scholarly journals Modulation of glucagon-induced glucose production by dexfenfluramine in rat hepatocytes

1995 ◽  
Vol 310 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Comte ◽  
A Romanelli ◽  
S Tchu ◽  
G van de Werve

The mechanism of the antihyperglycaemic action of dexfenfluramine (DEXF) was investigated in isolated rat hepatocytes exposed to glucagon. Preincubation of hepatocytes with DEXF caused a dose-dependent inhibition of cyclic AMP formation by 100 nM glucagon (Ki = 0.29 mM) that was almost complete at 1 mM DEXF. Surprisingly, glucagon-induced phosphorylase activation was not affected by DEXF despite the significant drop in cyclic AMP levels. Glucose production stimulated by glucagon was inhibited by up to 48% by 1 mM DEXF, and the rate of glucose production correlated positively with the steady-state concentration of glucose 6-phosphate. DEXF also partially restored lactate + pyruvate production which was abolished by an optimal concentration of glucagon. Although DEXF was not able to prevent the inactivation of pyruvate kinase by glucagon, the lack of further accumulation of phosphoenolpyruvate in DEXF-treated cells supports the conclusion that the flux through pyruvate kinase is stimulated, probably via the increase in fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, thereby increasing glycolysis. Our results thus indicate that DEXF counteracts the inhibition of glycolysis by glucagon and that this property might contribute to the antihyperglycaemic effect of this drug. Furthermore, this study shows that, in the presence of the drug, glucagon caused phosphorylase activation and pyruvate kinase inactivation without a significant increase in cyclic AMP levels.

1989 ◽  
Vol 258 (3) ◽  
pp. 889-894 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Mine ◽  
I Kojima ◽  
E Ogata

The synthetic 1-34 fragment of human parathyroid hormone (1-34hPTH) stimulated glucose production in isolated rat hepatocytes. The effect of 1-34hPTH was dose-dependent and 10(10) M-1-34 hPTH elicited the maximum glucose output, which was approx. 80% of that by glucagon. Although 1-34hPTH induced a small increase in cyclic AMP production at concentrations higher than 10(-9) M, 10(-10) M-1-34hPTH induced the maximum glucose output without significant elevation of cyclic AMP. This is in contrast to the action of forskolin, which increased glucose output to the same extent as 10(-10) M-1-34hPTH by causing a 2-fold elevation of cyclic AMP. In addition to increasing cyclic AMP, 1-34hPTH caused an increase in cytoplasmic free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]c). When the effect of 1-34hPTH on [Ca2+]c was studied in aequorin-loaded cells, low concentrations of 1-34hPTH increased [Ca2+]c: the 1-34hPTH effect on [Ca2+]c was detected at as low as 10(-12) M and increased in a dose-dependent manner. 1-34hPTH increased [Ca2+]c even in the presence of 1 microM extracellular calcium, suggesting that PTH mobilizes calcium from an intracellular pool. In line with these observations, 1-34hPTH increased the production of inositol trisphosphate. These results suggest that: (1) PTH activates both cyclic AMP and calcium messenger systems and (2) PTH stimulates glycogenolysis mainly via the calcium messenger system.


1983 ◽  
Vol 214 (3) ◽  
pp. 829-837 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Bartrons ◽  
L Hue ◽  
E Van Schaftingen ◽  
H G Hers

The ability of glucagon and of adrenaline to affect the concentration of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in isolated hepatocytes was re-investigated because of important discrepancies existing in the literature. We were unable to detect a significant difference in the sensitivity of the hepatocytes with regard to the effect of glucagon to initiate the interconversion of phosphorylase, pyruvate kinase, 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase and fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase, and also to cause the disappearance of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate. In contrast, we have observed differences in the time-course of these various changes, since the interconversions of phosphorylase and of pyruvate kinase were at least twice as fast as those of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase and of fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase. When measured in a cell-free system in the presence of MgATP, the cyclic AMP-dependent interconversion of pyruvate kinase was 5-10-fold more rapid than those of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase and of fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase. These data indicate that 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase and fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase are relatively poor substrates for cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase; they also support the hypothesis that the two catalytic activities belong to a single protein. Adrenaline had only a slight effect on the several parameters under investigation, except for the activation of phosphorylase. In the absence of Ca2+ ions from the incubation medium, however, adrenaline had an effect similar to that of glucagon.


1983 ◽  
Vol 214 (3) ◽  
pp. 999-1002 ◽  
Author(s):  
J E Felíu ◽  
J Marco

The newly isolated peptide PHI provoked a dose-dependent stimulation of glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis in isolated rat hepatocytes; at 1 microM-PHI, both processes were increased 1.6-fold as compared with basal values. These PHI-mediated effects were accompanied by the activation of glycogen phosphorylase and the inactivation of pyruvate kinase. PHI (1 microM) also caused a 2-fold increase in hepatocyte cyclic AMP.


1984 ◽  
Vol 218 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Hue ◽  
R Bartrons

Hepatocytes from overnight-starved rats were incubated with 1-20 mM-fructose, -dihydroxyacetone, -glycerol, -alanine or -lactate and -pyruvate with or without 0.1 microM-glucagon. The production of glucose and lactate was measured, as was the content of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate. The concentrations of fructose (below 5 mM) and dihydroxyacetone (above 1 mM) that gave rise to an increase in fructose 2,6-bisphosphate were those at which a glucagon effect on the production of glucose and lactate could be observed. Glycerol had no effect on fructose 2,6-bisphosphate content or on production of lactate, and glucagon did not stimulate the production of glucose from this precursor. With alanine or lactate/pyruvate as substrates, glucagon stimulated glucose production whether the concentration of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate was increased or not. The extent of inactivation of pyruvate kinase by glucagon was not affected by the presence of the various gluconeogenic precursors. The role of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in the effect of glucagon on gluconeogenesis from precursors entering the pathway at the level of triose phosphates or pyruvate is discussed.


1981 ◽  
Vol 198 (3) ◽  
pp. 551-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
A P Thomas ◽  
A P Halestrap

The sensitivity of glucose production from L-lactate by isolated liver cells from starved rats to inhibition by alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate was studied. A small percentage of the maximal rate of gluconeogenesis was insensitive to inhibition by alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate, and evidence is presented to show that this is due to pyruvate entry into the mitochondria as alanine. After subtraction of this rate, Dixon plots of the reciprocal of the rate of gluconeogenesis against inhibitor concentration were linear both in the absence and presence of glucagon, phenylephrine or valinomycin, each of which stimulated gluconeogenesis by 30-50%. Pyruvate kinase activity was decreased by glucagon, but not by phenylephrine or valinomycin. Inhibition of gluconeogenesis by quinolinate (inhibitor of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase) or monochloroacetate (probably inhibiting pyruvate carboxylation) caused a significant deviation from linearity of the Dixon plot obtained with alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate. Amytal, however, inhibited gluconeogenesis without affecting the linearity of this plot. These data, coupled with a computer simulation study, suggest that pyruvate transport may control gluconeogenesis from L-lactate and that hormones may stimulate this process through an effect on the respiratory chain. An additional role for pyruvate kinase and pyruvate carboxylase is quite compatible with the data presented.


2000 ◽  
Vol 348 (3) ◽  
pp. 607-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark R. OWEN ◽  
Elena DORAN ◽  
Andrew P. HALESTRAP

Although metformin is widely used for the treatment of non-insulin-dependent diabetes, its mode of action remains unclear. Here we provide evidence that its primary site of action is through a direct inhibition of complex 1 of the respiratory chain. Metformin (50 μM) inhibited mitochondrial oxidation of glutamate+malate in hepatoma cells by 13 and 30% after 24 and 60 h exposure respectively, but succinate oxidation was unaffected. Metformin also caused time-dependent inhibition of complex 1 in isolated mitochondria, whereas in sub-mitochondrial particles inhibition was immediate but required very high metformin concentrations (K0.5, 79 mM). These data are compatible with the slow membrane-potential-driven accumulation of the positively charged drug within the mitochondrial matrix leading to inhibition of complex 1. Metformin inhibition of gluconeogenesis from L-lactate in isolated rat hepatocytes was also time- and concentration-dependent, and accompanied by changes in metabolite levels similar to those induced by other inhibitors of gluconeogenesis acting on complex 1. Freeze-clamped livers from metformin-treated rats exhibited similar changes in metabolite concentrations. We conclude that the drug's pharmacological effects are mediated, at least in part, through a time-dependent, self-limiting inhibition of the respiratory chain that restrains hepatic gluconeogenesis while increasing glucose utilization in peripheral tissues. Lactic acidosis, an occasional side effect, can also be explained in this way.


1984 ◽  
Vol 247 (4) ◽  
pp. E564-E568 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. S. Weigle ◽  
D. J. Koerker ◽  
C. J. Goodner

We have compared the effects of pulsatile and continuous glucagon administration on hepatocyte glucose production in order to clarify the physiological role of pulsatile hormone secretion. Two identical columns containing freshly isolated rat hepatocytes mixed with polyacrylamide gel beads were perifused with oxygenated tissue culture medium. A fixed total amount of glucagon was delivered to one column as a continuous 90-min infusion and to the other column as a series of six 3-min pulses. A 15-min interpulse interval was chosen in order to approximate the 10- to 12-min interval observed in primates while permitting the resolution of individual hepatocyte responses. With this protocol, the EC50 values for pulsatile and continuous glucagon administration were 186 +/- 41 and 884 +/- 190 (SD) pg/ml, respectively. For glucagon concentrations less than 1,000 pg/ml, pulsatile administration always led to greater hepatocyte glucose production than continuous administration (P = 0.008) and, in the dose range equivalent to concentrations in portal plasma, pulsed glucagon enhanced glucose production twofold. The data suggest that pulsatile secretion is the more efficient means for islet A cells to stimulate hepatic glucose production.


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