 560 nm; ferrour-CO form: 423, 539, 569 nm). The flavohemoprotein when reduced by NADH in aerobic solution is capable of binding oxygen reversibly. The stable oxygenated complex exhibits absorption maxima at 414, 541, and 576 nm. The protein catalyzes the reduction of various dyes and cytochrome c by NADH.

Isolation and characterization of a rubredoxin and an (8Fe-8S) ferredoxin from Desulfuromonas acetoxidans.

A two cluster (4Fe-4S) ferredoxin and a rubredoxin have been isolated from the sulfur-reducing bacterium Desulfuromonas acetoxidans. Their amino acid compositions are reported and compared to those of other iron-sulfur proteins. The ferredoxin contains 8 cysteine residues, 8 atoms of iron and 8 atoms of labile sulfur per molecule; its minimum molecular weight is 6163. The protein exhibits an abosrbance ratio of A385/A283 = 0.74. Storage results in a bleaching of the chromophore; the denatured ferredoxin is reconstitutable with iron and sulfide. The instability temperature is 52 degrees C. The rubredoxin does not differ markedly from rubredoxins from other anaerobic bacteria.

Importance of endogenous substrates for cultured adult rat cardiac myocytes.

In Ca-tolerant adult cardiomyocytes the contribution of endogenous substrates (glycogen, tri- and diacylglycerol) to oxidative substrate metabolism was investigated. After 4 h in culture medium (M 199 plus 4% fetal calf serum) the cellular triacylglycerol content is 3.6-fold higher than in fresh myocardium and reflects the free fatty acid composition of the medium. When triacylglycerol is degraded, all long-chain fatty acids are hydrolysed at equal rates. In these quiescent cells, the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase is low (10% of full activity, in Tyrode solution with 5 mM glucose). Up to 30% of full pyruvate dehydrogenase activity, the contribution of non-lipid substrates (glycogen, glucose, lactate and pyruvate) to oxidative energy production is correlated to pyruvate dehydrogenase activity. At 5 mM medium concentration, glucose, lactate and pyruvate share in energy production the proportions of 15, 36 and 50%, whereas endogenous lipolysis accounts for 78, 61 and 46%. It is concluded that these quiescent cardiomyocytes represent cardiac metabolism in a basal state in which the preference for fatty acids, especially from endogenous lipids, is very pronounced. The utilization of endogenous substrates therefore has to be considered in all studies investigating the oxidative metabolism of these isolated cells.

Cytochrome c-551.5 (c7) from Desulfuromonas acetoxidans.

Cytochrome c-551.5 of the anaerobic sulfur-reducing bacterium Desulfuromonas acetoxidans has been purified to homogeneity and characterized. It elicits absorption bands at 551.5, 522.5 and 418 nm in the reduced form; the absorptivity ratio Aalpha(red)/A280nm(ox) equals 3.8 for the pure preparation. The molecular weight was estimated to be 9800 by gel filtration. Determination of the amion acid composition and analysis of the N-terminal amino acid sequence showed the cytochrome to be identical with the threehaem cytochrome c-551.5 (c7) isolated from the syntrophic mixed culture Chloropseudomonas ethylica strain 2K. The occurrence of multihaem cytochromes c in bacteria is discussed.

Inhibition of glycogenolysis and glycogen phosphorylase by insulin and proinsulin in rat hepatocyte cultures.

The inhibitory action of insulin and proinsulin on basal and glucagon-activated glycogenolysis was studied in cultured rat hepatocytes containing [14C]glycogen. Insulin or proinsulin given as sole hormones in the presence of 5 mM glucose decreased basal release of [14C]glucose from [14C]glycogen to 20%. Half-maximal effective concentration of insulin was approximately 0.15 nM and of proinsulin was approximately 5 nM. Inhibition of [14C]lactate release from [14C]glycogen required slightly higher hormone concentrations with a similar difference in potency for insulin and proinsulin. The glucagon-stimulated release of [14C]glucose was completely blocked by insulin or proinsulin with half-maximal effective concentrations of approximately 0.2 and approximately 8 nM, respectively. In contrast, release of [14C]lactate in the presence of glucagon was increased slightly by insulin and proinsulin. Basal and glucagon-activated phosphorylase activity was inhibited by approximately 50% in a dose-dependent manner by both hormones, with differences in potency similar to those for the inhibition of glycogenolysis. These data point to a direct regulatory role of insulin in the control of hepatic glycogen breakdown even when acting as sole hormone. The results do not support the notion of a preferential inhibitory potency of proinsulin on hepatic glycogenolysis.

Insulin-like action of proinsulin on rat liver carbohydrate metabolism in vitro.

Short-term effects of human proinsulin on metabolic rates and its long-term action on enzyme induction were studied in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes and in the perfused rat liver, and compared with the effects of bovine insulin. In the perfused rat liver, proinsulin decreased the glucagon-dependent increase of glycogenolysis. The action of 0.5 nM glucagon was almost completely suppressed by 100 nM proinsulin. Proinsulin and insulin showed similar potency. In cultured rat hepatocytes, proinsulin stimulated glycolysis up to fivefold with a half-maximal effective dose of 30 nM. Proinsulin induced the key glycolytic enzymes glucokinase and pyruvate kinase by twofold and antagonized the glucagon-dependent induction of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase with a half-maximal effective dose at 3 nM. For the effects in cultured hepatocytes, about 100-fold higher concentrations of proinsulin than of insulin were required.

Inhibitory effect of oxytocin and vasopressin on steroid release by cultured porcine luteal cells.

Previously, we have demonstrated the presence of substances reacting like arginine vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OXT) in acid extracts of corpora lutea (CL) of pigs by RIA. The present study examined purified extracts of CL by using HPLC. The results of these experiments show that CL of nonpregnant sows contain AVP and OXT. Little is known about possible auto- and paracrine effects of AVP and OXT in the ovary. Therefore, we investigated the influence of AVP and OXT on progesterone, estradiol, and androstenedione secretion in porcine luteal cell cultures from nonpregnant sows. Progesterone and androstenedione secretion increased significantly (P less than 0.05) in the presence of ovine LH (oLH), whereas no change in basal estradiol levels could be observed under the same conditions. When AVP or OXT was added to the culture system a dose-dependent inhibition of basal as well as oLH-stimulated progesterone secretion was measured. Under basal conditions, a dose of 1 pg AVP/ml decreased progesterone secretion significantly (P less than 0.05), but to reach the same effect in the presence of OXT a dose of 100 ng/ml was necessary. In the presence of oLH the addition of as little as 0.01 pg AVP/ml inhibited progesterone secretion significantly (P less than 0.05). On the other hand, 10 ng OXT/ml or higher doses were needed to decrease oLH-stimulated progesterone release. In the presence of specific peptide antagonists the inhibitory effect on progesterone release was abolished. These results suggest that AVP and OXT effects are mediated through specific receptors. OXT and AVP also inhibited androstenedione secretion, but had no effect on estradiol secretion. Calculation of the ED50 data from dose-response curves of both peptides show that AVP is about 10(4)-fold more active than OXT in inhibiting in vitro progesterone and androstenedione secretion. This suggests that AVP as well as OXT may play an important role in the regulation of ovarian function.

Modulation of the glucagon-dependent activation of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene by oxygen in rat hepatocyte cultures. Evidence for a heme protein as oxygen sensor.

The glucagon-dependent activation of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PCK) gene is modulated by oxygen. It was proposed that heme proteins might function as O2 sensors; their actions are impaired after replacement of the central Fe2+ ion by Co2+ and inhibition of heme synthesis by succinylacetone (SA). Therefore, the effects of CoCl2 and SA, alone and in combination, on the glucagon-dependent induction of PCK activity and PCK mRNA were investigated at different physiological oxygen tensions in primary rat hepatocyte cultures. The cells were exposed to 50 microM CoCl2 and/or 2 mM SA from 4-24 h. After addition of fresh media without CoCl2 or SA, PCK was induced with 1 nM glucagon. PCK activity and PCK mRNA were elevated to 100% at 16% O2 and to about 65% at 8% O2. CoCl2 reduced these increases to about 45% at 16% O2 and to about 35% at 8% O2. SA lowered the inductions to about 50% and 40% each at 16% and 8% O2. CoCl2 plus SA diminished the elevations to about 5% at both oxygen tensions. In the presence of CoCl2 and/or SA, ornithine decarboxylase induction by insulin was not impaired; lactate dehydrogenase did not leak from the cells, which in electron microscopical inspections had normal cell structures. These findings support the hypothesis that a heme protein is involved in the activation of the PCK gene and that it acts as an O2 sensor.

Anoxic ATP depletion in neonatal mice brainstem is prevented by creatine supplementation.

BACKGROUND: Sufficient ATP concentrations maintain physiological processes and protect tissue from hypoxic damage. With decreasing oxygen concentration, ATP synthesis relies increasingly on the presence of phosphocreatine. AIM: The effect of exogenously applied creatine on phosphocreatine and ATP concentrations was studied under control and anoxic conditions. METHODS: Pregnant mice were fed orally with creatine monohydrate (2 g/kg body weight/day). Brainstem slices from these mice pups were compared with those from pups of non-creatine supplemented pregnant mice. Measurements were performed under normoxic and anoxic conditions. In addition, brainstem slices from non-creatine treated mice pups were incubated for 3 hours in control artificial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (n = 10) or in artificial CSF containing 200 microM creatine (n = 10). ATP and phosphocreatine contents were determined enzymatically in single brainstem slices. RESULTS: ATP concentrations were in the same range in all preparations. However, there was a significant increase of phosphocreatine in the brainstems from pups of creatine fed mice when compared with the brainstems of pups from non-creatine treated mice or in non-incubated brainstems of control animals. After 30 minutes anoxia, ATP as well as phosphocreatine concentrations remained significantly higher in creatine pretreated slices compared with controls. CONCLUSION: The data indicate that exogenous application of creatine is effective in neuroprotection.

Elevated expression of hormone-regulated rat hepatocyte functions in a new serum-free hepatocyte-stromal cell coculture model.

The specific performance of the adult hepatic parenchymal cell is maintained and controlled by factors deriving from the stromal bed; the chemical nature of these factors is unknown. This study aimed to develop a serum-free hierarchical hepatocyte-nonparenchymal (stromal) cell coculture system. Hepatic stromal cells proliferated on crosslinked collagen in serum-free medium with epidermal growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, and hepatocyte-conditioned medium; cell type composition changed during the 2-wk culture period. During the first wk, the culture consisted of proliferating sinusoidal endothelial cells with well-preserved sieve plates, proliferating hepatic stellate cells, and partially activated Kupffer cells. The number of endothelial cells declined thereafter; stellate cells and Kupffer cells became the prominent cell types after 8 d. Hepatocytes were seeded onto stromal cells precultured for 4-14 d; they adhered to stellate and Kupffer cells, but spared the islands of endothelial cells. Stellate cells spread out on top of the hepatocytes; Kupffer cell extensions established multiple contacts to hepatocytes and stellate cells. Hepatocyte viability was maintained by coculture; the positive influence of stromal cell signals on hepatocyte differentiation became evident after 48 h; a strong improvement of cell responsiveness toward hormones could be observed in cocultured hepatocytes. Hierarchial hepatocyte coculture enhanced the glucagon-dependent increases in phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activity and messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) content three- and twofold, respectively; glucagon-activated urea production was elevated twofold. Coculturing also stimulated glycogen deposition; basal synthesis was increased by 30% and the responsiveness toward insulin and glucose was elevated by 100 and 55%, respectively. The insulin-dependent rise in the glucokinase mRNA content was increased twofold in cocultured hepatocytes. It can be concluded that long-term signals from stromal cells maintain hepatocyte differentiation. This coculture model should, therefore, provide the technical basis for the investigation of stroma-derived differentiation factors.

Antimicrobial activity of propolis and essential oils and synergism between these natural products

In the present study, Apis mellifera propolis and essential oils (EOs) obtained from aromatic plants were evaluated as alternative antimicrobials. We aimed to establish the antimicrobial activity of ethanolic extracts of propolis (EEP) from Apis mellifera and of EOs from Caryophyllus aromaticus, Zingiber officinale, Cinnamomum zeylanicum and Mentha piperita against 32 Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli strains from human clinical specimens. The antimicrobials were diluted in agar and the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were found whereas MIC90 percent values were calculated. Time-kill curve assays using mixtures containing one quarter of MIC90 percent for EEP with all EOs as well cinnamon EO were performed. The cinnamon EO was found to be the most efficient, with MIC90 percent values of 1.22 and 0.96 mg x mL-1 respectively against S. aureus and E. coli, whereas MIC90 percent of EEP were 1.86 and 20.12 mg x mL-1 respectively against S. aureus and E. coli. The combinations of EEP with ginger and mint EOs, and cinnamon with ginger and clove EOs, showed synergistic effects. Consequently, further studies are necessary to confirm these activities in vivo and to evaluate the phytochemical characteristics of natural products.

Short-term regulation of glycolysis by insulin and dexamethasone in cultured rat hepatocytes.

Evidence for a direct metabolic effect of insulin in isolated liver preparations is scarce. The stimulation of glycolysis by insulin previously demonstrated in monolayer cultures of adult rat hepatocytes [(1982) Eur. J. Biochem. 126, 271-278] was further investigated. The degree of stimulation varied with the age of the culture and amounted to 250%, 200%, 500% and 200% of the control value using cells at the culture age of 2 h, 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h, respectively. Half-maximal dose of insulin was 0.1 nM. Maximal stimulation was reached within 5 min and lasted for at least 4 h. Dexamethasone acted both as a long-term and short-term modulator. Long-term pretreatment of the cells with dexamethasone proved necessary to permit insulin action. In addition to this permissive action, pretreatment with dexamethasone reduced the insulin-independent basal glycolytic rate. In short-term experiments dexamethasone decreased the basal glycolytic flux, however, it did not affect the absolute increase in glycolysis brought about by insulin. The half-maximal dose of dexamethasone was 10 nM. The stimulatory effects of insulin may in part be attributed to the activation of pyruvate kinase. Insulin produced a left-shift of the substrate saturation curve, decreasing the K0.5 value for phosphoenolpyruvate.

The glucagon-insulin antagonism and glucagon-dexamethasone synergism in the induction of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase in cultured rat hepatocytes.

In hepatocytes precultured for 24 h with dexamethasone glucagon increased phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activity 3-4-fold with a half maximal activity increase at 30 pM. The half maximal effective glucagon concentration was enhanced 10-fold to 300 pM when insulin was added simultaneously. The glucagon-insulin antagonism was maximally expressed when glucagon was present at low physiological concentrations. At equimolar doses it was only in the concentration range around 0.1 nM that glucagon and insulin became powerful antagonists; at higher levels glucagon was the dominant hormone. In hepatocytes not pretreated with dexamethasone glucagon still enhanced phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activity, but the half maximal effective dose raised more than 30-fold to 1 nM. The degree of stimulation, however, remained essentially unchanged. Thus dexamethasone shifted the glucagon sensitivity of the cells into the physiological concentration range; it exerted a half maximal effect at 10 nM. Dexamethasone was not required for the enzyme induction proper if the cells had been pretreated with the glucocorticoid. The amount of the glucagon-stimulated enzyme induction was dependent on the time period of cell pretreatment with dexamethasone. Glucagon enhanced enzyme activity to the same constant suboptimal level irrespective of whether cells had been pretreated with glucocorticoid for 1 or for 14 h. If cells were pretreated for more than 15 h, glucagon linearly increased enzyme activity further until the maximal value was reached after 24 h pretreatment. The glucagon-insulin antagonism and the glucagon-glucocorticoid synergism were observed at physiological hormone concentrations indicating that the interaction should be effective also in vivo. Dexamethasone does not seem to be generally permissive for the inducing action of glucagon, but rather sensitizes the cell towards lower physiological hormone concentrations.

[Typical retinitis pigmentosa with chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (author's transl)]. / Typische Retinopathia pigmentosa bei chronisch-progressiver Ophthalmoplegie

Report of a case of chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia combined with retinitis pigmentosa, optic atrophy, marked attenuation of the retinal vessels, maculopathy, and complicated cataract. Visual fields and acuity were severely impaired. The ophthalmoplegia was histologically identified as ocular myopathy. In a review of 181 cases with CPEO the disease was found to be associated with retinitis pigmentosa in 7 per cent and with atypical pigmentary retinopathy in 36 per cent of the cases. A distinction of these two types of retinal dystrophy is justified by the clinical features and may indicate different hereditary patterns.

Permissive action of triiodothyronine on the long-term increase of glycolysis by insulin in cultured rat hepatocytes.

The long-term influence of triiodothyronine (T3) and insulin on glycolysis, some glycolytic/gluconeogenic enzymes and insulin responsiveness and sensitivity was investigated in rat hepatocytes cultured for 48 h without T3, with 10 microM T3, with 10nM insulin and with insulin plus T3. From 48 h-51 h basal glycolysis ([14C]lactate formation from [14C]glucose) was measured in the absence and short-term insulin-stimulated glycolysis in the presence of 100 nM insulin. 1) T3 addition for 48 h had no significant influence on basal or on insulin-stimulated glycolysis. 2) Insulin addition for 48 h increased basal glycolysis to 300%, and insulin-stimulated glycolysis to 160%. 3) T3 plus insulin addition for 48 h elevated basal glycolysis to 560% and insulin-stimulated glycolysis to 230%. 4) The 48-h treatment with T3 did not change glucokinase (GK) and pyruvate kinase (PK) activity, yet it increased phosphoenol-pyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) activity to 150%. 5) The 48-h treatment with insulin as well as T3 plus insulin enhanced GK to 200% and PK to 140% and decreased PEPCK to 65%. 6) The long-term effect of T3 on glycolysis was maximal at initial concentrations of 100 nM. 7) The long-term treatment with T3 did not alter the short-term responsiveness or sensitivity of glycolysis for insulin, neither in cells from euthyroid nor from hypothyroid rats. The present results allow the conclusion that T3 had a permissive effect on the long-term increase of glycolysis by insulin, and that T3 exerted this function by altering neither the cellular content of key enzymes nor the short-term insulin responsiveness and sensitivity.

Induction in primary culture of 'gluconeogenic' and 'glycolytic' hepatocytes resembling periportal and perivenous cells.

Adult rat hepatocytes were kept in primary culture for 48 h under different hormonal conditions to induce an enzyme pattern which with respect to carbohydrate metabolism approximated that of periportal and perivenous hepatocytes in vivo. 1. Glucagon-treated cells compared with control cells possessed a lower activity of glucokinase, a 4.5-fold higher activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and unchanged levels of glucose-6-phosphatase, phosphofructokinase, fructose-bisphosphatase and pyruvate kinase; they resembled in a first approximation the periportal cell type and are called for simplicity 'periportal'. Inversely, insulin-treated cells compared with control cells contained a 2.2-fold higher activity of glucokinase, a slightly decreased activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, increased activities of phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase and unaltered levels of glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-bisphosphatase; they resembled perivenous cells and are called simply 'perivenous'. Gluconeogenesis and glycolysis were studied under various substrate and hormone concentrations. 2. Physiological concentrations of glucose (5 mM) and lactate (2 mM) gave about 80% saturation of gluconeogenesis from lactate and less than 15% saturation of glycolysis at a simultaneous 40% inhibition of the glycolytic rate by lactate. 3. Comparison of the two cell types showed that under identical assay conditions (5 mM glucose, 2 mM lactate, 0.5 nM insulin, 0.1 muM dexamethasone) gluconeogenesis was 1.5-fold faster in the 'periportal' cells and glycolysis was 2.4-fold faster in the 'perivenous' cells. 4. Metabolic rates were under short-term hormonal control. Insulin increased glycolysis three fold in both cell types with a half-maximal effect at about 0.4 nM, but did not influence the gluconeogenic rate. Glucagon inhibited glycolysis by 70% with a half-maximal effect at about 0.1 nM. Gluconeogenesis was stimulated by glucagon (half-maximal dose: 0.5 nM) 1.8-fold only in 'periportal' cells containing high phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activity, not in the 'perivenous' cells with a low level of this enzyme. 5. A comparison of the two cell types showed that with maximally stimulating hormone concentrations gluconeogenesis was threefold faster in 'periportal' cells and glycolysis was eightfold faster in 'perivenous' cells. The results support the view that periportal and perivenous hepatocytes in vivo catalyse gluconeogenesis and glycolysis at inverse rates.

Antagonistic regulation of the glucose/glucose 6-phosphate cycle by insulin and glucagon in cultured hepatocytes.

Flux through the glucose/glucose 6-phosphate cycle in cultured hepatocytes was measured with radiochemical techniques. Utilization of [2-3H]glucose was taken as a measure of glucokinase flux. Liberation of [14C]glucose from [U-14C]glycogen and from [U-14C]lactate, as well as the difference between the utilization of [2-3H]glucose and of [U-14C]glucose, were taken as measures of glucose-6-phosphatase flux. At constant 5 mM-glucose and 2 mM-lactate concentrations insulin increased glucokinase flux by 35%; it decreased glucose-6-phosphatase flux from glycogen by 50%, from lactate by 15% and reverse flux from external glucose by 65%, i.e. overall by 40%. Glucagon had essentially no effect on glucokinase flux; it enhanced glucose-6-phosphatase flux from glycogen by 700%, from lactate by 45% and reverse flux from external glucose by 20%, i.e. overall by 110%. At constant glucose concentrations cellular glucose 6-phosphate concentrations were essentially not altered by insulin, but were increased by glucagon by 230%. In conclusion, under basic conditions without added hormones the glucose/glucose 6-phosphate cycle showed only a minor net glucose uptake, of 0.03 mumol/min per g of hepatocytes; this flux was increased by insulin to a net glucose uptake of 0.21 mumol/min per g and reversed by glucagon to a net glucose release of 0.22 mumol/min per g. Since the glucose 6-phosphate concentrations after hormone treatment did not correlate with the glucose-6-phosphatase flux, it is suggested that the hormones influenced the enzyme activity directly.