Glycolysis increases in hypertrophied hearts but the mechanisms are unknown. We studied the regulation of glycolysis in hearts with pressure-overload LV hypertrophy (LVH), a model that showed marked increases in the rates of glycolysis (by 2-fold) and insulin-independent glucose uptake (by 3-fold). Although the V(max) of the key glycolytic enzymes was unchanged in this model, concentrations of free ADP, free AMP, inorganic phosphate (P(i)), and fructose-2,6-bisphosphate (F-2,6-P2), all activators of the rate-limiting enzyme phosphofructokinase (PFK), were increased (up to 10-fold). Concentrations of the inhibitors of PFK, ATP, citrate, and H+ were unaltered in LVH. Thus, our findings show that increased glucose entry and activation of the rate-limiting enzyme PFK both contribute to increased flux through the glycolytic pathway in hypertrophied hearts. Moreover, our results also suggest that these changes can be explained by increased intracellular free [ADP] and [AMP], due to decreased energy reserve in LVH, activating the AMP-activated protein kinase cascade. This, in turn, results in enhanced synthesis of F-2,6-P2 and increased sarcolemma localization of glucose transporters, leading to coordinated increases in glucose transport and activation of PFK.

Glucose stimulation of pancreatic beta-cells causes oscillatory influx of Ca2+, leading to pulsatile insulin secretion. We have proposed that this is due to oscillations of glycolysis and the ATP/ADP ratio, which modulate the activity of ATP-sensitive K+ channels. We show here that dihydroxyacetone, a secretagogue that feeds into glycolysis below the putative oscillator phosphofructokinase, could cause a single initial peak in cytoplasmic free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) but did not by itself cause repeated oscillations in [Ca2+]i in mouse pancreatic beta-cells. However, in the presence of a substimulatory concentration of glucose (4 mm), dihydroxyacetone induced [Ca2+]i oscillations. Furthermore, these oscillations correlated with oscillations in the ATP/ADP ratio, as seen previously with glucose stimulation. Insulin secretion in response to dihydroxyacetone was transient in the absence of glucose but was considerably enhanced and somewhat prolonged in the presence of a substimulatory concentration of glucose, in accordance with the enhanced [Ca2+]i response. These results are consistent with the hypothesized role of phosphofructokinase as the generator of the oscillations. Dihydroxyacetone may affect phosphofructokinase by raising the free concentration of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate to a critical level at which it activates the enzyme autocatalytically, thereby inducing the pulses of phosphofructokinase activity that cause the metabolic oscillations.

Insulin secretion from glucose-stimulated pancreatic beta-cells is oscillatory, and this is thought to result from oscillations in glucose metabolism. One of the primary metabolic stimulus-secretion coupling factors is the ATP/ADP ratio, which can oscillate as a result of oscillations in glycolysis. Using a novel multiwell culture plate system, we examined oscillations in insulin release and the ATP/ADP ratio in the clonal insulin-secreting cell lines HIT T-15 and INS-1. Insulin secretion from HIT cells grown in multiwell plates oscillated with a period of 4 min, similar to that seen previously in perifusion experiments. Oscillations in the ATP/ADP ratio in cells grown under the same conditions also occurred with a period of 4 min, as did oscillations in [Ca(2+)](i) monitored by fluorescence microscopy. In INS-1 cells oscillations in insulin secretion, the ATP/ADP ratio, and [Ca(2+)](i) were also seen, but with a shorter period of about 1.5 min. These observations of oscillations in the ATP/ADP ratio are consistent with their proposed role in driving the oscillations in [Ca(2+)](i) and insulin secretion. Furthermore, these data show that, at least in the clonal beta-cell lines, cell contact or even circulatory connection is not necessary for synchronous oscillations induced by a rise in glucose.

Administration of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), or its sulfated form (DHEAS), controls hyperglycemia in diabetic rodents without directly altering insulin sensitivity. We show that DHEAS enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion when administered in vivo to rats or in vitro to beta-cell lines, without changing cellular insulin content. Insulin secretion increased from 3 days of steroid exposure in vitro, suggesting that DHEAS did not directly activate the secretory processes. DHEAS selectively increased the beta-cell mRNA expression of acyl CoA synthetase-2 and peroxisomal acyl CoA oxidase in a time-dependent manner. Although DHEAS is a peroxisomal proliferator, it did not alter the mRNA expression of peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) alpha or beta, or enhance the activity of transfected PPAR alpha, beta, or gamma in vitro. Thus, DHEAS directly affected the beta-cell to enhance glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and increased the mRNA expression of specific beta-cell mitochondrial and peroxisomal lipid metabolic enzymes. This effect of DHEAS on insulin secretion may contribute to the amelioration of hyperglycemia seen in various rodent models of diabetes.

Stimulation of insulin release by glucose requires increased metabolism of glucose and a rise in cytosolic free Ca2+ in the pancreatic beta-cell. It is accompanied by increases in respiratory rate, pyridine and flavin nucleotide reduction state, intracellular pH and the ATP/ADP ratio. To test alternative proposals of the regulatory relationships among free Ca2+, mitochondrial metabolism and cellular energy state, we determined the temporal sequence of these metabolic and ionic changes following addition of glucose to clonal pancreatic beta-cells (HIT). Combined measurements of the native fluorescence of reduced pyridine nucleotides and oxidized flavin, intracellular pH, and free Ca2+ were performed together with simultaneous measurement of O2 tension or removal of samples for assay of the ATP/ADP ratio. The initial changes were detected in three phases. First, decreases occurred in the ATP/ADP ratio (<3 s) and increases in pyridine (2 +/- 1 s) and flavin (2 +/- 1 s) nucleotide reduction. Next, increases in the O2 consumption rate (20 +/- 5 s), the ATP/ADP ratio (29 +/- 12 s) and internal pH (48 +/- 5 s) were observed. Finally, cytosolic free Ca2+ rose (114 +/- 10 s). Maximal changes in the ATP/ADP ratio, O2 consumption and pyridine and flavin nucleotide fluorescence preceded the beginning of the Ca2+ change. These relationships are consistent with a model in which phosphorylation of glucose is the initial event which generates the signals that lead to an increase in respiration, a rise in the ATP/ADP ratio and finally influx of Ca2+. Our results indicate that Ca2+ does not function as the initiator of increased mitochondrial respiration.

Closure of ATP-sensitive K+ (K(ATP)) channels is part of the stimulus-secretion coupling mechanism in the pancreatic beta-cell, leading to membrane depolarization and influx of Ca2+ through voltage-sensitive L-type Ca2+ channels. The elevated ATP/ADP ratio seen in the presence of high levels of glucose has been postulated to mediate the glucose-induced closure of the K(ATP) channels and rise in cytoplasmic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i), or alternatively to be a consequence of activation of mitochondrial dehydrogenases by the increase in [Ca2+]i. To distinguish between these two possibilities, the time course of the change in the ATP/ADP ratio was determined in comparison with that of [Ca2+]i. We here show that a severalfold rise in the ATP/ADP ratio occurs rapidly on stimulation of suspensions of mouse pancreatic beta-cells with glucose. The change in the ATP/ADP ratio is an early event that begins within 20-40 s and precedes the rise in [Ca2+]i. The temporal relationship indicates that the adenine nucleotide changes cannot be a consequence of the [Ca2+]i changes and may indeed be the connecting link between glucose metabolism and [Ca2+]i changes. When the cells were sequentially treated with high glucose concentration, clonidine and finally high extracellular Ca2+ concentration to induce synchronized oscillations in [Ca2+]i in the cell suspension, corresponding oscillations in the ATP/ADP ratio were observed. Glucose 6-phosphate levels oscillated out of phase with the ATP/ADP ratio. These results support the hypothesis that the Ca2+ oscillations previously observed in glucose-stimulated single islets or beta-cells may reflect oscillations in the ATP/ADP ratio that accompany oscillatory glycolysis.

Normal insulin secretion is oscillatory in vivo, and the oscillations are impaired in type II diabetes. We and others have shown oscillations in insulin secretion from isolated perifused islets stimulated with glucose, and in this study we show oscillations in insulin secretion from the glucose-sensitive clonal β-cell line INS-1. We have proposed that the oscillatory insulin secretion may be caused by spontaneous oscillations of glycolysis and the ATP:ADP ratio in the β-cell, analogous to those seen in glycolyzing muscle extracts. The mechanism of the latter involves autocatalytic activation of the key regulatory enzyme, phosphofructokinase (PFK), by its product fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (F16BP). However, of the three PFK subunit isoforms (M-[muscle], L-[liver], and C-type, predominant in fibroblasts), only M-type is activated by micromolar F16BP at near-physiological conditions. We therefore studied PFK isoforms in the β-cell. Western analysis of PFK subunits in isolated rat islets and INS-1 cells showed the presence of M-type, as well as C-type and perhaps lesser amounts of L-type. Kinetic studies of PFK activity in INS-1 cell extracts showed strong activation by micromolar concentrations of F16BP at near-physiological concentrations of ATP (several millimolar) and AMP and fructose 6-phosphate (micromolar), indicative of the M-type isoform. Activation by submicromolar concentrations of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (F26BP) and potent inhibition by citrate were also observed. The F16BP-stimulatable activity was about one-half of the F26BP-stimulatable activity. These experiments demonstrate that μ-cells contain the M-type isoform of PFK with the requisite regulatory properties for generating glycolytic oscillations that may be the basis of oscillatory insulin secretion.

The temporal relationship of glucose-induced increases in cytoplasmic pH (pHi) and cytoplasmic free Ca2+ was studied in single mouse pancreatic beta-cells and suspensions of clonal beta-cells (HIT). In both preparations of cells the increase in pHi preceded the cytoplasmic free Ca2+ increase. Therefore the alkalinization cannot be a consequence of the Ca2+ influx. A potential metabolic mechanism for the increase in pHi, involving stimulation of pyruvate transport and oxidation, was demonstrated in a model system of liver mitochondria incubated with pyruvate, ATP, and hexokinase to which glucose was then added to initiate ATP use. The involvement of this mechanism in beta-cells is suggested by the observation that the alkalinization was prevented in most cells by incubation with 3-hydroxycyanocinnamate, a mitochondrial pyruvate transport inhibitor. On the other hand, the inhibited cells exhibited normal Ca2+ responses to glucose stimulation. This indicates that neither pyruvate metabolism nor the alkalinization is of critical importance for the Ca2+ signal, though pyruvate oxidation or its metabolites may be important in downstream regulation of secretion.

Isolated bovine cerebral microvessels (ICMV) were incubated with different metabolic fuels to determine their ability to support microvessel Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase (quantitated as ouabain-sensitive 86Rb+ uptake) and the ATP/ADP ratio. In comparison with ICMV incubated with glucose, Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity was reduced by 55% after a 3-h incubation in fuel-free medium and by 30-40% after incubation with beta-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate, or glutamate. However, Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity was not significantly decreased in ICMV incubated with pyruvate or oleate plus carnitine. In contrast, only glucose was able to maintain the ATP/ADP ratio. To evaluate the effect of endogenous fatty acid metabolism on these parameters, ICMV were incubated with bromostearate, an inhibitor of fatty acid oxidation. Bromostearate decreased both Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity and the ATP/ADP ratio, even in the presence of glucose. These results indicate that the varying effects of different fuels on Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase in ICMV cannot be explained solely by their effects on the ATP/ADP ratio or on glycolytic ATP generation. They suggest that other fuel-modulated factors play a key role in regulating this enzyme.

Oscillatory behavior of glycolysis in cell-free extracts of skeletal muscle involves repeated bursts of phosphofructokinase activity and associated oscillations in the [ATP]/[ADP] ratio. Addition of citrate, a potent physiological inhibitor of phosphofructokinase, decreased the frequency of the oscillations and delayed the first burst of phosphofructokinase activity in a dose-dependent manner. Citrate decreased the trigger point [ATP]/[ADP] ratio at which bursts of phosphofructokinase activity were initiated but had a much smaller effect on the average [ATP]/[ADP] ratio and did not decrease the peak values of the ratio. When oscillations were prevented by addition of fructose-2,6-P2, the decrease in the [ATP]/[ADP] ratio caused by citrate in the steady state system was similar to the decrease in the trigger point [ATP]/[ADP] ratio in the oscillatory system. The decrease in the average [ATP]/[ADP] ratio was greater in the steady state system than in the oscillating system. These results demonstrate advantages of oscillatory behavior of glycolysis in the regulation of carbohydrate utilization and the maintenance of a high [ATP]/[ADP] ratio.

Oscillatory behavior of glycolysis in cell-free extracts of rat skeletal muscle involves bursts of phosphofructokinase activity, due to autocatalytic activation by fructose-1,6-P2. Glucose-1,6-P2 similarly might activate phosphofructokinase in an autocatalytic manner, because it is produced in a side reaction of phosphofructokinase and in a side reaction of phosphoglucomutase using fructose-1,6-P2. When muscle extracts were provided with 1 mM ATP and 10 mM glucose, glucose-1,6-P2 accumulated in a stepwise, but monotonic, manner to 0.7 microM in 1 h. The stepwise increases occurred during the phases when fructose-1,6-P2 was available, consistent with glucose-1,6-P2 synthesis in the phosphoglucomutase side reaction. Addition of 5-20 microM glucose-1,6-P2 increased the frequency of the oscillations in a dose-dependent manner and progressively shortened the time interval before the first burst of phosphofructokinase activity. Addition of 30 microM glucose-1,6-P2 blocked the oscillations. The peak values of the [ATP]/[ADP] ratio were then eliminated, and the average [ATP]/[ADP] ratio was reduced by half. In the presence of higher, near physiological concentrations of ATP and citrate (which reduce the activation of phosphofructokinase by glucose-1,6-P2), high physiological concentrations of glucose-1,6-P2 (50-100 microM) increased the frequency of the oscillations and did not block them. We conclude that autocatalytic activation of phosphofructokinase by fructose-1,6-P2, but not by glucose-1,6-P2, is the mechanism generating the oscillations in muscle extracts. Glucose-1,6-P2 may nevertheless play a role in facilitating the initiation of the oscillations and in modulating their frequency.

Determination enzymatique et spectrophotometrique de l'adenosine diphosphate (ADP) et de l'adenosine monophosphate (AMP). Phosphorylation de l'ADP par une pyruvate kinase puis reduction du pyruvate en presence de NADH. Mesure de la consommation de NADH au spectrophotometre a 340 nm. Meme reaction pour l'AMP en ajoutant une myokinase