Insulinlike activity of new antidiabetic agent CP 68722 in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

We examined the in vitro effects of CP 68722, a novel antidiabetic agent, in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. CP 68722 stimulated 2-deoxyglucose uptake in the absence of insulin. At least 30 min of incubation were required for stimulation of uptake. This effect increased over 5 h and was sustained up to 72 h. The stimulation of 2-deoxyglucose uptake by CP 68722 could be inhibited approximately 60% by inhibition of protein synthesis with cycloheximide. Half-maximal and maximal responses to CP 68722 at 72 h of incubation were observed at 10 and 100 microM of drug, respectively, with a threefold stimulation of uptake at 100 microM approximating the maximal response of these cells to acute insulin stimulation. CP 68722 was able to overcome insulin resistance induced by dexamethasone in 3T3-L1 cells. The effect of drug, like that of insulin, was primarily to increase the Vmax of 2-deoxyglucose uptake. The stimulation of uptake by CP 68722 or insulin could be prevented by incubating the cells at 10 degrees C, a temperature that impedes translocation of glucose transporters to the plasma membrane. Therefore, it appears that CP 68722, like insulin, stimulates glucose uptake by a mechanism that involves translocation of intracellular glucose transporters to the plasma membrane and de novo protein synthesis. We compared the effect of CP 68722 with the sulfonylureas, the primary drugs used in the treatment of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). CP 68722 was a more potent and effective stimulator of 2-deoxyglucose uptake in 3T3-L1 cells than either first- or second-generation sulfonylureas.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Na+-K+-ATPase pumping activity is not directly linked to myo-inositol levels after sorbinil treatment in lenses of diabetic rats.

Changes in tissue levels of sorbitol, myo-inositol, and Na+-K+-ATPase enzyme activity have been implicated in the development of diabetic complications in animal models of the disease and in humans. The ability of the aldose reductase inhibitor sorbinil to reverse the hyperglycemia-induced changes in these lenticular metabolite and enzyme-activity levels in the streptozocin-induced diabetic rat was examined to determine what, if any, relationship exists between these changes. Two weeks of untreated diabetes did not change ouabain-inhibitable ATPase enzyme activity assayed in lens homogenates but did result in a decrease in the Na+-K+-ATPase transport activity as measured by 86Rb uptake in the intact lens. This was accompanied by a 100-fold increase in the levels of sorbitol and significant decreases in the levels of myo-inositol, ATP, and glutathione in the lens. Whereas all of these changes could be reversed by sorbinil treatment, the dose required for restoration of the depleted myo-inositol level (ED50 greater than 20 mg.kg-1.day-1) was much higher than the dose required to reverse the other changes (ED50 range 2-5 mg.kg-1.day-1). These results suggest that the restoration of lenticular Na+ -K+ -ATPase activity is not secondary to a normalization of myo-inositol levels and may provide evidence that the two parameters are not strictly associated in diabetic tissues.

Actions of novel antidiabetic agent englitazone in hyperglycemic hyperinsulinemic ob/ob mice.

The effects of CP 68722 (racemic englitazone) were examined in ob/ob mice, in adipocytes and soleus muscles from ob/ob mice, and in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Administration of englitazone at 5-50 mg.kg-1.day-1 lowered plasma glucose and insulin dose dependently without producing frank hypoglycemia in either the diabetic or nondiabetic lean animals. The glucose-lowering effect in ob/ob mice preceded the reduction in hyperinsulinemia. On cessation of drug, plasma insulin returned to untreated levels within 48 h, whereas plasma glucose rose slowly over 5 days. Englitazone (50 mg/kg) for 11 days lowered plasma glucose (22.2 +/- 1.4 to 14.0 +/- 1.9 mM), insulin (7.57 +/- 0.67 to 1.64 +/- 0.60 nM), nonesterified fatty acids (1813 +/- 86 to 914 +/- 88 microM), glycerol (9.20 +/- 0.98 to 4.94 +/- 0.03 mM), triglycerides (1.99 +/- 0.25 to 1.03 +/- 0.11 g/L), and cholesterol (6.27 +/- 0.96 to 3.87 +/- 0.57 mM), but no effects were observed 3 h after a single dose. Basal and insulin-stimulated lipogenesis were enhanced in adipocytes from ob/ob mice treated with 50 mg/kg englitazone for 11 days compared with lipogenesis in cells from vehicle-treated controls. Treatment of ob/ob mice with 50 mg/kg englitazone reversed the defects in insulin-stimulated glycolysis (from [3-3H]glucose) and glycogenesis and basal glucose oxidation (from [1-14C]glucose) in isolated soleus muscles. Englitazone (30 microM) stimulated 2-deoxy-D-glucose transport in 3T3-L1 adipocytes from 0.37 +/- 0.03 to 0.65 +/- 0.06 and 1.53 nmol.min-1.mg-1 protein at 24 and 48 h, respectively. Thus, englitazone has 1) insulinomimetic and insulin-enhancing actions in vitro and 2) glucose-, insulin-, triglyceride-, and cholesterol-lowering properties in an animal model of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in which sulfonylureas have little or no effect. Thus, this new agent may have beneficial effects including a reduced risk of hypoglycemia in patients with NIDDM.

Regulation of pyruvate oxidation and the conservation of glucose.

In animals the pyruvate dehydrogenase reaction is mainly responsible for the irreversible loss of glucose carbon by oxidation. Regulation of this reaction is shown to be a major determinant of glucose conservation in starvation and diabetes. Estimates of conservation in man in starvation and diabetes are reviewed. The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is inhibited by products of its reactions; it is also regulated by a phosphorylation-dephosphorylation cycle catalysed by a kinase intrinsic to the complex and by a more loosely associated phosphatase. Inactivation is largely accomplished by phosphorylation of the tetrameric decarboxylase component (alpha2beta2) to alpha2Pbeta2. Complete phosphorylation produces the (alpha2P3)beta2 form. Both forms are completely reactivated by phosphatase action but the initial rate of reactivation of a complex containing alpha2Pbeta2 is approximately three times that of (alpha2P3)beta2. The proportion of active (dephosphorylated) complex is decreased in rat tissues by starvation and diabetes and in perfused rat heart by oxidation of fatty acids and ketone bodies. In adipose tissue in vitro, insulin increases the proportion of active complex and lipolytic hormones may decrease this proportion. It is suggested that rates of oxidation of lipid fuels may be a major determinant of the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase in tissues in relation to the actions of insulin and lipolytic hormones and the effects of diabetes and starvation. Phosphorylation and inactivation of the complex are enhanced by high mitochondrial ratios of [acetyl-CoA]/[CoA], [ATP]/[ADP], [NADH]/[NAD+] and low concentrations of pyruvate, Mg2+ and Ca2+, and vice versa.

Rotationally restricted mimics of rigid molecules: nonspirocyclic hydantoin aldose reductase inhibitors.

Sorbinil (1), a spirocyclic hydantoin, is a potent inhibitor of the enzyme aldose reductase. Simulation of the rigid spirocyclic ring orientation found in sorbinil was achieved with nonspirocyclic 5-[5'-chloro-2'-(alkylsulfonyl)-phenyl]hydantoins and 5-[5'-chloro-2'-[(N-alkylamino)sulfonyl]phenyl]hydantoins. The 2'-substituent (SO2R) was sufficiently large to hinder rotation of the hydantoin ring, forcing an orientation similar to that of a spirocyclic hydantoin. Calculated conformational preference, X-ray data, and inhibitory IC50 values for these nonspirocyclic 2'-substituted (SO2R) phenylhydantoins are in accord with what is expected for spirocyclic hydantoins and comparable to those of sorbinil.

Effects of the aldose reductase inhibitor sorbinil on the isolated cultured rat lens.

The isolated cultured rat lens has been used to examine the effects of the aldose reductase inhibitor sorbinil on lenticular polyol accumulation and sugar cataract formation. Lenses incubated in medium containing 35 mmol/L glucose accumulated sorbitol over a seven-day period without the appearance of overt opacities. Sorbitol accumulation was inhibited in a dose response fashion by sorbinil with an IC50 of 3.1 X 10(-6) mol/L. In lenses incubated in the presence of 29.5 mmol/L xylose, xylitol accumulation was accompanied by an increase in the water content of the lens and the development of a classical sugar cataract. All of these effects could be prevented by the addition of sorbinil to the culture medium. Complete inhibition of cataract formation required greater than an 80% inhibition of the xylitol accumulation. Reversal of a preformed xylose cataract by sorbinil could be achieved if the inhibitor was added at the stage of cortical opacities (20 h). Cataract progression proceeded normally over the next 48 hours and then the lens slowly began to clear. The rate of the reversal was dependent on the dose of sorbinil.

Internalization of cytoplasmic protein by lysosomes as the mechanism of resident protein turnover in liver.

Long lived, resident proteins comprise more than 99% of the cytoplasmic protein content in rat liver. In perfusion experiments, their overall rate of degradation can be varied from 4.5-5.0%/h with glucagon or stringent amino acid depletion to 1.5%/h with additions of 4-10 times normal plasma amino acids. The aggregate volume of degradative lysosomal components and their content of degradable protein, estimated in homogenate experiments, were found to relate directly to rates of protein breakdown from maximal down to and including the basal state. The rate constant of autophagic vacuole regression, estimated stereologically after stopping their formation with amino acids, was 0.087/min (t1/2 = 8.0 min), and the turnover of cytoplasmic volume during deprivation, calculated from this constant and increases over basal in either newly induced autophagic vacuoles (AVi) or secondary degradative forms, agreed quantitatively with corresponding rates of protein turnover. The fact that the time courses of intralysosomal proteolysis in liver homogenates were identical, despite large differences in the quantity of internalized protein degraded, suggests that the rate constant of intralysosomal digestion in intact hepatocytes is invariant over the full range of regulation. Our findings thus support the hypothesis that all resident proteins are sequestered and degraded by the lysosomal-vacuolar system.

Suppression of cytoplasmic protein uptake by lysosomes as the mechanism of protein regain in livers of starved-refed mice.

The suppression of proteolysis that normally accompanies cytoplasmic growth was investigated in livers of mice that had lost approximately 40% of their protein content during 48 h of starvation. The deficit was fully restored after 24 h of refeeding, and the net regain was linear between 12 and 24 h. Rates of protein breakdown were determined from (a) differences between synthesis and the net change in total liver protein, and (b) rates of valine release during 15-min in situ perfusions in the presence of cycloheximide. With appropriate correction for the turnover of a short lived pool, both procedures gave the same results; rates at 12 and 24 h of refeeding were decreased 90% over values in fed controls, an effect which accounted for 93% of protein regrowth. Measurements of degradable, intralysosomal protein revealed that sequestration of cytoplasmic protein by lysosomes was correspondingly decreased. Because the ratio of intracellular proteolysis to internalized protein was the same during refeeding as in earlier experiments where autophagy was the dominant process, the uptake of cytoplasmic proteins by lysosomes appears to be an obligatory step in proteolysis at all levels of regulation. The 20-fold range in rates of degradation exhibited by the mouse hepatocyte thus provides this cell with an unusual capability for regulating its protein content against relatively small changes in protein synthesis.

Quantitative correlation between proteolysis and macro- and microautophagy in mouse hepatocytes during starvation and refeeding.

Cytoplasmic protein in hepatocytes is sequestered and degraded by two general classes of lysosomes, overt autophagic vacuoles (macroautophagy) and dense bodies (microautophagy). Volumes of the apparent space in each class that contain the internalized protein, together with estimates of cytoplasmic protein concentration, were used as a basis for predicting rates of protein degradation by the lysosomal system in livers of fed, 48-hr starved, and starved-refed mice. Assuming that the turnover of all sequestered protein is equal to that previously determined in overt autophagic vacuoles (0.087 min-1), we obtained close agreement between predicted and observed rates in the three conditions studied. The two autophagic components, though, exhibited different patterns of regulation. Microautophagy followed a downward course through starvation and into refeeding, a trend that explained fully the fall in absolute rates of protein degradation during starvation. By contrast, macroautophagy remained constant throughout starvation but was virtually abolished with refeeding. Whereas regulation of the latter can be explained largely by immediate responses to the supply of amino acids, present evidence together with results of others indicate that microsequestration could be linked to functional and quantitative alterations in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum. Both types of regulation contributed equally to the marked suppression of proteolysis during cytoplasmic regrowth.

Degradation of intra- and extrahepatic protein by livers of normal and diabetic mice: differential responses to starvation.

Rates of total hepatic proteolysis were measured in normal and streptozotocin-diabetic mice during feeding and over 48 hr of starvation, during which livers in the two groups lost 37% and 54% of their protein content, respectively. Measurements were made in 15-min in situ cyclic perfusions from the linear accumulation of free valine in the presence of cycloheximide; rates were corrected for turnover of short-lived proteins because these components contribute negligibly to alterations in liver protein content. During deprivation, corrected rates, expressed on a per liver basis, remained constant in normal mice but increased markedly in the diabetic group, attaining twice prestarvation values by 48 hr. By contrast, degradation rates of long-lived intracellular proteins, calculated from the sum of their synthesis and the linear decrease in protein content, decreased predictably in both groups and in parallel with absolute rates of protein synthesis. The extra proteolysis, representing the difference between total and long-lived protein degradation, was small in fed animals but increased progressively during starvation. With diabetic mice, however, the increase was approximately 5 times that of the normal and, in absolute terms, roughly equaled the total loss of liver protein. We suggest that this fraction arose from intrahepatic breakdown of proteins that were ultimately derived from sources outside the liver. Acceleration of this novel process could play an important interim role in providing endogenous glucogenic substrate under conditions in which the demand for this substrate is high.

In-vitro assessment of a hypersensitivity syndrome associated with sorbinil.

Sorbinil is a hydantoin aldose reductase inhibitor that has shown promise as therapy for patients with diabetic complications such as neuropathy and retinopathy. However, as many as 10% of patients receiving sorbinil have had adverse reactions characterized by fever, skin rash, and myalgia. Our previous studies of phenytoin suggested that susceptibility to reactions might result from an inherited detoxification defect. We did the current study to determine if sorbinil is metabolized to reactive intermediates and if cells from patients with a history of a reaction to sorbinil are appropriate for the in-vitro investigation of susceptibility. Microsome-generated metabolites of sorbinil (50 microM) were toxic to normal peripheral blood lymphocytes (7.9% +/- 0.3% dead cells [mean +/- SE]). Toxicity was increased in the presence of an epoxide hydrolase inhibitor (17.5% +/- 0.3% dead cells) and abolished by an inhibitor of cytochrome P-450. In contrast to cells from healthy controls and diabetics who tolerated sorbinil (7.9% +/- 0.7% and 7.8% +/- 0.4% dead cells, respectively), cells from the six patients who had sorbinil reactions showed significantly increased toxicity from metabolites of sorbinil and phenytoin (19.7% +/- 2.3% dead cells, P less than 0.001). Cells from three patients who had reactions to phenytoin were similarly sensitive to sorbinil metabolites (23.4% +/- 0.3% dead cells). We conclude that sorbinil is oxidatively metabolized to a potentially toxic intermediate. Certain patients may be at increased risk for developing hypersensitivity reactions. Development of this important new drug has been hampered by uncommon but potentially severe reactions. An increased understanding of the steps involved in the development of adverse reactions could lead to screening tests or to the development of safer compounds.

Regulation of pyruvate dehydrogenase by insulin action.

In animal tissues the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is regulated by product inhibition and by a phosphorylation-dephosphorylation cycle catalysed by a kinase and a phosphatase. Physiologic and molecular aspects of this regulation are reviewed, and the results of recent studies are described. Insulin deficiency in the rat (diabetes or starvation) is shown to inhibit the conversion of inactive (phospho-) complex into active (dephospho-) complex by the phosphatase by an effect on the substrate for the phosphatase (phosphorylated complex). This change is stable and persists during isolation, incubation, and extraction of mitochondria or purification of phosphorylated complex. The subunit ratios in the purified pig heart pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and the stoichiometry of phosphorylations have been determined by radioamidination and incorporation of 32P. The ratios of decarboxylase tetramer (alpha 2, beta 2) : dihydrolipoyl acetyltransferase monomer : dihydrolipoly dehydrogenase monomer were 1:1:0.5. Inactivation of the complex was accomplished by incorporation of a single phosphate into one alpha subunit of the decarboxylase tetramer. Two further phosphates are then incorporated and these additional phosphorylations inhibit reactivation of the complex by the phosphate. It is suggested that multisite phosphorylations may inhibit reactivation of the complex by the phosphatase in diabetes and in starvation.

Conversion of inactive (phosphorylated) pyruvate dehydrogenase complex into active complex by the phosphate reaction in heart mitochondria is inhibited by alloxan-diabetes or starvation in the rat.

1. The conversion of inactive (phosphorylated) pyruvate dehydrogenase complex into active (dephosphorylated) complex by pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphate phosphatase is inhibited in heart mitochondria prepared from alloxan-diabetic or 48h-starved rats, in mitochondria prepared from acetate-perfused rat hearts and in mitochondria prepared from normal rat hearts incubated with respiratory substrates for 6 min (as compared with 1 min). 2. This conclusion is based on experiments with isolated intact mitochondria in which the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase reaction was inhibited by pyruvate or ATP depletion (by using oligomycin and carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone), and in experiments in which the rate of conversion of inactive complex into active complex by the phosphatase was measured in extracts of mitochondria. The inhibition of the phosphatase reaction was seen with constant concentrations of Ca2+ and Mg2+ (activators of the phosphatase). The phosphatase reaction in these mitochondrial extracts was not inhibited when an excess of exogenous pig heart pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphate was used as substrate. It is concluded that this inhibition is due to some factor(s) associated with the substrate (pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphate complex) and not to inhibition of the phosphatase as such. 3. This conclusion was verified by isolating pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphate complex, free of phosphatase, from hearts of control and diabetic rats an from heart mitochondria incubed for 1min (control) or 6min with respiratory substrates. The rates of re-activation of the inactive complexes were then measured with preparations of ox heart or rat heart phosphatase. The rates were lower (relative to controls) with inactive complex from hearts of diabetic rats or from heart mitochondria incubated for 6min with respiratory substrates. 4. The incorporation of 32Pi into inactive complex took 6min to complete in rat heart mitocondria. The extent of incorporation was consistent with three or four sites of phosphorylation in rat heart pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. 5. It is suggested that phosphorylation of sites additional to an inactivating site may inhibit the conversion of inactive complex into active complex by the phosphatase in heart mitochondria from alloxan-diabetic or 48h-starved rats or in mitochondria incubated for 6min with respiratory substrates.

Phosphorylation of additional sites on pyruvate dehydrogenase inhibits its re-activation by pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphate phosphatase.

The phosphorylation of sites additional to an inactivating site inhibits the formation of active pig heart pyruvate dehydrogenase complex from inactive pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphate complex by pig heart pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphate phosphatase.

Hepatic metabolism of genetically diabetic (db/db) mice. I. Carbohydrate metabolism.

Hepatic carbohydrate metabolism in genetically diabetic mice (db/db) and their normal littermates has been studied. In db/db mice, body water was below normal and declined with age. The liver of db/db mice was abnormally large in relation to the metabolic mass of the body at all ages studied. In db/db mice, hepatic glycogenolysis, glycogen synthesis, glycogen synthetase, and phosphorylase were markedly increased. Gluconeogenesis from alanine or lactate in perfused livers of db/db mice was greater than normal per 100 g body water. Activities of fructose-1, 6-biophosphatase, glucose-6-phosphatase, glucokinase + hexokinase, and pyruvate kinase were elevated in livers of db/db mice. Diabetic mouse livers perfused with lactate showed a markedly reduced concentration of P-enolpyruvate and clear "forward crossover" between fructose-1, 6-P2 and fructose-6-P. In vivo glucose clearance, measured with [3-3H]glucose, in db/db mice was 170% that of normal mice. Data presented indicate that in livers of db/db mice: 1) glucose production is elevated prior to hyperglycemia, 2) glycogen turns over more rapidly, and 3) glycolytic and gluconeogenic enzymes are elevated paradoxically. These abnormalities are discussed from the viewpoint of their etiology.

Glucose flux and the redox state of pyridine dinucleotides in the rat lens.

The concentration of alpha-glycerophosphate (GP) appeared to increase and readily reached a new steady state in lenses incubated with KCN or under hyperglucosic condition. This increase can be explained by the change in NADH/NAD ratio under each condition. The relative ratio of pyridine dinucleotides (NADH/NAD) was calculated from equilibrium equations of two NAD-linked enzymes, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH). The change in NADH/NAD ratio based on biochemical assays correlates well with that estimated from GPDH reaction. This indicates that measurements of pyridine dinucleotides (e.g. in vivo redox fluorometry) can be used to demonstrate lens metabolic status.

Studies on the alpha-adrenergic activation of hepatic glucose output. I. Studies on the alpha-adrenergic activation of phosphorylase and gluconeogenesis and inactivation of glycogen synthase in isolated rat liver parenchymal cells.

Epinephrine and the alpha-adrenergic agonist phenylephrine activated phosphorylase, glycogenolysis, and gluconeogenesis from lactate in a dose-dependent manner in isolated rat liver parenchymal cells. The half-maximally active dose of epinephrine was 10-7 M and of phenylephrine was 10(-6) M. These effects were blocked by alpha-adrenergic antagonists including phenoxybenzamine, but were largely unaffected by beta-adrenergic antagonists including propranolol. Epinephrine caused a transient 2-fold elevation of adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cAMP) which was abolished by propranolol and other beta blockers, but was unaffected by phenoxybenzamine and other alpha blockers. Phenoxybenzamine and propranolol were shown to be specific for their respective adrenergic receptors and to not affect the actions of glucagon or exogenous cAMP. Neither epinephrine (10-7 M), phenylephrine (10-5 M), nor glucagon (10-7 M) inactivated glycogen synthase in liver cells from fed rats. When the glycogen synthase activity ratio (-glucose 6-phosphate/+ glucose 6-phosphate) was increased from 0.09 to 0.66 by preincubation of such cells with 40 mM glucose, these agents substantially inactivated the enzyme. Incubation of hepatocytes from fed rats resulted in glycogen depletion which was correlated with an increase in the glycogen synthase activity ratio and a decrease in phosphorylase alpha activity. In hepatocytes from fasted animals, the glycogen synthase activity ratio was 0.32 +/- 0.03, and epinephrine, glucagon, and phenylephrine were able to lower this significantly. The effects of epinephrine and phenylephrine on the enzyme were blocked by phenoxybenzamine, but were largely unaffected by propranolol. Maximal phosphorylase activation in hepatocytes from fasted rats incubated with 10(-5) M phenylephrine preceded the maximal inactivation of glycogen synthase. Addition of glucose rapidly reduced, in a dose-dependent manner, both basal and phenylephrine-elevated phosphorylase alpha activity in hepatocytes prepared from fasted rats. Glucose also increased the glycogen synthase activity ratio, but this effect lagged behind the change in phosphorylase. Phenylephrine (10-5 M) and glucagon (5 x 10(-10) M) decreased by one-half the fall in phosphoryalse alpha activity seen with 10 mM glucose and markedly suppressed the elevation of glycogen synthase activity. The following conclusions are drawn from these findings. (a) The effects of epinephrine and phenylephrine on carbohydrate metabolism in rat liver parenchymal cells are mediated predominantly by alpha-adrenergic receptors. (b) Stimulation of these receptors by epinephrine or phenylephrine results in activation of phosphorylase and gluconeogenesis and inactivation of glycogen synthase by mechanisms not involving an increase in cellular cAMP. (c) Activation of beta-adrenergic receptors by epinephrine leads to the accumulation of cAMP, but this is associated with minimal activation of phosphorylase or inactivation of glycogen synthase...