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

1. Glucokinase is one of four glucose phosphorylating enzymes present in rat liver. Its distinctive features are a high K-m for glucose (high-K-m isozyme) and a rather narrow substrate specificity. In contrast, the other three enzymes, collectively called hexokinases or low-K-m isozymes, exhibit low K-m values for glucose and a wider substrate specificity. 2. Glucokinase is present in the liver os mammals (with some exceptions), amphibians and lower reptiles; It is absent from higher reptiles and birds. The presence or absence of glucokinase may represent an evolutionary adaptation to feeding habits and other physiological peculiarities. Differences in the immunological behavior and in the kinetic parameters of glucokinases from different taxa suggest the operation of divergent evolution. 3. The levels of glucokinase in rat liver depend strictly on the supply of carbohydrate in the diet. Glycogen phosphorylase and glycogen synthetase behave similarly, whereas other carbohydrate-metabolizing enzymes depend on the provision of either protein or protein plus carbohydrate. Glucokinase decays with a half-life of 33 hr when rats are starved or fed a carbohydrate-free diet, and is induced by the administration of glucose. The adaptive character is not exhibited by all mammals, indicating evolutionary discrimination within the same class and even within the same single order Rodentia. Enzyme adaptation in the liver may partially explain the condition known as 'hunger diabetes'. 4. The endocrine system plays a paramount role in glucokinase adaptation, since insulin is essential for glucose-dependent glucokinase induction and, on the other hand, glucagon, catecholamines and cyclic AMP prevent the induction. Glucocorticoids and some pituitary hormones modulate the rate of induction. The mechanisms underlying the hormonal regulation of glucokinase levels are not well known. 5. The variations in liver glucokinase correspond to changes in the amount of enzyme protein as assessed by immunochemical titration. This fact agrees with the effects of inhibitors of protein synthesis on glucokinase induction. 6. An antiserum against rat glucokinase reacts with the enzyme from mammals and turtles but not with the amphibian enzyme. It does not react with low-K-m hexokinases from different sources. 7. The saturation function for glucose is sigmoidal in mammalian and amphibian glucokinases but not in glucokinase from lower reptiles. The Hill's coefficient is very constant with values about 1.6. The K0.5 (concentration for half saturation) values in the different species studied vary between 1.5 and 8 mM. These kinetic parameters may be considered as another adaptive feature aimed to give maximal efficiency to the liver uptake of glucose at the changeable concentrations in the blood resulting from variations in the amount of dietary glucose.
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PMID:Adaptive character of liver glucokinase. 16 20

The glucose phosphorylating enzyme glucokinase plays an important role in the regulation of glucose homeostasis. Studies in rodents indicate that pancreatic Beta cells and hepatocytes express different isoforms of this protein as a consequence of the presence of tissue-specific promoters and exon 1 sequences which are spliced to a shared group of nine exons which encode most of the mRNA and protein. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of cDNA clones encoding human Beta-cell glucokinase. The sequence of human Beta-cell glucokinase shows 97% amino acid identity with that of the cognate rat protein. We also mapped the human glucokinase gene to the short arm of chromosome 7 by analysing its segregation in a panel of reduced human-mouse somatic cell hybrids. In situ hybridization to metaphase chromosomes confirmed the localization of the human glucokinase gene to chromosome 7 and indicated that it was in band p 13. A microsatellite DNA polymorphism that can be typed using the polymerase chain reaction was identified upstream of exon 1 a, the Beta-cell specific first exon. The glucokinase cDNA clone and highly informative DNA polymorphism will be useful for examining the role of this gene in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus.
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PMID:Human pancreatic beta-cell glucokinase: cDNA sequence and localization of the polymorphic gene to chromosome 7, band p 13. 151

We studied the possible relationships between the functional status of the beta-cell and activities or mRNA contents of enzymes involved in the catabolism of glucose. Three different in vitro models with attenuated insulin response were used: rat islets cultured at a low glucose concentration, rat islets incubated in vitro with streptozocin, and fetal rat islets. The fetal and streptozocin-administered islets were compared with adult islets cultured in RPMI-1640 containing 11 mM glucose, and the effects of the in vitro glucose concentrations (3.3, 11, and 28 mM) were assessed on adult islets only. Cellular mRNA levels for the mitochondrial DNA-encoded cytochrome b and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) were determined by Northern-blot analysis. Enzymatic activities of high-Km (glucokinase) and low-Km (hexokinase) glucose-phosphorylating enzymes and succinate-cytochrome c reductase were also determined. Islets cultured at 3.3 mM glucose displayed a decreased activity of glucokinase compared with islets cultured at 28 mM glucose (23.3 +/- 12%), whereas there was no difference in hexokinase activity or the level of GAPDH mRNA. The activity of succinate-cytochrome c reductase was similar in islets cultured at the different glucose concentrations. The level of cytochrome b mRNA increased at 28 mM glucose compared with islets cultured at 11 mM glucose (140 +/- 14%). Islets incubated with streptozocin and subsequently cultured for 7 days at 11 mM glucose exhibited a decreased level of cytochrome b mRNA (65 +/- 5%) and no differences in the activities of glucokinase, hexokinase, succinate-cytochrome c reductase, or the level of GAPDH mRNA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Diabetes 1991 Jun
PMID:Exhibition of specific alterations in activities and mRNA levels of rat islet glycolytic and mitochondrial enzymes in three different in vitro model systems for attenuated insulin release. 164 83

Tissue culture for one or seven days of pancreatic islets isolated from 21-day old fetal rats was found to be associated with a marked increase in the oxidation of L-(U-14C) glutamine by intact islets and in the activity of both alanine-glutamate and aspartate-glutamate transaminases as well as glutamate dehydrogenase in islet homogenates. This coincided with an increase in the relative amount of mitochondrial DNA. The activities of glucose-phosphorylating enzymes (hexokinase and glucokinase), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase were less markedly increased during the culture period than those of enzymes involved in amino acid catabolism and located, in part at least, in mitochondria. The combined data suggest that the functional maturation of fetal islets during the culture period is associated with and may be attributable to a preferential maturation of their mitochondria.
Diabetes Res 1990 Apr
PMID:Maturation of fetal rat islet cells in vitro during tissue culture is associated with increased mitochondrial function. 213 6

We assessed our speculation that 2-cyclohexen-1-one (CHX) impairs glucose-induced insulin secretion through inactivation of glucokinase. Treatment of pancreatic islets with CHX at concentrations (0-5 mM) that caused a dose-dependent inactivation of glucokinase activity similarly inhibited glucose-induced insulin secretion. Another glucose-phosphorylating enzyme (hexokinase) in pancreatic islets was little affected by CHX. CHX-induced inactivation of glucokinase was blocked by the presence of its substrates (glucose and mannose) and an inhibitor (N-acetylglucosamine), all of which also protected against the inhibitory effect of the drug on glucose-induced insulin secretion. CHX also impaired insulin secretion induced by D-glyceraldehyde and dimethyl succinate, which are believed to stimulate the release of the hormone by being directly oxidized by glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, by entering the midstream of the glycolytic pathway as glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, or by entering the tricarboxylic acid cycle in mitochondria after intracellular hydrolysis. The inhibitory effect of CHX on glucose-induced insulin secretion, however, was far more marked than that on insulin secretion evoked by D-glyceraldehyde and dimethyl succinate at any CHX concentrations used. Our study revealed that the inhibitory action of CHX on glucose-induced insulin secretion is exerted mainly, but not solely, through inactivation of glucokinase. This conclusion supports the view that glucokinase is a key enzyme in the recognition of glucose as an insulin secretagogue in pancreatic islets.
Diabetes 1990 Oct
PMID:Participation of glucokinase inactivation in inhibition of glucose-induced insulin secretion by 2-cyclohexen-1-one. 221 70

We evaluated the effects of phenobarbital, an inducer, on plasma glucose and serum immunoreactive insulin levels and on hepatic glucose and drug metabolism using an animal model of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Genetically obese (ob/ob) mice, characterized by hyperglycaemia, hyperinsulinaemia, fatty liver and obesity were selected. The impairment of diabetic state with age was associated with increased activities of NADPH producing enzymes, whereas mixed function oxidase system remained unaltered. Phenobarbital reduced serum immunoreactive insulin and plasma glucose levels and decreased gluconeogenesis. Hepatic glucose phosphorylating enzyme activity increased and glucose releasing enzyme activity decreased. The demand for NADPH in drug oxidation reactions, caused by the induction phenomenon, was reflected in the elevated activities of the NADPH producing enzymes in pentose phosphate pathway and in the activities of isocitrate dehydrogenase and malic enzyme from mitochondrial oxidation reactions. Glucose metabolism of lean littermates indicated that phenobarbital induction normalizes impaired intracellular glucose handling but leaves normal glucose metabolism unaltered. Hepatic glucose production rate was related to plasma glucose, NADPH producing enzyme activities and cytochrome P450 content in the obese and lean mice.
Diabetes Res 1989 Feb
PMID:Effects of enzyme induction therapy on glucose and drug metabolism in obese mice model of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. 250 Oct 61

Therapy with enzyme inducing drugs may improve glycemic control in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. We evaluated the role of a mixed function oxidase system on glucose metabolism with an animal model. Rats were treated with an inducer (phenobarbital), an inhibitor (cimetidine) and a hepatotoxin (carbon tetrachloride) for a week to cause alterations in the liver. The mixed function oxidase system was assayed by determination of the cytochrome P-450 content and NADPH cytochrome c reductase in liver. Carbohydrate metabolism was evaluated by determining blood glucose, enzymes associated with glucose phosphorylation in the liver (glucokinase, hexokinase), glucose storage as glycogen and enzymatic delivery, glucose-6-phosphatase, and peripheral tissue by determining phosphorylating enzyme (hexokinase) and a key glycolytic enzyme (pyruvate kinase) and glycogen content in muscles. The therapy with the inducer enhanced glucose utilization in liver and storage in muscles. The inhibitor decreased the mixed function oxidase system, reduced glucose phosphorylating, but not gluconeogenetic enzymes, in the liver and increased glycolysis in muscles. Carbon tetrachloride, a hepatotoxin, impaired mixed function oxidase, glucose phosphorylating and delivering enzyme activity in liver, reduced blood glucose and caused glycogen accumulation in muscles. The function of liver microsomal enzyme system seems to be closely related to enzymatic glucose metabolism in the liver and muscles.
Diabetes Res 1987 Apr
PMID:Hepatic mixed function oxidase system and enzymatic glucose metabolism in rats. 304 Mar 22

Rats with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) induced by neonatal injection of streptozocin are known to have a deficient insulin response to glucose. To evaluate to what extent this glucose insensitivity can be attributed to a perturbation of the islet glucose metabolism, we estimated the rates of glucose phosphorylation, glucose utilization, oxygen consumption, and glucose oxidation in islets isolated from normal and NIDDM rats and compared these values with rates of islet insulin biosynthesis and release in vitro. The data confirm that islets from rats with NIDDM display a deficient response to glucose of both insulin biosynthesis and release that is still present after an overnight culture of the islets at 5.5 mM glucose. Furthermore, they show that islets of these rats have 1) normal low- and high-Km glucose-phosphorylating activities and no major alteration of the glucose utilization rate, 2) decreased insulin release in response to glyceraldehyde, 3) decreased rates of basal respiration and glucose oxidation and a markedly reduced stimulation by glucose of both islet oxygen consumption and glucose oxidation, and 4) decreased glucose-stimulated net 45Ca uptake. We conclude that the relative unresponsiveness to glucose of islets from NIDDM rats is associated with, and perhaps due to, a deficient islet glucose metabolism. This defect is not due to gross alterations in the glycolytic pathway but probably reflects alteration in the islet mitochondria function.
Diabetes 1988 Sep
PMID:Insulin production and glucose metabolism in isolated pancreatic islets of rats with NIDDM. 304 88

Measurements have been made of the total hexokinase activity and of the relative amounts of types I and II hexokinase in rat mammary gland and at different stages of the lactation cycle. The total hexokinase activity increased during lactation, that of type II increasing to a greater extent than that of type I; the type II/type I activity ratio rose from a pregnancy value of about 1 to a mid-lactation value of 3, returning to 1 on involution. The changes in type II hexokinase activity during the lactation cycle parallel the changes in the insulin sensitivity of mammary-gland tissue. A study of the effect of alloxan-diabetes on mammary-gland hexokinase during the mid-lactation period revealed that, although the total glucose-phosphorylating capacity of the mammary gland was almost unchanged, the relative contributions of type I and type II hexokinases altered, decreasing the type II/type I activity ratio to about 1.
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PMID:Multiple forms of glucose-adenosine triphosphate phosphotransferase in rat mammary gland. 604 24

We evaluated the possible role of islet glucokinase in controlling the rate of islet glucose metabolism, and thereby the rate of glucose-induced insulin release. The activities of glucokinase, hexokinase, P-fructokinase, and glyceraldehyde-P dehydrogenase were quantitated in sonicated or isotonically homogenized islet preparations using pyridine nucleotide-dependent fluorometric assays. In sonicates, about 1/4 of the islet glucose phosphorylating activity was due to an enzyme with kinetic properties similar to glucokinase; 3/4 of the activity was due to hexokinase. The procedure for determining islet glucokinase activity was improved by centrifuging isotonic islet homogenates at 12,000 x g. The supernatant fraction was enriched for glucokinase. About 1/2 of the glucose phosphorylating activity in this fraction was due to glucokinase and 1/2 was due to hexokinase. The glucokinase activity in islet homogenates was !23 of the activity of hexokinase, 1/40 of the activity of P-fructokinase, and 1/400 of the activity of glyceraldehyde-P dehydrogenase. Detailed concentration dependency curves of glucose and mannose utilization were also obtained with intact isolated pancreatic rat islets. Glucose and mannose usage in islets was governed by two superimposed hyperbolic systems differing in Km and Vmax. A high Km system (Km for glucose 11 mM and for mannose 21 mM) predominated. A low Km system (Km for glucose 215 and for mannose 530 microM) contributed about 15% to the total activity. The available data with intact islets could be rationalized by the existence of two distinct hexose phosphorylating enzymes with differing capacities and kinetic properties. These enzymes, tentatively identified as glucokinase and hexokinase, could coexist in the same cell or could be distributed among different cell types. The possible physiologic significance of these results is discussed, emphasizing the idea of dual control of glycolysis and insulin release by glucokinase and hexokinase. An earlier proposal that glucokinase serves as glucoreceptor of beta-cells [J. Biol. Chem. 243:2730 (1968)] is greatly strengthened by the present studies.
Diabetes 1981 Nov
PMID:Regulation of glucose metabolism in pancreatic islets. 627 17


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