Morphometric analysis and autoradiography of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum during glycogen deposition in the fetal mouse hepatocyte

Author(s):  
Joanette Shockey Breslin ◽  
Robert R. Cardell

Analyses of adult hepatic glycogen deposition by numerous investigators have determined that the smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) proliferates immediately prior to glycogen deposition and during the early stages of glycogen accumulation, then decreases as glycogen levels reach their maximum, suggesting that SER participates in adult hepatic glycogen metabolism. Less is known regarding fetal hepatic glycogen synthesis and the participation of the fetal SER. The studies described here test the hypothesis that the SER functions in the synthesis of fetal hepatic glycogen. Quantitative analysis of SER and glycogen levels during hepatic glycogen synthesis tests the existence of a correlation between glycogen and SER. Newly deposited labeled glycogen is localized via autoradiography and the extent of association between labeled glycogen and SER quantified, establishing whether glycogen is necessarily deposited near membranes of SER.Fetal mouse livers were harvested at daily intervals between days 14 and 19 of gestation, immersion fixed in 2% glutaraldehyde, 2% paraformaldehyde, post-fixed in 1 % OsO4 dehydrated in EtOH and embedded in Epon 812. Semi-thin (0.5μm) and ultra-thin sections (60 nm) were prepared for morphometric analysis.2

Author(s):  
Joanette S. Breslin ◽  
Robert R. Cardell

Considerable evidence suggests that hepatic smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) functions in both glycogen deposition and depletion and is closely associated with glycogen particles during both processes in the adult rodent liver. In this study we have investigated the time course of hepatic glycogen deposition and examined the association of SER with glycogen particles during fetal glycogen synthesis, i.e., from day 15 to day 19 of gestation (plug day = day 1).Livers were removed from fetal ICR mice and processed for either light (LM) and electron microscopy (EM) or biochemical determination of glycogen. Biochemical analysis of glycogen concentrations in each liver revealed an average of 0.1% glycogen in day 15 and day 16 fetal livers, 0.6% in those from day 17, 2.0% on day 18 and nearly 5.0% by day 19. Light microscopic analysis of periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) stained semi-thin (1.0μm) sections confirmed the presence of increasing amounts of glycogen beginning on day 16 and reaching a maximum on day 19 of gestation.


1979 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 348-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
R N Margolis ◽  
R R Cardell ◽  
R T Curnow

A detailed investigation was conducted to determine the precise subcellular localization of the rate-limiting enzymes of hepatic glycogen metabolism (glycogen synthase and phosphorylase) and their regulatory enzymes (synthase phosphatase and phosphorylase phosphatase). Rat liver was homogenized and fractionated to produce soluble, rough and smooth microsomal fractions. Enzyme assays of the fractions were performed, and the results showed that glycogen synthase and phosphorylase were located in the soluble fraction of the livers. Synthase phosphatase and phosphorylase phosphatase activities were also present in soluble fractions, but were clearly identified in both rough and smooth microsomal fractions. It is suggested that the location of smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) within the cytosome forms a microenvironment within hepatocytes that establishes conditions necessary for glycogen synthesis (and degradation). Thus the location of SER in the cell determines regions of the hepatocyte that are rich in glycogen particles. Furthermore, the demonstration of the association of synthase phosphatase and phosphorylase phosphatase with membranes of SER may account for the close morphological association of SER with glycogen particles (i.e., disposition of SER membranes brings the membrane-bound regulatory enzymes in close contact with their substrates).


1976 ◽  
Vol 156 (3) ◽  
pp. 585-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
P D Whitton ◽  
D A Hems

1. A total loss of capacity for net glycogen synthesis was observed in experiments with the perfused liver of starved adrenalectomized rats. 2. This lesion was corrected by insulin or cortisol in vivo (over 2-5h), but not by any agent tested in perfusion. 3. The activity of glycogen synthetase a, and its increase during perfusion, in the presence of glucose plus glucogenic substrates, were proportional to the rate of net glycogen accumulation. 4. This complete inherent loss of capacity for glycogen synthesis after adrenalectomy is greater than any defect in hepatic metabolism yet reported in this situation, and is not explicable by a decrease in the rate of gluconegenesis (which supports glycogen synthesis in the liver of starved rats). The short-term (2-5h) stimulatory effect of glucocorticoids in the intact animal, on hepatic glycogen deposition, may be mediated partly through insulin action, although neither insulin or cortisol appear to act directly on the liver to stimulate glycogen synthesis.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 2552
Author(s):  
Ana Pérez-García ◽  
Verónica Hurtado-Carneiro ◽  
Carmen Herrero-De-Dios ◽  
Pilar Dongil ◽  
José Enrique García-Mauriño ◽  
...  

Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and PAS kinase (PASK) control glucose and energy homeostasis according to nutritional status. Thus, both glucose availability and GLP-1 lead to hepatic glycogen synthesis or degradation. We used a murine model to discover whether PASK mediates the effect of exendin-4 (GLP-1 analogue) in the adaptation of hepatic glycogen metabolism to nutritional status. The results indicate that both exendin-4 and fasting block the Pask expression, and PASK deficiency disrupts the physiological levels of blood GLP1 and the expression of hepatic GLP1 receptors after fasting. Under a non-fasted state, exendin-4 treatment blocks AKT activation, whereby Glucokinase and Sterol Regulatory Element-Binding Protein-1c (Srebp1c) expressions were inhibited. Furthermore, the expression of certain lipogenic genes was impaired, while increasing Glucose Transporter 2 (GLUT2) and Glycogen Synthase (GYS). Moreover, exendin-4 treatment under fasted conditions avoided Glucose 6-Phosphatase (G6pase) expression, while maintaining high GYS and its activation state. These results lead to an abnormal glycogen accumulation in the liver under fasting, both in PASK-deficient mice and in exendin-4 treated wild-type mice. In short, exendin-4 and PASK both regulate glucose transport and glycogen storage, and some of the exendin-4 effects could therefore be due to the blocking of the Pask expression.


Author(s):  
Robert R. Cardell

For over two decades we have studied morphological aspects of hepatic glycogen metabolism, particularly the role of smooth endoplasmic reticulum in this process. Recently investigators have emphasized the role of hepatic gluconeogenesis (formation of glucose from non-carbohydrate precursors) in glycogen synthesis. To contribute new morphological information to this discussion we have developed probes for the detection of the relevant gluconeogenic enzymes by immunocytochemistry and the expression of the genes for the enzymes by in situ hybridization histochemistry. In this report we present: our work on the expression of a gene for the major rate limiting enzyme in hepatic gluconeogenesis, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK).


1998 ◽  
Vol 336 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu BOLLEN ◽  
Stefaan KEPPENS ◽  
Willy STALMANS

Although the general pathways of glycogen synthesis and glycogenolysis are identical in all tissues, the enzymes involved are uniquely adapted to the specific role of glycogen in different cell types. In liver, where glycogen is stored as a reserve of glucose for extrahepatic tissues, the glycogen-metabolizing enzymes have properties that enable the liver to act as a sensor of blood glucose and to store or mobilize glycogen according to the peripheral needs. The prime effector of hepatic glycogen deposition is glucose, which blocks glycogenolysis and promotes glycogen synthesis in various ways. Other glycogenic stimuli for the liver are insulin, glucocorticoids, parasympathetic (vagus) nerve impulses and gluconeogenic precursors such as fructose and amino acids. The phosphorolysis of glycogen is mainly mediated by glucagon and by the orthosympathetic neurotransmitters noradrenaline and ATP. Many glycogenolytic stimuli, e.g. adenosine, nucleotides and NO, also act indirectly, via secretion of eicosanoids from non-parenchymal cells. Effectors often initiate glycogenolysis cooperatively through different mechanisms.


1985 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 201-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
R R Cardell ◽  
J E Michaels ◽  
J T Hung ◽  
E L Cardell

Hormonal control of hepatic glycogen and blood glucose levels is one of the major homeostatic mechanisms in mammals: glycogen is synthesized when portal glucose concentration is sufficiently elevated and degraded when glucose levels are low. We have studied initial events of hepatic glycogen synthesis by injecting the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone (DEX) into adrenalectomized rats fasted overnight. Hepatic glycogen levels are very low in adrenalectomized rats, and DEX causes rapid deposition of the complex carbohydrate. Investigation of the process of glycogen deposition was performed by light and electron microscopic (EM) radioautography using [3H]galactose as a glycogen precursor. Rats injected with DEX for 2-3 h and [3H]galactose one hour before being killed displayed an increasing number of intensely labeled hepatocytes. EM radioautography revealed silver grains over small (+/- 1 micron) ovoid or round areas of the cytosome that were rich in smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) and contained a high concentration of small dense particles. These distinct areas or foci of SER and presumptive glycogen (SERGE) were most numerous during initial periods of glycogen synthesis. After longer exposure to DEX (4-5 h) more typical deposits of cytoplasmic glycogen were evident in the SERGE regions. Several criteria indicated that the SERGE foci contained glycogen or presumptive glycogen: resemblance of the largest dense particles to beta-glycogen particles in EM; association of 3H-carbohydrate with the foci; removal of particles and label with alpha-amylase; and positive reaction with periodic acid-chromic acid-silver methenamine. The concentration of SER in the small foci and the association of newly formed glycogen particles with elements of SER suggest a role for this organelle in the initial synthesis of glycogen.


1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1064-1065
Author(s):  
J. T. Ellzey ◽  
J. P. Drake ◽  
L. Dader ◽  
P. Boentges

Pathological changes of hepatocytes from rats fed a 30% ethanol-derived calories diet for three weeks include noticeable ultrastructural changes including steatosis and hypertrophy of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum. We sought to examine hepatocytes of deer mice administered ethanol in an inhalation chamber for two weeks to determine if subtle changes occur in hepatocyte organelles prior to steatosis.Two strains of Peromyscus maniculatus, ADH-positive possessing hepatic cytosolic alcohol dehydrogenase and ADH-negative deer mice lacking this enzyme were purchased from the Peromyscus Genetic Stock Center (Univ. of South Carolina). They tested negatively for Hanta viruses. A morphometric analysis of the ultrastructure of ADH+(n=14) and ADH- (n=14) controls as well as experimentals exposed to chronic, intoxicating levels of ethanol was conducted. Blood ethanol levels were maintained between 1.25-1.75 mg/ml for two weeks in the experimentals.


1984 ◽  
Vol 247 (6) ◽  
pp. E714-E718
Author(s):  
M. Freemark ◽  
S. Handwerger

The interactions between ovine placental lactogen (oPL) and insulin in the regulation of fetal liver glycogen metabolism have been studied in cultured hepatocytes from fetal rats on day 20 of gestation. Both oPL (0.75–22.5 micrograms/ml) and insulin (0.01–1 microM) stimulated dose-dependent increases in [14C]glucose incorporation into glycogen. However, the dose-response curves for the two hormones were not parallel and the maximum effect of oPL was 3.4 times greater than that of insulin (P less than 0.001). The two hormones had synergistic effects on [14C]glucose incorporation at low concentrations and additive effects at maximum concentrations. Ovine growth hormone (oGH) also stimulated [14C]glucose incorporation into glycogen but with a potency only 12.3% that of oPL. Cycloheximide (20 microM) abolished the stimulation of [14C]glucose incorporation by insulin (1 microM), oPL (5 micrograms/ml), and oGH (100 micrograms/ml). Although the glycogenic actions of oPL and insulin may depend on new protein synthesis, the results of these studies suggest that these hormones stimulate glycogen synthesis in fetal liver by different mechanisms. Because the glycogenic actions of oPL are potentiated by insulin, these hormones may act in concert to promote hepatic glycogen storage in the fetus.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document