Role of glutamine in human carbohydrate metabolism in kidney and other tissues.
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Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the human body and is involved in more metabolic processes than any other amino acid. Until recently, the understanding of many aspects of glutamine metabolism was based on animal and in vitro data. However, recent studies using isotopic and balance techniques have greatly advanced the understanding of glutamine metabolism in humans and its role in glucose metabolism in the kidney and other tissues. There is now evidence that in postabsorptive humans, glutamine is an important glucose precursor and makes a significant contribution to the addition of new carbon to the glucose carbon pool. The importance of alanine for gluconeogenesis, viewed in terms of the addition of new carbons, is less than previously assumed. It appears that glutamine is predominantly a renal gluconeogenic substrate, whereas alanine gluconeogenesis is essentially confined to the liver. As shown recently, renal gluconeogenesis contributes 20 to 25% to whole-body glucose production. Moreover, glutamine has been shown not only to stimulate net muscle glycogen storage but also to stimulate gluconeogenesis in normal humans. Finally, in humans with type II diabetes, conversion of glutamine to glucose is increased (more so than that of alanine). The available evidence on the hormonal regulation of glutamine gluconeogenesis in kidney and liver and its alterations under pathological conditions are discussed. (+info)
Relationship between glycosyl hydrolase inventory and growth physiology of the hyperthermophile Pyrococcus furiosus on carbohydrate-based media.
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Utilization of a range of carbohydrates for growth by the hyperthermophile Pyrococcus furiosus was investigated by examining the spectrum of glycosyl hydrolases produced by this microorganism and the thermal labilities of various saccharides. Previously, P. furiosus had been found to grow in batch cultures on several alpha-linked carbohydrates and cellobiose but not on glucose or other beta-linked sugars. Although P. furiosus was not able to grow on any nonglucan carbohydrate or any form of cellulose in this study (growth on oat spelt arabinoxylan was attributed to glucan contamination of this substrate), significant growth at 98 degrees C occurred on beta-1,3- and beta-1,3-beta-1,4-linked glucans. Oligosaccharides generated by digestion with a recombinant laminarinase derived from P. furiosus were the compounds that were most effective in stimulating growth of the microorganism. In several cases, periodic addition of beta-glucan substrates to fed-batch cultures limited adverse thermochemical modifications of the carbohydrates (i.e., Maillard reactions and caramelization) and led to significant increases (as much as two- to threefold) in the cell yields. While glucose had only a marginally positive effect on growth in batch culture, the final cell densities nearly tripled when glucose was added by the fed-batch procedure. Nonenzymatic browning reactions were found to be significant at 98 degrees C for saccharides with degrees of polymerization (DP) ranging from 1 to 6; glucose was the most labile compound on a mass basis and the least labile compound on a molar basis. This suggests that for DP of 2 or greater protection of the nonreducing monosaccharide component may be a factor in substrate availability. For P. furiosus, carbohydrate utilization patterns were found to reflect the distribution of the glycosyl hydrolases which are known to be produced by this microorganism. (+info)
Glucose kinetics during prolonged exercise in highly trained human subjects: effect of glucose ingestion.
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1. The objectives of this study were (1) to investigate whether glucose ingestion during prolonged exercise reduces whole body muscle glycogen oxidation, (2) to determine the extent to which glucose disappearing from the plasma is oxidized during exercise with and without carbohydrate ingestion and (3) to obtain an estimate of gluconeogenesis. 2. After an overnight fast, six well-trained cyclists exercised on three occasions for 120 min on a bicycle ergometer at 50 % maximum velocity of O2 uptake and ingested either water (Fast), or a 4 % glucose solution (Lo-Glu) or a 22 % glucose solution (Hi-Glu) during exercise. 3. Dual tracer infusion of [U-13C]-glucose and [6,6-2H2]-glucose was given to measure the rate of appearance (Ra) of glucose, muscle glycogen oxidation, glucose carbon recycling, metabolic clearance rate (MCR) and non-oxidative disposal of glucose. 4. Glucose ingestion markedly increased total Ra especially with Hi-Glu. After 120 min Ra and rate of disappearance (Rd) of glucose were 51-52 micromol kg-1 min-1 during Fast, 73-74 micromol kg-1 min-1 during Lo-Glu and 117-119 micromol kg-1 min-1 during Hi-Glu. The percentage of Rd oxidized was between 96 and 100 % in all trials. 5. Glycogen oxidation during exercise was not reduced by glucose ingestion. The vast majority of glucose disappearing from the plasma is oxidized and MCR increased markedly with glucose ingestion. Glucose carbon recycling was minimal suggesting that gluconeogenesis in these conditions is negligible. (+info)
Conversion of brain-specific complex type sugar chains by N-acetyl-beta-D-hexosaminidase B.
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The N-linked sugar chains, GlcNAcbeta1-2Manalpha1-6(GlcNAcbeta1-4)(Manalpha1++ +-3)Manbeta1-4GlcNAcb eta1-4(Fucalpha1-6)GlcNAc (BA-1) and GlcNAcbeta1-2Manalpha1-6(GlcNAcbeta1-4)(GlcNAcbeta1 -2Manalpha1-3)Manb eta1-4GlcNAcbeta1-4(Fucalpha1-6)GlcNAc (BA-2), were recently found to be linked to membrane proteins of mouse brain in a development-dependent manner [S. Nakakita, S. Natsuka, K. Ikenaka, and S. Hase, J. Biochem. 123, 1164-1168 (1998)]. The GlcNAc residue linked to the Manalpha1-3 branch of BA-2 is lacking in BA-1 and the removal of this GlcNAc residue is not part of the usual biosynthetic pathway for N-linked sugar chains, suggesting the existence of an N-acetyl-beta-D-hexosaminidase. Using pyridylaminated BA-2 (BA-2-PA) as a substrate the activity of this enzyme was found in all four subcellular fractions obtained. The activity was much greater in the cerebrum than in the cerebellum. To further identify the N-acetyl-beta-D-hexosaminidase, BA-1 and BA-2 in brain tissues of Hex gene-disrupted mutant mice were detected and quantified. PA-sugar chains were liberated from the cerebrum and cerebellum of the mutant mice by hydrazinolysis-N-acetylation followed by pyridylamination. PA-sugar chains were separated by anion-exchange HPLC, size-fractionation, and reversed-phase HPLC. Each peak was quantified by measuring the peaks at the elution positions of authentic BA-1-PA and BA-2-PA. BA-2-PA was detected in all the PA-sugar chain fractions prepared from Hexa, Hexb, and both Hexa and Hexb (double knockout) gene-disrupted mice, but BA-1 was not found in the fractions from Hexb gene-disrupted and double knockout mice. These results indicate that N-acetyl-beta-D-hexosaminidase B encoded by the Hexb gene hydrolyzed BA-2 to BA-1. (+info)
Sugar- and nitrogen-dependent regulation of an Amanita muscaria phenylalanine ammonium lyase gene.
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The cDNA of a key enzyme of secondary metabolism, phenylalanine ammonium lyase, was identified for an ectomycorrhizal fungus by differential screening of a mycorrhizal library. The gene was highly expressed in hyphae grown at low external monosaccharide concentrations, but its expression was 30-fold reduced at elevated concentrations. Gene repression was regulated by hexokinase. (+info)
Characterisation of recombinant glycosylation variants of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3.
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There are three potential N-glycosylation sites in the non-conserved central region of the insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) sequence (N89AS, N109AS, N172FS). IGFBP-3 exists as two glycoforms which reduce to a single form on enzymatic deglycosylation. To determine the functional significance of the carbohydrate chains, the N-glycosylation sites were mutated singly and in combinations by substituting Asn residues with Ala. Each recombinant glycoform was detected by radioimmunoassay, indicating that glycosylation is not essential for secretion in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Ligand blotting of the conditioned media using [125I]IGF-I indicated that all seven mutants are active. On the basis of the number and molecular masses of the bands detected for each glycoform, there is approximately 4, 4.5 and 5 kDa of carbohydrate on Asn89, Asn109 and Asn172 respectively, with variable occupancy of Asn172. Ternary complex formation by the glycovariants in the presence of ALS and excess IGF-I was not significantly different from that of fully glycosylated recombinant human (rh)IGFBP-3 [Ka (fully glycosylated)=12.5+/-4.1 l/nmol; mean Ka (all mutants)=22.1+/-3.0 l/nmol]. In contrast, Asn to Asp substitutions decreased acid-labile subunit (ALS) binding activity. Cell-surface association experiments indicate that glycosylation may influence the partitioning of IGFBP-3 between the extracellular milieu and the cell surface. Therefore, while the carbohydrate units appear to be non-essential to ALS or IGF binding, they may modulate other biological activities of IGFBP-3. (+info)
Prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes and abnormalities of carbohydrate metabolism in a U.S. Army population.
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OBJECTIVE: The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) reported that 4.3-6.3% of adult Americans have undiagnosed diabetes. 15.6% have impaired glucose tolerance, and 10.1% have impaired fasting glucose. By design, NHANES III excluded people in the U.S. military. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, and impaired fasting glucose among U.S. Army soldiers. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A 2-h, 75-g oral glucose tolerance test was performed on a prospective, consecutive sample of 625 asymptomatic soldiers presenting to a U.S. Army medical clinic for physical examinations. Age of subjects was 32 +/- 9 years (mean +/- SD), and 81.0% of subjects were male. BMI was 26.2 +/- 3.7 kg/m2. Race/ethnicity categories included Caucasian (54.4%), African-American (24.4%), Hispanic (17.4%), and other (3.7%). A family history of diabetes was reported by 25.4% of the subjects, and the number of exercise sessions per week was 4.0 +/- 1.5. RESULTS: The prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes was 3 of 625 (0.5%) (95% CI, 0.1-1.4): impaired glucose tolerance, 11 of 598 (1.8%) (0.9-3.3); and impaired fasting glucose 6 of 585 (1.0%) (0.4-2.2). CONCLUSIONS: In this low-diabetes risk U.S. Army population, the prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, and impaired fasting glucose were 0.5, 1.8, and 1.0%, respectively. The prevalence rates found in this study are approximately one-tenth of those found in NHANES III. (+info)
Outer membranes of gram-negative bacteria. XIX. Isolation from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 and use in reconstitution and definition of the permeability barrier.
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A method for separating the outer and inner membranes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 in the absence of added ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid was devised. The method yields two outer membrane fractions which show the same protein pattern on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, but differ substantially in their relative contents of phospholipids. One of these outer membrane fractions and the inner membrane fraction are less than 4% cross-contaminated, as judged by the content of typical inner and outer membrane markers. The outer membrane contains four major protein bands with apparent molecular weights of 37,000, 35,000, 21,000 and 17,000. Vesicles reconstituted from lipopolysaccharide and phospholipids were impermeable to all saccharides included in the vesicles during vesicle formation. When the vesicles contained outer membrane proteins, they fully retained only those saccharides of greater than 9,000 molecular weight, suggesting that the exclusion limit of the outer membrane of P. aeruginosa for saccharides is substantially larger than the figure (500 to 600 daltons) obtained for certain enteric bacteria. The advantages and potential disadvantages of having an outer membrane with a higher exclusion limit for hydrophilic substances are discussed. (+info)