The catabolism of alanine in isolated rat liver cells was studied using a perifusion system in order to titrate the cells with different concentrations of alanine.The Concentrations of the components of the alanine aminotransferase reaction in the cytosolic and mitochondrial compartments were measured after digitonin fractionation of samples of the cell suspension taken during each steady state. Comparison of the mass-action ratios with the equilibrium constant indicated that the cytosolic enzyme is poised towards pyruvate formation at all concentrations of alanine used, whereas the mitochondrial enzyme is always poised towards alanine formation. The calculated flux through cytosolic alanine aminotransferase, using literature data for the kinetic parameters of the enzyme and experimental data for the concentration of metabolites, was in close agreement with the measured carbon flux. It is concluded that the transamination step in alanine catabolism occurs in the cytosol.The concentration of the components of the glutamate dehydrogenase and 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase reactions in the mitochondrial compartment during each steady state were also measured. The dC of the combined reactions did not change appreciably on increasing the extracellular alanine concentration to 0.6 mM. At higher alanine concentrations AG became slightly more negative. As the extracellular Concentration of alanine was increased, the concentration of glutamate in both the cytosolic and the mitochondrial compartments increased. However, the cytosolic alanine concentration was always lower than that in the extracellular compartment even at the highest concentration of alanine (6 mM) infused. When increasing concentrations of pyruvate were infused together with a fixed concentration of alanine (0.6 mM), the cytosolic concentration of alanine increased to levels even higher than that in the perifusate. However, there was no significant effect in the rate of formation of nitrogenous products.It is concluded that the transport of alanine across the plasma membrane is the only rate-controlling step in alanine catabolism under the conditions used.Alanine plays an important role as a carrier of amino groups in the mammalian circulation. Thus amino nitrogen formed during muscle metabolism is transported to the liver mainly in the form of alanine (see [1,2] for reviews). It is, therefore, evident that the metabolism of alanine in the liver is a physiologically important process.The first step in alanine metabolism in liver is the translocation of the amino acid across the plasma membrane of the parenchymal cells. Our previous studies [3] have demonstrated that the transport step is rate-controlling in alanine degradation. Indeed, the agreement between the kinetics of alanine transport and that of alanine metabolism [3] suggested that at physiological concentrations of alanine in plasma (0.2-0.5 mM) the transport of the amino acid across the plasma membrane is the only rate-controlling step for its metabolism. These observations were confirmed by ...

We have used control analysis to quantify the distribution of control in the gluconeogenic pathway in liver cells from starved rats. Lactate and pyruvate were used as gluconeogenic substrates. The flux control coefficients of the various enzymes in the gluconeogenic pathway were calculated from the elasticity coefficients of the enzymes towards their substrates and products and the fluxes through the different branches in the pathway. The elasticity coefficients were either calculated from gamma/Keq. ratios (where gamma is the mass-action ratio and Keq. is the equilibrium constant) and enzyme-kinetic data or measured experimentally. It is concluded that the gluconeogenic enzyme pyruvate carboxylase and the glycolytic enzyme pyruvate kinase play a central role in control of gluconeogenesis. If pyruvate kinase is inactive, gluconeogenic flux from lactate is largely controlled by pyruvate carboxylase. The low elasticity coefficient of pyruvate carboxylase towards its product oxaloacetate minimizes control by steps in the gluconeogenic pathway located after pyruvate carboxylase. This situation occurs when maximal gluconeogenic flux is required, i.e. in the presence of glucagon. In the absence of the hormone, when pyruvate kinase is active, control of gluconeogenesis is distributed among many steps, including pyruvate carboxylase, pyruvate kinase, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and also steps outside the classic gluconeogenic pathway such as the adenine-nucleotide translocator.

Control of Gluconeogenesis in Rat Liver Cells I. KINETICS OF THE INDIVIDUAL ENZYMES AND THE EFFECT OF GLUCAGON*

No abstract

We have studied the influence of perturbation of cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells on the distribution of the von Willebrand factor. As shown previously, short-term (less than 1 hr) treatment of endothelial cells with the phorbol ester 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) or thrombin resulted in the release of cellular stored von Willebrand factor. Long-term treatment with PMA or thrombin evoked a distinct change in the endothelial cell distribution of von Willebrand factor, evident 24 to 48 hrs after exposure. Whereas the contents of the von Willebrand factor storage sites in the cells were gradually restored within 48 hrs, enhanced amounts of von Willebrand factor were secreted into the medium. However, PMA did not increase the endothelial cell contents of mRNA encoding for von Willebrand factor. The number as well as the size of von Willebrand factor storage granules in the endothelial cells increased after exposure to the phorbol ester, as determined by immunofluorescence microscopy. A second treatment with PMA or thrombin, 48 hrs after cells had been stimulated with these agents, resulted again in the instantaneous release of von Willebrand factor. PMA and thrombin caused a decrease in the von Willebrand factor contents of the extracellular matrix. Pulse-chase experiments revealed that PMA blocked the deposition of von Willebrand factor in the subendothelium, whereas PMA did not affect the degradation of matrix von Willebrand factor. Thus, perturbation of endothelial cells changes the cellular distribution of von Willebrand factor.