Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0011849 (diabetes)
 277,896 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Liver insulin resistance and glucagon-stimulated hepatic glucose production are characteristics of the diabetic state. To determine the potential role of glucose toxicity in these abnormalities, we examined whether phlorizin treatment of streptozotocin-diabetic rats resulted in altered expression of genes involved in key steps of hepatic glucose metabolism. By inhibiting renal tubular glucose reabsorption, phlorizin infusion to diabetic rats induced normoglycaemia, did not significantly alter low circulating insulinaemia, but caused a marked decrease in hyperglucagonaemia. Glucokinase and L-type pyruvate kinase mRNA levels were reduced respectively by 90% and 70% in fed diabetic rats, in close correlation with changes in enzyme activities. Eighteen days of phlorizin infusion partially restored glucokinase mRNA and activity (40% of control levels), but had no effect on L-type pyruvate kinase mRNA and activity. In contrast to the glycolytic enzymes, mRNA and activity of the gluconeogenic enzyme, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase were increased (10- and 2.2-fold, respectively) in fed diabetic rats. Phlorizin administration decreased phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase mRNA to values not different from those in control rats, while phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activity remained 50% higher than that in control rats. The 50% rise in liver glucose transporter (GLUT 2) mRNA and protein, produced by diabetes, was also corrected by phlorizin treatment. In conclusion, we propose that phlorizin treatment of diabetic rats may induce a partial shift of the predominating gluconeogenesis, associated with hepatic glucose overproduction, into glycolysis, by correction of impaired pre-translational regulatory mechanisms. This could be essentially mediated through improved pancreatic alpha-cell function and subsequent lowering of hyperglucagonaemia. These observations suggest that glucagon-stimulated hepatic glucose production may result, in part, from glucose toxicity.
 ...
PMID:Phlorizin treatment of diabetic rats partially reverses the abnormal expression of genes involved in hepatic glucose metabolism. 847 72

D-Glyceraldehyde irreversibly inhibited rat liver glucokinase in a concentration-dependent manner. The inactivation of glucokinase by glyceraldehyde was blocked by the presence of its substrates such as glucose and mannose. Glucokinase was highly sensitive to glyceraldehyde compared with some other glycolytic enzymes (from animal tissues) including hexokinase, glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, 6-phosphofructokinase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and pyruvate kinase. The amino acid analysis of untreated and glyceraldehyde-treated glucokinase suggested that glyceraldehyde-induced inactivation of glucokinase is caused by glycation of Lys residues of the enzyme by the triose. Treatment of pancreatic islets with 6 mM glyceraldehyde for 1 h at 37 degrees C caused both inactivation of glucokinase and inhibition of glucose-induced insulin secretion. Another glucose-phosphorylating enzyme (hexokinase) in pancreatic islets, however, was little affected by glyceraldehyde. In addition, glyceraldehyde did not affect the insulin secretory responses of islets to nonglucose secretagogues such as glyceraldehyde and Leu. When pancreatic islets were cultured with a lower concentration (1 mM) of glyceraldehyde for a longer time (17 h) in the presence of 10 mM glucose to mimic the in vivo conditions, both glucokinase activity and glucose-induced insulin secretion were again decreased. This study demonstrates that glucose-induced insulin secretion is impaired by glyceraldehyde through the inactivation of glucokinase. The implication of this finding in the pathophysiology of type II diabetes is discussed.
Diabetes 1993 Jul
PMID:Inhibition of glucose-induced insulin secretion through inactivation of glucokinase by glyceraldehyde. 851 67

Glucokinase (GK) plays a key role in the regulation of glucose-induced insulin secretion, and questions have been raised about its relationship to the glucose transporter GLUT2 and its function in diabetes. This study examined the location of immunostained GK and GLUT2 in beta-cells using confocal microscopy. On double stained sections from pancreases of normal fed rats, GLUT2 Texas Red staining was restricted to the plasma membrane, and GK fluorescein isothiocyanate staining was found in a limited area of cytoplasm that was perinuclear with slight extension toward the apical pole. The GK staining occupied 8.6 +/- 1.7% of total cytoplasmic area and was almost never adjacent to the GLUT2 staining of the plasma membrane. To determine whether the GK staining pattern is altered by metabolic perturbation, normal rats were made acutely hyperglycemic with iv glucose injections; after 20 min the GK staining changed from being localized to become diffusely distributed throughout the cytoplasm. To examine the influence of chronic hyperglycemia, rats were subjected to 90% partial pancreatectomy (Px), which produced glucose levels of 10.9-20.8 mM. When studied 6 or 14 days after Px, those rats with glucose levels greater than 17.7 mM had an altered GK staining pattern that was variable; in some beta-cells GK staining was diffuse and in others the localized staining pattern was preserved. GLUT2 staining was reduced overall, but variability between cells was observed, unlike the more uniform reductions seen with hyperglycemia of longer duration. Other rats received islet transplants to prevent hyperglycemia after Px; their GK and GLUT2 staining patterns were normal. These findings indicate that GK is translocated in association with acute and chronic hyperglycemia. The translocation of this key enzyme for glucose recognition by beta-cells may lead to altered rates of insulin secretion during acute perturbations of fuel provision and in the diabetic state.
 ...
PMID:Translocation of glucokinase in pancreatic beta-cells during acute and chronic hyperglycemia. 862 27

The cause of the poor secretion of insulin in response to glucose by the beta-cell in the fetal rat pancreas is thought to be immaturity of the metabolism of glucose. Glucokinase (GK), a key enzyme in glycolysis, is the glucose sensor that maintains glucose homeostasis in the adult beta-cell; its role in the fetal beta-cell has not been determined. The aim of this study was to examine whether GK was functional in phosphorylation of glucose in the fetal islet, and if so, to determine what factors regulated this activity. Similar Km values were found in both fetal and adult islets: 7.4 vs. 7.7 mmol/l. The maximal GK velocity (Vmax) of the fetal islet and the contribution of GK to total glucose phosphorylation were also not significantly different from their adult counterparts. Western blot analysis of protein extracts from fetal and adult islets confirmed the presence of GK at 52 kDa. To determine if glucose had any effect on the Vmax of GK, islets were cultured for 7 days in medium containing low (1.4 or 2.8 mmol/l), normal (5.6 mmol/l), or high (11.2 or 16.8 mmol/l) concentrations of glucose. The maximal GK velocity increased linearly with increasing concentrations of glucose (r = 0.93; P < 0.01). To determine whether it was possible to up- and down-regulate Vmax of GK, islets were cultured in either a low (1.4 mmol/l) or high (30 mmol/l) concentration of glucose for 7 days and then switched to the opposite concentration for a further 3 days. The Vmax of GK in the fetal islet was upregulated 3.8-fold when the glucose concentration was raised. Conversely, the Vmax was downregulated 3.6-fold when the glucose concentration was lowered. The same phenomenon was also observed in the adult islet. These data indicate that GK is the glucose sensor for the fetal rat islet, just as it is for the adult islet. Since glucose did not cause insulin secretion from the fetal islet, it was important to examine whether this substrate had any effect on its own metabolism. Glucose utilization was estimated, and its Vmax was found to increase linearly with increasing concentrations of glucose (r = 0.96; P < 0.01). We conclude that the inability of the fetal rat beta-cell to secrete insulin in response to glucose cannot be explained by immaturity of GK or the glycolytic pathway.
Diabetes 1996 Aug
PMID:Glucose regulates the maximal velocities of glucokinase and glucose utilization in the immature fetal rat pancreatic islet. 869 Jan 54

Glucokinase has exclusively high control strength on glucose usage in the pancreatic beta-cell. However, glucokinase also has extraordinarily high control strength on insulin secretion, which is linked to the phosphate potential, [ATP]/([ADP][Pi]) (F.M. Matschinsky, Y.Liang, P. Kesavan, L. Wang, P. Froguel, G. Velho, D. Cohen, M.A. Permutt, Y. Tanizawa, T.L. Jetton, K. Niswender, and M.A. Magnuson. J. Clin. Invest. 92: 2092-2098, 1993). We propose that the ATP produced via the tricarboxylic acid cycle is approximately constant, irrespective of the glucose level. Furthermore, the component of ATP production that is derived from glycolysis and glycolytically derived NADH, which is shuttled into the mitochondria, is a critical signal controlling the ionic events leading to insulin secretion, as suggested previously (M. J. MacDonald. Diabetes 39: 1461-1466, 1990 and I.D. Dukes, M.S. McIntyre, R.J. Mertz, L.H. Philipson, M.W. Roe, B. Spencer, and J.F. Worley III. J. Biol. Chem. 269: 10979-10982, 1994). To test this hypothesis, glucose usage, oxidation, and insulin secretion were measured in cultured rat islets over a wide range of concentrations of glucose and mannoheptulose, an inhibitor of glucokinase. These data were fit to a mathematical model that predicts that glucokinase will govern the rate of glucose usage and ATP production and will also have a strong, but not complete, control over the rate of glucose oxidation, the phosphate potential, and insulin release. Mannoheptulose caused an inhibition of all three fluxes. The estimates of the mechanistic parameters of the model [maximal velocity (Vmax) and Michaelis constant for glucokinase, Vmax for hexokinase and glucose transport, and the inhibition constant of mannoheptulose to glucokinase] were similar to those obtained in vitro. Thus the data are consistent with a model in which the primary importance of glycolysis in transducing the glucose signal into changes of the phosphate potential imparts to glucokinase a high control strength on glucose-induced insulin secretion.
 ...
PMID:Effect of a glucokinase inhibitor on energy production and insulin release in pancreatic islets. 884 58

Glucokinase is a critical component of the physiological glucose sensor found in cell types that are responsive to changes in plasma glucose levels. The acute regulation of glucokinase activity has been shown to occur via a regulatory protein found in liver parenchymal cells (Van Schaftingen E, Detheux M, Da Cunha MV. Faseb J 8:414-419, 1994). The action of this protein is modulated by phosphate esters of fructose. In the presence of fructose-6-phosphate, the protein inhibits glucokinase in an allosteric competitive manner, while fructose-1-phosphate reverses this inhibition. A cDNA potentially encoding the rat liver regulatory protein has been cloned, but its identity is uncertain because of the small amounts of soluble protein obtained by expression in bacteria. We report the heterologous expression of the regulatory protein in Escherichia coli and its purification to homogeneity and high specific activity in a single chromatographic step. The properties of this recombinant protein are very similar to those of the liver protein. Direct demonstration of the binding of the recombinant protein to glucokinase has been obtained in vitro using coprecipitation experiments and in vivo, using the yeast two-hybrid system. These studies establish that the protein encoded by the cDNA is identical to the glucokinase regulatory protein and also validate tools with which to carry out structure-function studies on the interaction of the regulatory protein with glucokinase.
Diabetes 1996 Dec
PMID:Heterologous expression and characterization of rat liver glucokinase regulatory protein. 892 50

Glucokinase is the predominant hexokinase in pancreatic beta-cells and liver parenchymal cells and functions as a critical component of the glucose-sensing apparatus in these glucose-responsive cell types. In the beta-cells, the sensing leads to insulin secretion, while the role in hepatocytes is thought to be in hepatic glucose uptake. To determine the physiological response to an increase in hepatic glucokinase expression, transgenic mice expressing the human hepatic glucokinase gene under the control of a liver-specific human apolipoprotein A-I gene enhancer were generated. Transgenic mice had twofold higher total fasting hepatic glucokinase mRNA, which resulted in a modest 20% increase in fasting glucokinase activity. These animals showed lower fasting plasma glucose, insulin, and lactate levels and improved tolerance to glucose. In addition, glucokinase transgenic animals weighed less and had lower BMI than nontransgenic animals. Thus, glucokinase transgenic animals demonstrate that a modest change in hepatic glucokinase activity enhances the metabolism of glucose.
Diabetes 1997 Jan
PMID:Expression of human hepatic glucokinase in transgenic mice liver results in decreased glucose levels and reduced body weight. 897 Oct 74

Glucokinase (GK) plays a central role in the sensing of glucose in pancreatic beta-cells and parenchymal cells of the liver. Glucokinase regulatory protein is a physiological inhibitor of GK in the liver. To understand the role of the interaction of these two proteins in glucose sensing, we carried out a series of experiments to localize the protein in the liver cell. The regulatory protein was found to be present mainly in the nucleus of the cell under a variety of conditions that mimicked the glucose status of the fed and fasted state. GK was localized in the nucleus when the cells were exposed to low glucose concentrations. At higher glucose concentrations or in the presence of low concentrations of fructose, GK translocated to the cytoplasm. The effect of fructose was more robust and rapid than the effect of high glucose concentrations. Furthermore, the effect of fructose and high glucose on the translocation of GK from the nucleus could be partially reversed by glucagon. This unusual localization and behavior suggests a role for GK and its regulatory protein in hepatic energy metabolism that may be broader than glucose phosphorylation.
Diabetes 1997 Feb
PMID:Glucokinase regulatory protein may interact with glucokinase in the hepatocyte nucleus. 900 Jun 92

Glucokinase (GK) is the glucose sensor in the adult beta-cell, resulting in fuel for insulin synthesis and secretion. Defects in this enzyme in the beta-cell are responsible for the genetic disorder maturity-onset diabetes of the young, with the beta-cell being unable to secrete insulin appropriately when challenged with glucose. The human fetal beta-cell is also unable to secrete insulin when exposed to glucose, but whether GK is present and functional in this developing cell is unknown. To determine the expression of GK in human fetal pancreatic tissue, cytosolic protein was extracted from human fetal islet-like cell clusters (ICCs) at 17-19 weeks gestation and examined for protein content and enzyme activity. On Western blots, a single band corresponding to GK was seen at 52 kDa, and this was similar to that obtained from human adult islets. The maximal velocity (Vmax) of GK was less in fetal ICCs than that in adult islets (8.7 vs. 20.7 nmol/mg protein x h); similar K(m) values were found in both ICCs and islets. No attempt was made to determine which cells in an ICC contained GK. Glucose utilization was determined radiometrically; the Vmax of the high K(m) component was less in ICCs than in islets (31.3 pmol/ICC x h vs. 101.4 pmol/islet.h). Culture of ICCs for 3-7 days in medium containing 11.2 mmol/L glucose resulted in a 3.7-fold increase in the Vmax of GK and a 1.8-fold increase in glucose utilization. These enhanced activities of glucose phosphorylation and glycolysis, however, did not lead to the beta-cell being able to secrete insulin when exposed to glucose. In conclusion, glucokinase is present and functional in human fetal ICCs, but the inability of the human fetal beta-cell to secrete insulin in response to an acute glucose challenge is not due to immaturity of this enzyme.
 ...
PMID:Expression of glucokinase in glucose-unresponsive human fetal pancreatic islet-like cell clusters. 906 11

The catalytic function and thermal stability of wild-type and mutant recombinant human pancreatic beta-cell glucokinase was investigated. The mutants E70K and E300K, which are thought to be the cause of impaired insulin production by the pancreatic beta-cell and decreased glucose uptake by the liver of patients with maturity-onset diabetes of the young, were found to be functionally indistinguishable from the wild-type, i.e. their kcat.S0.5, inflection point and h were normal. However, these two mutants showed markedly reduced stability under a variety of test conditions. Glucokinase instability, not low enzyme catalytic activity, may be the cause of diabetes mellitus with E70K and E300K mutants.
 ...
PMID:Structural instability of mutant beta-cell glucokinase: implications for the molecular pathogenesis of maturity-onset diabetes of the young (type-2). 907 43


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>