P-enolpyruvate Carboxykinase Gene Research Articles

Carbon Flux via the Pentose Phosphate Pathway Regulates the Hepatic Expression of the Glucose-6-phosphatase and Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxykinase Genes in Conscious Rats

Hepatic gene expression of P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and glucose-6-phosphatase (Glc-6-Pase) is regulated in response to changes in the availability of substrates, in particular glucose (Glc; Massillon, D., Barzilai, N., Chen, W., Hu, M., and Rossetti, L. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 9871-9874). We investigated the mechanism(s) in conscious rats. Hyperglycemia per se caused a rapid and marked increase in Glc-6-Pase mRNA abundance and protein levels. By contrast, hyperglycemia decreased the abundance of PEPCK mRNA. Importantly, inhibition of glucokinase activity by glucosamine infusion blunted both the stimulation of Glc-6-Pase and the inhibition of PEPCK gene expression by Glc, suggesting that an intrahepatic signal (metabolite) generated by the metabolism of glucose at or beyond Glc-6-P was responsible for the regulatory effect of Glc. The effect of Glc on the L-type pyruvate kinase gene is mediated by xylulose-5-P (Doiron, B., Cuif, M., Chen, R., and Kahn, A. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 5321-5324). Thus, we next investigated whether an isolated increase in the hepatic concentration of this metabolite can also reproduce the effects of Glc on Glc-6-Pase and PEPCK gene expression in vivo. Xylitol, which is directly converted to xylulose-5-P in the liver, was infused to raise the hepatic concentration of xylulose-5-P by approximately 3-fold. Xylitol infusion did not alter the levels of Glc-6-P and of fructose-2,6-biphosphate. However, it replicated the effects of hyperglycemia on Glc-6-Pase and PEPCK gene expression and resulted in a 75% increase in the in vivo flux through Glc-6-Pase (total glucose output).

Regulated production of mature insulin by non-beta-cells.

Rat hepatoma cells were engineered to express, in a regulated manner, mature human insulin as an approach to the development of artificial beta-cells for insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) gene therapy. A chimeric gene obtained by linking a 2.4-kb fragment of the P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) gene promoter to a human proinsulin gene (PEPCK/Insm), containing genetically engineered furin endoprotease cleavage sites, was stably transfected into FTO-2B rat hepatoma cells. The FTOInsm cells expressed high levels of insulin mRNA and protein after Northern blot or immunocytochemical analysis. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fractionation of culture medium and cell extracts revealed that about 90% of the proinsulin was processed to mature insulin. Insulin secretion was very fast, and 15 min after induction with dibutyryl cyclic AMP (Bt2cAMP) plus dexamethasone significant amounts of the hormone were released. Moreover, during the first hour, the rise in insulin concentration in the medium was 10-fold that detected in nontreated FTOInsm cells. Insulin produced by FTOInsm cells was biologically active because it blocked endogenous PEPCK gene expression and induced glucose uptake and lactate production. Thus, our results showed that genetically engineered FTOInsm hepatoma cells synthesized, processed, and secreted active insulin. The implantation of encapsulated engineered FTOInsm cells might provide a safe and practical therapeutic approach for IDDM treatment.

Evidence from transgenic mice that glucokinase is rate limiting for glucose utilization in the liver.

To study the role of glucokinase (GK) in the control of glucose metabolism in the liver, transgenic mice were generated in which GK was overexpressed under control of the P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase gene promoter. Whereas the expression of the GK gene in starved control mice was blocked, this promoter was able to direct the expression of the enzyme to the liver of starved transgenic mice. Furthermore, starved transgenic mice showed levels of GK activity fourfold higher than those of starved control and similar to those of fed control. This activation of GK led to an increase in the intracellular concentration of glucose 6-phosphate, which was also related to an induction of glycogen accumulation. In addition, L-pyruvate kinase (L-PK) activity increased in transgenic mice, which when starved showed similar levels of activity to control fed mice. The induction of L-PK caused an increase in the hepatic lactate concentration. Furthermore, hepatocytes in primary culture from transgenic mice incubated with 20 mM glucose produced levels of lactate threefold higher than controls, but no difference was noted when the hepatocytes from control and transgenic mice were incubated with 2 mM glucose. These results demonstrated in vivo that the activation of GK is a rate-limiting step in the induction of glycolysis and glycogen synthesis. These changes in liver glucose metabolism led to a marked reduction in blood glucose (30%) and insulin (40%) concentrations. Furthermore, transgenic mice showed lower levels of blood glucose after an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test, indicating that GK overexpression caused an increase in blood glucose disposal by the liver. All these findings show the key role of liver GK in the control of whole-body glucose homeostasis.-Ferre, T., Riu, E., Bosch, F., Valera, A. Evidence from transgenic mice that glucokinase is rate limiting for glucose utilization in the liver.

Persistent expression of genes transferred in the fetal rat liver via retroviruses.

The transfer of genes into the fetal liver is a promising approach for correction of inborn errors in metabolism identified in prenatal life. In this study, we demonstrate that gene transfer to the fetal rat liver resulted in the stable expression of the gene in the hepatocytes of the adult animals. This was achieved by a combination of gene transfer via ecotropic retroviruses in the fetal liver with subsequent partial hepatectomy of the offspring. Replication incompetent, ecotropic and amphotropic retroviruses were used to transfer the bovine growth hormone gene (bGH) linked to the promoter (-450 to +73) for the P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) gene into the fetal liver in the last trimester of gestation. Amphotropic retroviruses were unable to infect the fetal liver due to the lack of expression of their receptors. The fetal liver was infected by the ecotropic retroviruses and partial hepatectomy of the offspring at one month of age stimulated expression of the PEPCK/bGH gene in the liver over ten fold. Expression of the gene persisted for as long as one year. A heterogeneous pattern of expression of the chimeric gene throughout the liver parenchymal cells was identified with higher expression in the pericentral region of the liver. This zonation of expression was not expected, since the endogenous PEPCK gene is expressed in periportal hepatocytes. We suggest that, following partial hepatectomy DNA replication activates expression of the proviral PEPCK/bGH gene, mainly in midzonal and pericentral hepatocytes. Proviral sequences may influence the expression of the PEPCK/bGH gene in parenchymal cells in which the PEPCK promoter is not normally active.

Metabolic Regulation of Gene Transcription ,

The impact of nutrients on gene expression has become an area of considerable interest as the number of genes coding for key regulatory proteins in metabolic pathways are studied in detail. This has been greatly aided by a number of new techniques developed to study gene transcription in animals. We will use as an example studies on the regulation of transcription of the gene coding for P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase, a key enzyme in hepatic and renal gluconeogenesis. The promoter for P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase contains a number of regulatory elements within 500 bp of the start-site of gene transcription that are required for the response of the gene to metabolic signals. These elements bind tissue-specific transcription factors in complex patterns of interactions, which result in the coordinate control of P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase gene expression. An analysis of the regulation of transcription of this gene involves the use of a number of techniques ranging from gene transfection into cells in culture to the introduction of chimeric genes containing the P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase promoter into transgenic mice. This review presents a progress report on the current status of research on the nutritional and hormonal regulation of transcription of the P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase gene.

An analysis of regulatory elements in the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (GTP) gene which are responsible for its tissue-specific expression and metabolic control in transgenic mice.

Sequences in the gene for P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) which are responsible for its complex pattern of transcriptional control were determined using transgenic mice containing a chimeric PEPCK-bovine growth hormone (bGH) gene consisting of a segment of the PEPCK promoter from -460 to +73, with mutations in specific regulatory domains. A mutation in the cAMP response element (CRE) (-87 to -74), which binds CCATT/enhancer-binding protein beta (C/EBP beta) and/or cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), resulted in a 4- and 20-fold elevation in the level of bGH mRNA in the liver and kidney of transgenic mice, respectively. Expression of the PEPCK-bGH gene in the liver was reduced 60% by a mutation in the P3 (I) region (-248 to -230), whereas expression in the kidney was increased 10-fold by the same mutation. A mutation in the P2 region (-200 to -164) greatly reduced expression of the PEPCK-bGH gene in the kidney but not in the liver. Induction of hepatic PEPCK-bGH gene expression by Bt2cAMP was eliminated by mutations in the CRE, P1, P3(I), or by a double mutation of the CRE and P3(I). Mutations in the CRE or P3(I) regions of the PEPCK promoter did not interfere with the expected induction of the PEPCK-bGH gene in the liver at birth. None of the mutations in the PEPCK promoter interfered with the induction of transcription of the PEPCK-bGH gene in the liver when mice were fed a carbohydrate-free diet or the deinduction of transcription from the PEPCK promoter caused by a diet high in carbohydrate, whereas a mutation in P2 (an HNF-1 binding domain) eliminated dietary regulation of transcription of the transgene in the kidney. A model to explain the role of the various elements in the PEPCK promoter on the control of PEPCK gene transcription in the liver and kidney is presented.

Calcium-mobilizing effectors inhibit P- enolpyruvate carboxykinase gene expression in cultured rat hepatocytes

Incubation of primary cultures of hepatocytes from fed and fasted rats with calcium ionophore strongly decreased glucose production from pyruvate. Like insulin, calcium ionophore A23187, phenylephrine, vasopressin, and prostaglandins E 2 and F 2α caused a significant reduction (50–60%) in basal concentrations of mRNA for P- enolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), the main regulatory enzyme of gluconeogenesis. Phenylephrine, prostaglandin E 2 and calcium ionophore A23187 were also able to counteract the induction of PEPCK gene expression by Bt 2cAMP. These effects were similar to those exerted by both vanadate and phorbol ester TPA. The decrease in extracellular calcium by the addition of the calcium-chelating agent EGTA to the incubation medium caused an increase in PEPCK mRNA levels. This effect was additive to that of Bt 2cAMP and was counteracted by vanadate.

Tissue-specific expression and dietary regulation of a chimeric phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase/bovine growth hormone gene in transgenic mice.

A series of transgenic mice was produced by microinjection of a segment of DNA, containing 460 base pairs of the phosphoenolpyruvate (P-enolpyruvate) carboxykinase promoter-regulatory region ligated to the bovine growth hormone structural gene, into the male pronucleus of fertilized mouse eggs. Founder animals which contained the gene were selected for further analysis and for breeding. The concentration of bovine growth hormone in the serum of animals which were shown to contain the gene ranged from a low of 5 ng/ml serum to approximately 2300 ng/ml serum. Mice with high levels of bovine growth hormone had growth rates double that of their litter mates which did not contain the transgene. The transgene was expressed only in the liver and kidney of the animals studied, and the level of specific mRNA for bovine growth hormone in these tissues could be regulated by diet in a manner similar to the endogenous P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase gene. Feeding the animals a diet high in carbohydrate for 1 week caused a 90% decrease in the concentration of bovine growth hormone in the blood, suggesting that the expression of the chimeric P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase/bovine growth hormone gene is sensitive to insulin. When the same animals were then refed a diet high in protein, but devoid of carbohydrate, the concentration of bovine growth hormone in their blood was induced 30-fold within a week. The administration of dibutyryl cyclic AMP to the transgenic mice caused a 2-fold induction in the level of bovine growth hormone in the serum within 90 min. Thus the region between -460/+73 in the P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase promoter-regulatory region contains sequences which can direct the tissue-specific expression, as well as hormonal and dietary responsiveness, of a linked structural gene.

Regulation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene transcription in H4IIE hepatoma cells: evidence for a primary role of the catalytic subunit of 3',5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate-dependent protein kinase.

The purpose of these studies was to determine whether the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase is involved in the regulation of P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) gene transcription. Cyclic AMP analog pairs that preferentially stimulate either type I or type II protein kinase in a synergistic manner were used to compare regulation of mRNAPEPCK synthesis in H4IIE rat hepatoma cells with protein kinase activation in vitro. Type II protein kinase is predominant in H4IIE cells and analog pairs directed toward this isozyme resulted in a synergistic increase of mRNAPEPCK that was due to a corresponding enhancement of PEPCK gene transcription. When compared to a single analog the addition of a type II-directed analog pair reduced the total analog concentration required for maximal induction of transcription by about 30-fold. H4IIE cells have a small amount of type I kinase; pairs specific for this form of the enzyme were also effective, but to a lesser extent than those for the type II kinase. (Rp)-cAMPS, a cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinase antagonist, inhibited the agonist-induced increase of mRNAPEPCK in a concentration-dependent manner. The results indicate that the activation of PEPCK gene transcription by cAMP in H4IIE cells is mediated by cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Although the type II isozyme is primarily responsible, type I is also effective. These isozymes have identical catalytic subunits, hence this component presumably mediates the cAMP effect.

The effect of phorbol esters and diacylglycerol on expression of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (GTP) gene in rat hepatoma H4IIE cells.

The effect of the tumor promoter phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) on expression of the P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase gene was studied in rat hepatoma H4IIE cells. Like insulin, PMA provokes a concentration and time-dependent decrease of mRNA coding for that enzyme that is due to an inhibition of P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase gene transcription. This effect of PMA is rapid, reversible, specific for phorbol esters known to be active in other systems, and it does not require on-going protein synthesis. PMA overrides the stimulatory effects cAMP and glucocorticoid analogs have on the transcription of this gene. A synthetic diacylglycerol, sn-1,2-dioctanoylglycerol, also inhibits P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase gene transcription. These effects of PMA and synthetic diacylglycerol are specific, since neither affected total mRNA synthesis. We conclude that diacylglycerol and phorbol esters, specific stimulators of protein kinase C, inhibit the transcription of P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase gene in H4IIE cells. The findings support the hypothesis that diacylglycerols generated in the plasma membrane can act as an intracellular signal that regulates specific gene expression.

Multihormonal regulation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene transcription. The dominant role of insulin.

We used a nuclear RNA transcript elongation assay to show that cAMP analogs and dexamethasone cause a selective increase of transcription of the P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase gene in H4IIE hepatoma cells. 8-(4-chlorophenylthio)-cAMP increased transcription within 5 min and the maximal rate, generally 10-15-fold above the basal rate, was attained by 30 min. This increase was of sufficient magnitude to account for the effect on mRNAPEPCK (for example, where PEPCK is phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase) accumulation. After the initial increase, and with continued presence of cAMP, transcription of this gene declined to a new steady-state level which was 2-3 times the basal value. The effect of cAMP analogs on P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase gene transcription was obtained in the absence of protein synthesis. This, and the rapidity of the response, indicates that the effect of cAMP is exerted directly on the P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase gene. Dexamethasone results in a specific, 6-fold increase of transcription, sufficient to account for the increase of mRNAPEPCK which follows treatment of H4IIE cells with this glucocorticoid. When 1 nM insulin was added to either untreated H4IIE cells, or cells first treated with a cAMP analog or dexamethasone, there was a marked reduction of cytoplasmic mRNAPEPCK. The inhibitory effect of insulin was readily reversible, as cells regained the basal level of mRNAPEPCK and full responsiveness to cAMP within 1 h after removing insulin. The transcript elongation assay was used to show that insulin inhibits transcription of the gene coding for mRNAPEPCK. The concentration of insulin required for 50% inhibition was 2-5 pM, whereas approximately 200 pM of proinsulin was required to achieve the same inhibition of transcription. This effect was specific, since insulin did not affect the synthesis of total RNA; it was rapid, as 5 nM insulin decreased the rate of P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase gene transcription by 50% within 15 min; and it also does not require ongoing protein synthesis. The magnitude and kinetics of the response suggest that the primary action of insulin in the regulation of P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase synthesis is exerted at the level of mRNAPEPCK transcription. The insulin-mediated inhibition of mRNAPEPCK transcription was noted in untreated cells and in cells first treated with 8-(4-chlorophenylthio)-cAMP, dexamethasone, or both of these agents. Hence, among these compounds, insulin is the dominant regulatory molecule.