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R D Eichner

Publications and source records attributed to R D Eichner.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Glycogen synthesis in resident and thioglycollate-elicited rat peritoneal exudate cells.

The values of the A0.5 for glucose-6-P, apparent Km for UDPglucose and -/+glucose-6-P activity ratio are similar for glycogen synthase derived from rat resident and thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal macrophages; the specific activity is 7-fold higher for the enzyme from thioglycollate-elicited macrophages. The rate of incorporation of [14C]glucose into macrophage glycogen is 7-fold greater in the elicited population that that in the resident one; the values of the S0.5 for glucose are similar. The in vitro activation of glycogen synthase proceeds at a greater rate and extent for the enzyme from elicited macrophages; thus, phosphatase activity may be reduced in resident macrophages relative to that in thioglycollate-elicited ones.

Animals↗

Agar accumulates in rat peritoneal macrophages elicited with thioglycollate broth.

Thioglycollate broth- and agar-elicited rat peritoneal exudate cells contain copious amounts of agar, a sulphated polysaccharide contained in the eliciting agent; the agar content has been measured chemically by the anthrone method for neutral polysaccharides. Adherence experiments confirm that day-3 thioglycollate-elicited macrophages contain 95% of the measured agar; on day 1, 72% is associated with polymorphonuclear cells. Agar ingestion by macrophages coincides with increases in glycogen synthase activity. We suggest that ingestion of agar may be related to the reported deficiencies in function of thioglycollate-elicited or -treated macrophages.

Agar↗

Tissue glycogen levels in dams and fetuses as affected by fasting and refeeding pregnant sows.

Nineteen Landrace sows mated to Landrace boars were randomly assigned, on d 91 of pregnancy, to three groups: (1) control (six sows)--fed standard 13% protein corn-soybean meal gestation diet at 1.82 kg/d to d 112 of pregnancy; (2) 4-d fast (seven sows)--fed standard gestation diet to d 94 of pregnancy, fasted from d 95 to 98 of pregnancy and then refed a semipurified fat-free diet ad libitum until d 112 of pregnancy, and (3) 8-d fast (six sows)--treated the same as groups 2, except that the fast began on d 91 and extended through d 98 of pregnancy. The fat-free diet consisted of dextrose and soybean meal and was fortified with minerals and vitamins. On d 112 of pregnancy, all fetuses were removed by Caesarean section and determinations were made of fetal body and liver weights, fetal liver and gastrocnemius muscle glycogen concentrations, and maternal uterus and peritoneal adipose tissue glycogen levels. Sows in groups 2 and 3 consumed more (P less than .01) average daily feed during the refeeding period than did the control sows. Fasting and refeeding failed to affect maternal or fetal tissue glycogen concentration, or fetal body or liver weight. Average sow tissue glycogen concentrations were .23 and 3.0 mg/g tissue for peritoneal adipose tissue and uterus, respectively. Average fetal liver and gastrocnemius muscle glycogen concentrations were, 87 and 62 mg/g tissue, respectively. Average fetal body and liver weights were 1,287 and 39.5 g/fetus, respectively. We conclude that fasting followed by refeeding of a fat-free diet to pregnant sows during late gestation does not increase maternal or fetal tissue glycogen content and appears to be of no value in enhancing pig survival in early postnatal life.

Animal Feed↗

Dephosphorylation and activation of exogenous glycogen synthase by adipose-tissue phosphatase.

Exogenous purified rabbit skeletal-muscle glycogen synthase was used as a substrate for adipose-tissue phosphoprotein phosphatase from fed and starved rats in order to (1) compare the relationship between phosphate released from, and the kinetic changes imparted to, the substrate and (2) ascertain if decreases in adipose-tissue phosphatase activity account for the apparent decreased activation of endogenous glycogen synthase from starved as compared with fed rats. Muscle glycogen synthase was phosphorylated with [gamma-(32)P]ATP and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase alone, or in combination with a cyclic AMP-independent protein kinase, to 1.7 or 3mol of phosphate per subunit. Adipose-tissue phosphatase activity determined with phosphorylated skeletal-muscle glycogen synthase as substrate was decreased by 35-60% as a consequence of starvation. This decrease in phosphatase activity had little effect on the capacity of adipose-tissue extracts to activate exogenous glycogen synthase (i.e. to increase the glucose 6-phosphate-independent enzyme activity), although there were marked differences in the activation profiles for the two exogenous substrates. Glycogen synthase phosphorylated to 1.7mol of phosphate per subunit was activated rapidly by adipose-tissue extracts from either fed or starved rats, and activation paralleled enzyme dephosphorylation. Glycogen synthase phosphorylated to 3mol of phosphate per subunit was activated more slowly and after a lag period, since release of the first mol of phosphate did not increase the glucose 6-phosphate-independent activity of the enzyme. These patterns of enzyme activation were similar to those observed for the endogenous adipose-tissue glycogen synthase(s): the glucose 6-phosphate-independent activity of the endogenous enzyme from fed rats increased rapidly during incubation, whereas that of starved rats, like that of the more highly phosphorylated muscle enzyme, increased only very slowly after a lag period. The observations made here suggest that (1) changes in glucose 6-phosphate-independent glycogen synthase activity are at best only a qualitative measure of phosphoprotein phosphatase activity and (2) the decrease in glycogen synthase phosphatase activity during starvation is not sufficient to explain the differential glycogen synthase activation in adipose tissue from fed and starved rats. However, alterations in the phosphorylation state of glycogen synthase combined with decreased activity of phosphoprotein phosphatase, both as a consequence of starvation, could explain the apparent markedly decreased enzyme activation.

Adipose Tissue↗

The effects of food deprivation and re-feeding on bovine adipose-tissue glycogen synthase.

Bovine adipose-tissue glycogen metabolism was studied during food deprivation and re-feeding. Changes in the specific activity of adipose-tissue glycogen synthase paralleled changes in tissue glycogen content: both parameters increased during food deprivation and remained so during the first 10 days of re-feeding. The values for the A0.5 (activation constant) for glucose 6-phosphate of the freshly isolated enzyme from adipose tissue from fed and starved steers were 2.9 +/- 0.1 mM and 0.90 +/- 0.05 mM respectively. Additionally, whereas incubation of adipose-tissue extracts from fed steers did not activate endogenous glycogen synthase (through a presumed phosphoprotein phosphatase mechanism), the enzyme from starved or re-fed (up to 3 days re-feeding) steers was reversibly activated as measured by changes in the value for the A0.5 for glucose 6-phosphate. Thus activation of bovine adipose-tissue glycogen synthase during food deprivation appears to be related to expression of glycogen synthase phosphatase activity. These effects of food deprivation on bovine glycogen metabolism contrast markedly with the effects observed in rat adipose tissue.

Adipose Tissue↗

Interconversion between multiple glucose 6-phosphate-dependent forms of glycogen synthase in intact adipose tissue.

We have tested the hypothesis that interconversion between multiple glucose-6-P-dependent forms of glycogen synthase helps regulate glycogen synthesis in adipose tissue. Our results indicate that interconversion of glycogen synthase in adipose tissue involves primarily dependent forms and that these interconversions were measured better by monitoring the activation constant (A0.5) for glucose-6-P than measuring the -: + glucose-6-P activity ratio. Insulin decreased and epinephrine increased the A0.5 for glucose-6-P without significant change in the activity ratio. Insulin consistently decreased the A0.5 in either the presence or absence of glucose, indicating that the insulin-promoted interconversion did not require increased hexose transport. Isoproterenol increased the A0.5 for glucose-6-P, while methoxamine was without effect, indicating beta receptors mediate adrenergic control of interconversion between glucose-6-P-dependent forms. The changes in the A0.5 produced by incubations with insulin or epinephrine were mutually reversible. We conclude that 1) glycogen synthesis in adipose tissue is catalyzed by multiple glucose-6-P-dependent forms of glycogen synthase, 2) hormones regulate glycogen metabolism by promoting reversible interconversions between these forms, and 3) there is no evidence that a glucose-6-P-independent form of glycogen synthase exists in intact adipose tissue.

Adipose Tissue↗

Xylazine-induced hyperglycemia in beef cattle.

Intravenous administration of xylazine to beef cattle (10 animals, 0.2 mg/kg of body weight) resulted in rapid onset (less than 15 minutes) of hyperglycemia. Plasma glucose values increased to 195 +/- 15 mg/dl and 305 +/- 10 mg/dl at 15 minutes and 3 hours, respectively. Concomitantly, plasma insulin concentrations dropped from 23 +/- 2 microU/ml before xylazine to 5.8 +/- 0.7 microU/ml and 2.4 +/- 0.3 microU/ml at 15 minutes and 3 hours, respectively. Parallel decreases (20%) were observed for percentage of hemoglobin, red blood cell number, and packed cell volume. Plasma urea nitrogen was significantly (P less than 0.01) incrased within 3 hours of xylazine administration (6.7 +/- 0.9 mg/dl vs 11.4 +/- 0.7 mg/dl). Marked changes in concentrations of plasma-free fatty acids were not observed. Alternative means of anesthesia must be considered in those instances in which biopsy material is to be used for studies of carbohydrate metabolism in vitro.

Animals↗

Rat adipose tissue glycogen synthase. Evidence for multiple discrete kinetic species and their interconversion.

Rat adipose tissue glycogen synthase has been kinetically characterized. The classical D form has an apparent Km for UDP-glucose of 0.7 mM and 0.4 mM in the absence and presence of glucose 6-phosphate, respectively. The apparent Ka for glucose 6-phosphate is 0.6 mM. The effect of glucose 6-phosphate on the D form is to enhance the Vmax 7-fold. The I form is also affected by glucose 6-phosphate (Ka, 0.025 mM) but the Vmax is increased only by 20%; apparent Km values for UDP-glucose are 0.4 mM and 0.045 mM in the absence and presence of glucose 6-phosphate, respectively. In addition, two new kinetically distinguishable forms have been observed. The first, designated glycogen synthase Q, arises from an Mg2+ATP-dependent deactivation of the I form. The apparent Km values of glycogen synthase Q for UDP-glucose are identical with those of the I form; however, the apparent Ka for glucose 6-phosphate (0.2 mM) is 8-fold higher than that for the I form and one-third that for the D form. Preparations from fasted or diabetic rats contain a form of glycogen synthase, designated glycogen synthase X, that has a much lower affinity for glucose 6-phosphate than the D form (apparent Ka, 3 mM); the apparent Km values for UDP-glucose are similar to those of the D form (0.7 mM and 0.3 mM in the absence and presence of glucose 6-phosphate, respectively). In preparations from fasted rats a stepwise Mg2+-dependent conversion was demonstrated of synthase X to D to Q to I; this sequential conversion was reversed on incubation with Mg2+ATP. In preparations from fed rats, synthase Q could be generated either by limited activation (from the D form) or, after conversion to the I form, by deactivation with Mg2+ATP. However, even prolonged incubation with Mg2+ATP failed to generate the D (or X) form.

Adipose Tissue↗

Enzymes regulating glycogen metabolism in swine subcutaneous adipose tissue. II. Glycogen synthase.

Glycogen synthase from swine adipose tissue was purified to apparent homogeneity using ethanol precipitation, DEAE chromatography, and affinity chromatography utilizing glucosamine 6-phosphate as the ligand. The purified enzyme migrated as a single protein component during electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels at pH 7.3 although some protein failed to enter the running gel. Enzyme incubated with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) migrated as one component (mol wt similar to 90,000) on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme was relatively unstable at all stages of the purification procedure, but stability was increased in the presence of glucose 6-phosphate, UDPG, or glycerol. The isoelectric point of the purified enzyme and of enzyme activity in crude homogenates was pH 4.8. The sedimentation coefficient of the enzyme in crude homogenates was 8.5 S. The pH-activity profile showed an optimum at pH 7.8 in the absence of glucose 6-phosphate but no definable optimum between pH 7.0 and 9.2 in its presence. The Km of glycogen synthase I for UDPG was 250 muM in the absence and 37 muM in the presence of glucose 6-phosphate; the K-a for glucose 6-phosphate was 18 mu-M. The K-m of glycogen synthase D for UDPG was 130 mu-M in the presence of glucose 6-phosphate; the Ka for glucose 6-phosphate was 1 mM. The anions sulfate and phosphate activated the enzyme when assays were performed in the absence of glucose 6-phosphate. Fluoride produced activation of enzyme assayed either in the presence or in the absence of glucose 6-phosphate.

Adipose Tissue↗

Conformations of diphosphopyridine coenzymes upon binding to dehydrogenases.

The binding of oxidized as well as reduced coenzyme to some dehydrogenases has been studied under different concentration ratios and temperatures by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. A significant difference in the spectral behavior between DPN(+) and DPNH upon binding is interpreted in terms of fast and slow on-off rates relative to the nuclear magnetic resonance time scale in the binding of these two coenzymes. Significant downfield shifts of DPN(+) were observed upon binding, comparable in magnitude to those expected upon opening (destacking) of the coenzymes in the case of chicken-muscle and lobster-tail lactate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27) and yeast alchol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.1.). A preliminary survey of several other dehydrogenases is consistent with these findings. In the case of 3-phosphoglyceraldehyde dehydrogenase, there is a possibility that the coenzyme exists in the folded form.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗