Hepatic Pyruvate Kinase Research Articles

Zinc Deficiency Changes Preferred Macronutrient Intake in Subpopulations of Sprague-Dawley Outbred Rats and Reduces Hepatic Pyruvate Kinase Gene Expression1,2,3

Macronutrient selection patterns of male rats were analyzed using a 3-choice macronutrient selection system providing either adequate (+Zn) or deficient (−Zn) levels of zinc (30 or 1 mg Zn/kg). In study 1, rats were provided +Zn and −Zn diets for 28 d. All rats preferred carbohydrate (>50% carbohydrate intake) at the onset, consuming an average of 71% carbohydrate (cho), 17% protein (pro), and 12% fat. By the end of the study, 25% of the −Zn rats switched preference from cho to fat, whereas no +Zn rats changed. In study 2, −Zn rats preferring fat increased their total intake to normal levels, but only 50% reverted to carbohydrate preference after 35 d of zinc repletion. Hypothalamic concentrations of galanin were measured in groups of +Zn and −Zn cho- and fat-preferring rats. Galanin, which may be regulated with fat intake, was not different in −Zn rats preferring fat vs. −Zn rats preferring cho. Galanin concentrations were higher in +Zn than in −Zn rats (P< 0.05) and higher in +Zn rats preferring fat than in +Zn rats preferring cho (P< 0.05). Hepatic pyruvate kinase (PK) mRNA concentrations were related to cho preference, regardless of zinc status. When PK mRNA levels were measured in rats consuming a single AIN- 93–based diet, PK mRNA levels were significantly reduced by zinc deficiency (P< 0.05). Because PK is highly regulated by insulin, the effect of insulin may be reduced by zinc deficiency, making it more difficult for −Zn rats to catabolize dietary cho. This may explain why some −Zn rats switched from preferring cho to fat after developing zinc deficiency. J. Nutr. 128: 43–49, 1998.

Metabolic Responses Associated with Confinement Stress in Tilapia: The Role of Cortisol

We examined the effect of 2- or 24-hr confinement stress and cortisol treatment on plasma cortisol, glucose, lactate and free amino acids concentration and hepatic glycogen content and activities of certain enzymes involved in the intermediary metabolism in tilapia ( Oreochromis mossambicus). Confinement of tilapia for 2 or 24 hr resulted in significantly higher plasma cortisol, glucose, lactate (2 hr), total and some of the free amino acids concentration (especially at 24 hr) and hepatic pyruvate kinase (PK), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK; 24 hr) and lactate dehydrogenase activities (24 hr). Hepatic glycogen content was lower at 2 and 24 hr in the confined fish compared with the unstressed fish. Tilapia given cortisol implants (50 mg·kg −1 body wt) had significantly higher plasma cortisol, glucose and some of the free amino acids concentration and hepatic PEPCK and aspartate aminotransferase activities, whereas PK activity ratio was significantly lower compared with the sham group. The results suggest that glucose production 2 hr after confinement may be due to glycogenolysis, whereas the maintenance of higher glucose at 24 hr after confinement is essentially due to gluconeogenesis. Furthermore, the changes in plasma metabolites and hepatic enzyme activities with cortisol implantation suggest that cortisol plays a role in the metabolic adjustment to 24-hr confinement stress in tilapia.

Food-deprivation affects seawater acclimation in tilapia: hormonal and metabolic changes

We tested the hypothesis that nutritional state affects seawater acclimation by transferring either fed or food-deprived (2 weeks) male tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) from fresh water to full-strength sea water. Food-deprivation resulted in a significant increase in plasma concentrations of Na+, Cl-, cortisol, glucose, total amino acid, glutamate, serine and alanine, and in hepatic pyruvate kinase (PK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities, whereas the prolactin-188 to prolactin-177 ratio (tPRL188:tPRL177) and plasma prolactin-188 (tPRL188), lactate, arginine and hepatic glycogen content and hepatic alanine aminotransferase (AlaAT) and 3-hydroxyacyl-Coenzyme A dehydrogenase (HOAD) activities were lower than in the fed group. Seawater transfer significantly increased the tPRL188:tPRL177 ratio and plasma concentrations of Na+, Cl-, K+, growth hormone (GH), glucose, aspartate, tyrosine, alanine, methionine, phenylalanine, leucine, isoleucine and valine levels as well as gill Na+/K+-ATPase activity and hepatic PK and LDH activities, whereas plasma tPRL177, tPRL188, glycine and lysine concentrations were significantly lower than in fish retained in fresh water. There was a significant interaction between nutritional state and salinity that affected the tPRL188:tPRL177 ratio and plasma concentrations of Cl-, GH, glucose, aspartate, tyrosine, serine, alanine, glycine, arginine and hepatic PK, LDH, AlaAT, aspartate aminotransferase, glutamate dehydrogenase and HOAD activities. These results, taken together, indicate that food-deprived fish did not regulate their plasma Cl- levels, despite an enhancement of plasma hormonal and metabolic responses in sea water. Our study also suggests the possibility that plasma prolactin and essential amino acids may be playing an important role in the seawater acclimation process in tilapia.

Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids interfere with the insulin/glucose activation of L-type pyruvate kinase gene transcription.

L-type pyruvate kinase (L-PK) is a key glycolytic enzyme regulating the flux of metabolites through the pyruvate-phosphoenolpyruvate cycle (1). The regulation of L-PK is complex involving both hormones and nutrients. We have found that feeding rats diets containing polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) significantly inhibits hepatic pyruvate kinase enzyme activity (> 60%) and suppresses mRNAPK abundance (> 70%). Studies with primary hepatocytes indicate that PUFA act directly on hepatocytes. Specifically, arachidonic (20:4, omega 6) and eicosapentaenoic (20:5, omega 3) acid suppressed both mRNAPK llevels and the activity of a transfected PKCAT (-4300/+12) fusion gene by > 70%. This is due to an inhibition of the insulin/glucose-mediated transactivation of L-PKCAT. Deletion analysis localized PUFA-regulated cis-acting elements to a region within the L-PK proximal promoter, i.e. between -197 and -96 base pairs. This region binds two transcription factors involved in the hormone/nutrient regulation of L-PK gene transcription, i.e. a major late transcription factor-like factor and HNF-4. Linker scanning mutation analysis localized the PUFA-regulated cis-acting elements to the vicinity of the HNF-4 binding site. Thus, PUFA-regulated factors abrogate the insulin/glucose activation of L-PK gene transcription by targeting the HNF-4 elements. These studies suggest that PUFA may have significant effects on hepatic carbohydrate metabolism by inhibiting the L-PK side of the pyruvate-phosphoenolpyruvate cycle.

Regulation of hepatic glycolysis and gluconeogenesis by atrial natriuretic peptide

Recently we reported the presence of both the guanylyl cyclase-linked (116 kDa) and the ANF-C (66 kDa) atrial natriuretic peptide receptors in the rat liver. Since ANF 103–125 (atriopeptin II) stimulates cGMP production in livers and because cGMP has previously been shown to mimic the actions of cAMP in regulating hepatic carbohydrate metabolism, studies were performed to investigate the effects of atriopeptin II on hepatic glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. Additionally, employing analogs of atrial natriuretic hormone [des-(Q 116, S 117, G 118, L 119, G 120) ANF 102–121 (C-ANF) and des-(C 105,121) ANF 104–126 (analog I)] which bind only the ANF-C receptors, the role of the ANF-C receptors in the hepatic actions of atriopeptin II was evaluated. In perfused livers of fed rats atriopeptin II, but not C-ANF and analog I, inhibited hepatic glycolysis and stimulated glucose production. Moreover, analog I did not alter the ability of atriopeptin II to inhibit hepatic glycolysis. Atriopeptin II, but not C-ANF and analog I, also stimulated cGMP production in perfused rat livers. Furthermore, while atriopeptin II inhibited the activity ratio of pyruvate kinase by 30%, C-ANF did not alter hepatic pyruvate kinase activity. Finally, in rat hepatocytes, atriopeptin II stimulated the synthesis of [ 14C]glucose from [2- 14C]pyruvate by 50% and this effect of atriopeptin II was mimicked by the exogenously supplied cGMP analog, 8-bromo cGMP. Thus atriopeptin II increases hepatic gluconeogenesis and inhibits glycolysis, in part by inhibiting pyruvate kinase activity, and the effects of atriopeptin II are mediated via activation of guanylyl cyclase-linked ANF receptors which elevate cGMP production.

Effect of nutritional status on insulin sensitivity in vivo and tissue enzyme activities in the rat

The hyperinsulinaemic-glucose-clamp technique, in combination with measurement of glucose turnover in conscious unrestrained rats, was used to assess the effects of nutritional status on insulin sensitivity in vivo and glucose metabolism. Liver, heart and quadriceps skeletal-muscle glycogen content and activities of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) and glycogen synthase were measured both basally and at the end of a 2.5 h glucose clamp (insulin 85 munits/h) in rats 6, 24 and 48 h after food withdrawal. Clamp glucose requirement and glucose turnover were unchanged by fasting. Activation of glycogen synthase and glycogen deposition in liver and skeletal muscle during the clamps were also not impaired in rats after a prolonged fast. By contrast with skeletal muscle, activation of cardiac-muscle glycogen synthase and glycogen deposition during the clamps were markedly impaired by 24 h of fasting and were undetectable at 48 h. Skeletal-muscle PDH activity fell with more prolonged fasting (6 h, 15.3 +/- 3.4%; 24 h, 4.7 +/- 0.7%; 48 h, 4.3 +/- 0.6% active; P less than 0.005), but at 24 and 48 h was stimulated by the clamp to values unchanged by the duration of fasting. Stimulation of cardiac PDH activity by the clamp was, however, impaired in rats fasted for 24 or 48 h. Basal hepatic PDH did not change significantly with fasting (6 h, 5.3 +/- 1.1%; 24 h, 4.6 +/- 0.7%; 48 h, 3.9 +/- 0.5%), and, although it could be partly restored at 24 h, very little stimulation occurred at 48 h. Hepatic pyruvate kinase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity were both stimulated by the clamps, and this was not impaired with more prolonged fasting. During the glucose clamps, blood concentrations of lactate, pyruvate and alanine were increased to a greater extent in rats fasted for 24 and 48 h than in rats studied 6 h after food withdrawal. The findings suggest that, although sensitivity to insulin of whole-body glucose disposal is unchanged with fasting, there may be qualitative differences in the metabolism of glucose.

Circadian variation on the regulation of hepatic pyruvate kinase activity and the effects of epidermal growth factor in fed and fasted mice

Abstract The activity of hepatic pyruvate kinase, from mice synchronized to either a standard light‐dark cycle (LD12:12) or a reversed cycle (DL12:12) and killed at six different times of day, was measured at subsaturating (v) and saturating (V) levels of its substrate, phosphoenolpyruvate. Mice were either fed or fasted for longer than 30 hours and injected two hours into the light (LD mice) or dark (DL mice) with either saline or epidermal growth factor (EGF). In fed mice injected with saline in either the light or the dark, both v and V reached maximum values (540 or 486 and 1295 or 1197 U/L, respectively) during the dark span. In each of these cases, activities were found to have significant differences across the times of day at which tissues were taken (P < 0.01, by ANOVA). When EGF was administered two hours into the light to fed animals, no change in either v or V was noted after 6 hours. After 10 hours, v (153%) and V (80%) were increased, and after 14 hours v (41%) and V (25%) were significantly...

Interactions of insulin and dexamethasone in the control of pyruvate kinase activity and glucose metabolism in sheep adipose tissue.

1. The Vmax. activity of pyruvate kinase of sheep adipose tissue increased during tissue culture up to 48 h; the increase was blocked by actinomycin D (an inhibitor of transcription) and was promoted by insulin and antagonized by dexamethasone. 2. In contrast with their effects on pyruvate kinase, insulin and dexamethasone acted synergistically to increase the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase of sheep adipose tissue maintained in culture. 3. Insulin stimulated, whereas dexamethasone inhibited, glucose utilization by sheep adipose tissue maintained in culture; the two agents were mutually antagonistic, and their effects were prevented by actinomycin D. 4. Antimycin A (an inhibitor of the electron-transport chain) stimulated glucose uptake and lactate output by sheep adipose tissue in the presence of dexamethasone and insulin, suggesting that the effects of dexamethasone on glucose utilization by sheep adipose tissue were not due to an inhibition of glucose transport. 5. Comparison of these findings with previous studies on the endocrine control of hepatic pyruvate kinase shows that there are major differences in the control of these Vmax. activities in liver and adipose tissue. 6. Although glucocorticoid hormones inhibit glucose utilization themselves and can antagonize the stimulatory effects of insulin on glucose utilization in adipose tissue from both sheep and rats, there appear to be major differences in the sites of action of these hormones in the two species.

The effect of storage on the kinetic properties of sheep hepatic pyruvate kinase.

The kinetic properties of purified sheep hepatic pyruvate kinase change upon storage. Assayed at 0.5 mM fructose-1,6-diphosphate and 2 mM ADP, saturation of fresh enzyme with phosphoenolpyruvate is hyperbolic, with KPEP = 0.1 mM (pH 7.5, and 30 degrees C). Under similar conditions enzyme stored at -20 degrees C for 1 week or more yields a nonlinear Lineweaver-Burk plot for PEP. The data may be accounted for by the appearance of two enzymic forms with identical turnover numbers, but different KPEP (0.035 +/- 0.005 and 12.4 +/- 0.6 mM). Storage also increases the concentration of fructose-1,6-diphosphate required for maximal activation from nanomolar to millimolar levels. Assayed at 2 mM ADP and 2 mM PEP, the apparent KFDP is 10 mM. Preincubation of stored enzyme with PEP in the presence of mercaptoethanol leads to significant reversion to original kinetic properties. Available data suggest that the storage-dependent change in kinetic behavior rises from changes in subunit conformation and not from dissociation into subunits.

Hepatic pyruvate metabolism during liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy in the rat

1. 1. Hepatic pyruvate kinase (PK) and pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH a) specific activities were decreased after partial hepatectomy or sham operation. The decreases were more marked and sustained after partial hepatectomy. These activity changes ensure that hepatic carbon flux after partial hepatectomy is predominantly in the direction of gluconeogenesis. 2. 2. The decrease in PK specific activity observed after partial hepatectomy was associated with a decreased PK activation ratio (activity measured at 0.15 mM PEP: activity measured at 5.0 mM PEP), and hepatic concentrations of PEP were increased. 3. 3. The low hepatic PDH a activity observed at the first day after partial hepatectomy occurred concomitantly with an increased fatty acid concentration, PDH a activity increased after inhibition of lipolysis. 4. 4. The results indicate that carbohydrate utilization is unimportant for hepatic energy supply during liver regeneration. There was no evidence that the control of PK or PDH in the regenerative liver after partial hepatectomy differed from that observed in the liver of the unoperated rat.

Stimulation of pyruvate kinase phosphatase activity by insulin in isolated rat hepatocytes

Addition of insulin (10 −8 M) to hepatocytes, incubated either in the absence or in the presence of a suboptimal concentration of glucagon, caused the reactivation of pyruvate kinase and simultaneously provoked a transient stimulation of pyruvate kinase phosphatase activity (40–70% over control values). The stimulatory effect of insulin on pyruvate kinase phosphatase activity was dose-dependent (ED 50 = 1 to 2 × 10 −11 M) and persisted after Sephadex G-25 filtration or ammonium sulfate precipitation of hepatocyte extracts. Our results demonstrate that insulin exerts a short-term regulation on hepatic pyruvate kinase phosphatase activity.

Physiological and metabolic changes associated with weaning in the tammar wallaby, Macropus eugenii.

The tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) is a small macropodid marsupial in which the major part of weaning occupies the period between 28 and 36 weeks of pouch life. Before weaning the diet of the tammar is high in carbohydrate and low in lipid/volatile fatty acid whereas the reverse applies after weaning. The adult tammar is a forestomach fermenter. The aim of this study was to elucidate some of the physiological and metabolic changes associated with this major change in the diet. Hepatic glycogen content increased gradually early in development to a maximum of 7% of liver weight at 28-30 weeks of pouch life. It then fell precipitously to less than 1% of liver weight at 36 weeks before recovering to the adult level of about 3% liver weight. Plasma glucose levels were maintained at about 10 mM until 36 weeks, after which they fell gradually to adult values of about 4 mM. Hepatic hexokinase activity increased several-fold between 18 and 30 weeks of pouch life, remained high until 42 weeks, and then fell to the adult level. The hepatic activities of fructose-bisphosphatase and particulate phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) were unchanged during development but soluble hepatic PEPCK activity, which was low until 28 weeks of pouch life, increased 3-4 fold between 30 and 36 weeks and then fell slightly to the adult level. Hepatic pyruvate kinase increased in activity up to 28 weeks and then fell to about half peak values at 36 weeks and 20% of peak activity in the adult.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Starvation and feeding with a high-carbohydrate diet induce changes in the specific activity of rat hepatic pyruvate kinase

Starvation and feeding with a high-carbohydrate diet induce changes in the specific activity of rat hepatic pyruvate kinase

Starvation and feeding with a high-carbohydrate diet induce changes in the specific activity of rat hepatic pyruvate kinase.

A highly specific radiosandwich assay for hepatic type-L pyruvate kinase (PK) determinants was developed. This assay was used to evaluate changes in PK specific activity which occur on starvation or feeding with a high-carbohydrate diet. Despite a large increase in both catalytic activity and immunoreactive protein, the calculated specific activity falls on feeding, and the opposite effect occurs on starvation. These change can be attributed to disproportionate changes in immunoreactive protein compared with changes in catalytic activity.

Effects of insulin, glucagon and dexamethasone on pyruvate kinase in cultured hepatocytes

Long-term (24–48 h) and short-term (10–30 min) regulation by hormones of hepatic pyruvate kinase activity was investigated in adult rat hepatocytes cultured under serum-free conditions. In the absence of hormones, pyruvate kinase total activity decreased to 83%, 67% and 39% of the initial level at 24, 48 and 72 h of culture. Insulin (100 nM) maintained total activity significantly above control levels throughout this period. In contrast, glucagon (100 nM) and dexamethasone (100 nM) accelerated the gradual decrease within 24 h (glucagon) or 48 h (dexamethasone) of culture. In these long-term experiments, activity at non-saturating concentrations of phospho enolpyruvate was decreased by glucagon and dexamethasone but not directly modulated by insulin. However, insulin increased the cellular content of the pyruvate kinase activator fructose-1,6-diphosphate. In short-term experiments on cells cultured under serum- and hormone-free conditions for 48 h, both glucagon and dexamethasone independently caused a rapid, dose-dependent increase of the K 0.5 for phosphoenolpyruvate within 10 min, while V max was not affected. Insulin inhibited this action of glucagon and dexamethasone and, in their absence, significantly increased substrate affinity for phospho enolpyruvate within 30 min. Cellular fructose-1,6-diphosphate contents remained unchanged under these conditions. The data identify glucocorticoids and insulin - in addition to glucagon - as short-term regulators of the catalytic properties of pyruvate kinase. All three hormones are effective in the long-term control of total enzyme activity.

Seasonal activity patterns of glycolytic enzymes in a hibernator, the Arctic ground squirrel Spermophilus parryi

The maximum activities of the enzymes of glycolysis of five tissues (cerebrum, heart, liver, kidney cortex and skeletal muscle) were examined in a hibernator, the Arctic ground squirrel, in both the summer-active and hibernating (winter) states. In addition, by observing through electrofocussing the appearance of variants of hepatic pyruvate kinase, an attempt was made to determine the time-course of preparation for hibernation. This process requires about 4 weeks, which is about the same as that for the preparation for emergence from hibernation. The separate tissues responded in individually characteristic fashions, although the enzymes from kidney cortex and liver tended to show a general increase and the enzymes from heart and brain showed a general decrease. The enzyme activities in skeletal muscle changed in seemingly disparate ways with some enzymes increasing in hibernation, while others decreased, and yet others remained unchanged. These results are discussed in the light of the hibernating habit of the mammal.

Insulin resistance in the obese hyperglycemic ( [formula omitted]) mouse. Failure of hyperinsulinemia to activate hepatic pyruvate kinase (PK)

In obese hyperglycemic ( ob ob ) mice, as compared to controls, hepatic pyruvate kinase (PK) activity was enhanced by 35.63% (214.75 ± 13.60 nmol/min/mg protein v 158.33 ± 10.47, P < 0.01) when measured at saturating (6.6 mmol/L) concentration of the substrate phosphoenolpyruvate (total activity), but the activity recorded at subsaturating (1.3 mmol/L) substrate concentration (active fraction) was unchanged (86.37 ± 6.42 v 85.66 ± 13.59) or even decreased if expressed as percent of the total activity (40.21 ± 2.56% v 54.10 ± 5.07, P < 0.05). Since insulin induces the synthesis of hepatic PK and favors the conversion of the inactive (phosphorylated) to the active (dephosphorylated) form, these findings suggest that in ob ob mice the striking hyperinsulinemia, although it is able to increase the hepatic content of PK, fails to activate this enzyme. This may favor gluconeogenesis in these animals. The hepatic concentration of PK effectors (fructose-1,6-P 2 and phosphoenolpyruvate) was unchanged in ob ob mice, and the in vitro effect of the activator fructose-1,6-P 2 (15 μmol/L), which would favor the activation (dephosphorylation) of PK, was preserved. It is suggested that hepatic PK in ob ob mice is resistant to activation by insulin.

Circadian dependent effect of epidermal growth factor, insulin and glucagon on hepatic pyruvate kinase and malic enzyme of mice.

The influence of epidermal growth factor (EGF), 0.75 micrograms g1; insulin, 1.5 micrograms g-1; glucagon, 1.25 micrograms g-1 and their combinations on the activities of hepatic pyruvate kinase (PK) and malic enzymes (ME) was monitored. Male CD2F1 mice were treated toward the end of the light or dark periods, 9 or 23 hours after lights on (9 or 23 HALO), and subgroups of six mice were killed at 4, 8 or 12 hr post-treatment. PK and ME activities from control mice were well characterized by cosine curves. The PK activity was maximal when ME activity was minimal at the transition from light to dark (9 HALO plus 4 hr) and PK was at a minimum when ME was highest (23 HALO plus 4 hr). Both enzymes were influenced by at least one peptide hormone, and the effects were strongly circadian-stage dependent. The only effect attributed to EGF was an increase of PK activity (23%) 12 hr after injection at 23 HALO. PK activity was increased by insulin (23%) at 23 HALO (4 hr after injection), but not at 9 HALO, and decreased (17%) by glucagon 12 hr after injection at 9 HALO. Several reductions in PK activity in response to various combinations of peptides were observed, and appeared to be caused by glucagon but influenced by insulin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Studies on the regulation of hepatic pyruvate kinase synthesis in neonatal rats

1. 1. The L- and M 2-type pyruvate kinase from the liver of 1-day old rats demonstrated no significant activation nor inhibition by treatment with cyclic AMP, glucagon or insulin. Neither was there any change in their isozymic composition. 2. 2. By means of incorporation with [ 3H]leucine followed by immunoprecipitation, the rates of synthesis of both the L- and M 2-type pyruvate kinase were not considerably affected by all three modulators. 3. 3. Insulin and glucagon do not direct an immediate change in the synthesis of liver pyruvate kinase and a fluctuation in the insulin/glucagon ratio is not a probable signal for regulating the isozymic expression in the neonatal period.

The effect of oral synthetic protease inhibitor (FOY 305) on endocrine pancreas and carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

The effect of long-term oral synthetic protease inhibitor (FOY 305) administration on fasting blood sugar (FBS), body weight, glucose tolerance, plasma insulin and glucagon levels, pancreatic insulin and glucagon contents, hepatic enzyme activities, and plasma lipids in normal and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats was studied. Normal rats treated with oral FOY 305 for 9 weeks were found to have pancreatic hypertrophy and decreased body weight gain as compared with the untreated normal controls. FBS, glucose tolerance, plasma insulin and glucagon levels, pancreatic insulin and glucagon contents, and plasma lipids were uninfluenced in FOY 305 treated normal rats. STZ-induced diabetic rats treated with oral FOY 305 were found to have decreased FBS for 5 weeks after the beginning of FOY 305 administration as compared with the untreated diabetic controls, whereas at the 7th and 9th week after treatment there was no difference in FBS between FOY 305 treated and untreated diabetic rats. In the metabolic balance observed at the 4th week after treatment, a slight improvement of the diabetic state was found in FOY 305 treated diabetic rats. There was no apparent difference in the blood sugar curve and insulin response following oral glucose load between diabetic rats treated for 7 weeks and untreated diabetic rats. All the rats were sacrificed after 9 weeks of treatment. Diabetic rats treated with oral FOY 305 for 9 weeks showed pancreatic hypertrophy and decreased plasma glucagon level and decreased pancreatic glucagon content as compared with the untreated diabetic controls, whereas there was no difference in body weight, plasma insulin level and pancreatic insulin content between FOY 305 treated and untreated diabetic rats. Furthermore, oral FOY 305 treatment improved hyperlipidemia in STZ-induced diabetic rats and also significantly improved the hepatic pyruvate kinase and phosphoenlpyruvate carboxykinase activities of diabetic rats. These improvements might partly be due to a decreased pancreatic content and secretion of glucagon and/or a direct action of the synthetic PI, FOY 305 to tissues.