Investigations of the mechanisms of glycolytic control during hibernation

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (12) ◽  
pp. 3079-3083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth B. Storey

Molecular mechanisms of glycolytic rate control during hibernation were investigated in the meadow jumping mouse, Zapus hudsonius. The content of fructose-2, 6-bisphosphate, a potent activator of phosphofructokinase, decreased significantly in brain, heart, and fat pad after 5–8 days of hibernation, rose in kidney, and was unchanged in skeletal muscle. Apparent covalent modification of regulatory enzymes of glycolysis during hibernation was examined in brain, heart, kidney, and skeletal muscle but occurred only in selected instances. Hibernation led to a significant reduction in the percentage of glycogen phosphorylase in the phosphorylated a form in brain and produced kinetic changes (altered Ka AMP, I50 citrate) in phosphofructokinase from heart indicative of enzyme covalent modification. No evidence for covalent modification of pyruvate kinase during hibernation was found in any tissue. Covalent modification of enzymes and alterations in fructose-2, 6-bisphosphate content offer organ-specific control over glycolytic rate during hibernation in response to both the general metabolic rate depression of the hibernating state and the individual adjustments in organ fuel use.

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth B. Storey

An impressive array of organisms is capable of radically depressing basal metabolic rate and entering a hypometabolic state characterized by a marked reduction of many normal physiological functions. Environmental cues are often the trigger: low oxygen, low temperature, or lack of water, for example. Entry into a hypometabolic state does not, apparently, involve major biochemical reorganization but appears, instead, to result from molecular controls operating at a level "above" that of allosteric regulation of enzymes and "below" that of gene expression. The mechanisms involved are widely applicable to the coordinated inactivation of many cellular processes. Studies of anaerobiosis in marine molluscs provide the most complete information on the molecular mechanisms involved in metabolic rate depression. Glycolytic rate depression in the marine whelk involves (i) covalent modification of key regulatory enzymes (e.g., phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase) via enzyme phosphorylation to produce less active enzyme forms, (ii) dissociation of enzymes from complexes bound to the subcellular particulate fraction to disrupt pathway flux, and (iii) decreased levels of fructose-2,6-bisphosphate, a potent activator of phosphofructokinase, to help limit the anabolic uses of carbohydrate in the depressed state. Continuing studies are demonstrating the universality of these mechanisms as the basis of metabolic depression, including involvement in mammalian hibernation and anoxia tolerance in goldfish and turtles.


2019 ◽  
Vol 104 (11) ◽  
pp. 5372-5381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel K Stepto ◽  
Alba Moreno-Asso ◽  
Luke C McIlvenna ◽  
Kirsty A Walters ◽  
Raymond J Rodgers

Abstract Context Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine condition affecting 8% to 13% of women across the lifespan. PCOS affects reproductive, metabolic, and mental health, generating a considerable health burden. Advances in treatment of women with PCOS has been hampered by evolving diagnostic criteria and poor recognition by clinicians. This has resulted in limited clinical and basic research. In this study, we provide insights into the current and future research on the metabolic features of PCOS, specifically as they relate to PCOS-specific insulin resistance (IR), that may affect the most metabolically active tissue, skeletal muscle. Current Knowledge PCOS is a highly heritable condition, yet it is phenotypically heterogeneous in both reproductive and metabolic features. Human studies thus far have not identified molecular mechanisms of PCOS-specific IR in skeletal muscle. However, recent research has provided new insights that implicate energy-sensing pathways regulated via epigenomic and resultant transcriptomic changes. Animal models, while in existence, have been underused in exploring molecular mechanisms of IR in PCOS and specifically in skeletal muscle. Future Directions Based on the latest evidence synthesis and technologies, researchers exploring molecular mechanisms of IR in PCOS, specifically in muscle, will likely need to generate new hypothesis to be tested in human and animal studies. Conclusion Investigations to elucidate the molecular mechanisms driving IR in PCOS are in their early stages, yet remarkable advances have been made in skeletal muscle. Overall, investigations have thus far created more questions than answers, which provide new opportunities to study complex endocrine conditions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 2567
Author(s):  
Yann S. Gallot ◽  
Kyle R. Bohnert

Skeletal muscle is an essential organ, responsible for many physiological functions such as breathing, locomotion, postural maintenance, thermoregulation, and metabolism. Interestingly, skeletal muscle is a highly plastic tissue, capable of adapting to anabolic and catabolic stimuli. Skeletal muscle contains a specialized smooth endoplasmic reticulum (ER), known as the sarcoplasmic reticulum, composed of an extensive network of tubules. In addition to the role of folding and trafficking proteins within the cell, this specialized organelle is responsible for the regulated release of calcium ions (Ca2+) into the cytoplasm to trigger a muscle contraction. Under various stimuli, such as exercise, hypoxia, imbalances in calcium levels, ER homeostasis is disturbed and the amount of misfolded and/or unfolded proteins accumulates in the ER. This accumulation of misfolded/unfolded protein causes ER stress and leads to the activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR). Interestingly, the role of the UPR in skeletal muscle has only just begun to be elucidated. Accumulating evidence suggests that ER stress and UPR markers are drastically induced in various catabolic stimuli including cachexia, denervation, nutrient deprivation, aging, and disease. Evidence indicates some of these molecules appear to be aiding the skeletal muscle in regaining homeostasis whereas others demonstrate the ability to drive the atrophy. Continued investigations into the individual molecules of this complex pathway are necessary to fully understand the mechanisms.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2228
Author(s):  
Daniela Galli ◽  
Cecilia Carubbi ◽  
Elena Masselli ◽  
Mauro Vaccarezza ◽  
Valentina Presta ◽  
...  

Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are molecules naturally produced by cells. If their levels are too high, the cellular antioxidant machinery intervenes to bring back their quantity to physiological conditions. Since aging often induces malfunctioning in this machinery, ROS are considered an effective cause of age-associated diseases. Exercise stimulates ROS production on one side, and the antioxidant systems on the other side. The effects of exercise on oxidative stress markers have been shown in blood, vascular tissue, brain, cardiac and skeletal muscle, both in young and aged people. However, the intensity and volume of exercise and the individual subject characteristics are important to envisage future strategies to adequately personalize the balance of the oxidant/antioxidant environment. Here, we reviewed the literature that deals with the effects of physical activity on redox balance in young and aged people, with insights into the molecular mechanisms involved. Although many molecular pathways are involved, we are still far from a comprehensive view of the mechanisms that stand behind the effects of physical activity during aging. Although we believe that future precision medicine will be able to transform exercise administration from wellness to targeted prevention, as yet we admit that the topic is still in its infancy.


2011 ◽  
Vol 301 (4) ◽  
pp. R916-R925 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krystyna Banas ◽  
Charlene Clow ◽  
Bernard J. Jasmin ◽  
Jean-Marc Renaud

It has long been suggested that in skeletal muscle, the ATP-sensitive K+ channel (KATP) channel is important in protecting energy levels and that abolishing its activity causes fiber damage and severely impairs function. The responses to a lack of KATP channel activity vary between muscles and fibers, with the severity of the impairment being the highest in the most glycolytic muscle fibers. Furthermore, glycolytic muscle fibers are also expected to face metabolic stress more often than oxidative ones. The objective of this study was to determine whether the t-tubular KATP channel content differs between muscles and fiber types. KATP channel content was estimated using a semiquantitative immunofluorescence approach by staining cross sections from soleus, extensor digitorum longus (EDL), and flexor digitorum brevis (FDB) muscles with anti-Kir6.2 antibody. Fiber types were determined using serial cross sections stained with specific antimyosin I, IIA, IIB, and IIX antibodies. Changes in Kir6.2 content were compared with changes in CaV1.1 content, as this Ca2+ channel is responsible for triggering Ca2+ release from sarcoplasmic reticulum. The Kir6.2 content was the lowest in the oxidative soleus and the highest in the glycolytic EDL and FDB. At the individual fiber level, the Kir6.2 content within a muscle was in the order of type IIB > IIX > IIA ≥ I. Interestingly, the Kir6.2 content for a given fiber type was significantly different between soleus, EDL, and FDB, and highest in FDB. Correlations of relative fluorescence intensities from the Kir6.2 and CaV1.1 antibodies were significant for all three muscles. However, the variability in content between the three muscles or individual fibers was much greater for Kir6.2 than for CaV1.1. It is suggested that the t-tubular KATP channel content increases as the glycolytic capacity increases and as the oxidative capacity decreases and that the expression of KATP channels may be linked to how often muscles/fibers face metabolic stress.


2000 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 823-839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Fitts ◽  
Danny R. Riley ◽  
Jeffrey J. Widrick

Spaceflight (SF) has been shown to cause skeletal muscle atrophy; a loss in force and power; and, in the first few weeks, a preferential atrophy of extensors over flexors. The atrophy primarily results from a reduced protein synthesis that is likely triggered by the removal of the antigravity load. Contractile proteins are lost out of proportion to other cellular proteins, and the actin thin filament is lost disproportionately to the myosin thick filament. The decline in contractile protein explains the decrease in force per cross-sectional area, whereas the thin-filament loss may explain the observed postflight increase in the maximal velocity of shortening in the type I and IIa fiber types. Importantly, the microgravity-induced decline in peak power is partially offset by the increased fiber velocity. Muscle velocity is further increased by the microgravity-induced expression of fast-type myosin isozymes in slow fibers (hybrid I/II fibers) and by the increased expression of fast type II fiber types. SF increases the susceptibility of skeletal muscle to damage, with the actual damage elicited during postflight reloading. Evidence in rats indicates that SF increases fatigability and reduces the capacity for fat oxidation in skeletal muscles. Future studies will be required to establish the cellular and molecular mechanisms of the SF-induced muscle atrophy and functional loss and to develop effective exercise countermeasures.


Holzforschung ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 595-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan C. Namyslo ◽  
Dieter E. Kaufmann ◽  
Carsten Mai ◽  
Holger Militz

Abstract The development of appropriate chemical precursors that can covalently functionalize natural wood aims at efficient restriction of deterioration. Biological staining experiments were performed with veneer pieces made of sapwood of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) that had previously been chemically modified with substituted benzoates. Based on the recently published protocol on esterification of wood by means of 1H-benzotriazole activation, the quantity of covalently bonded organomaterials (QCOs), a recently defined advantageous value considering the individual molecular weight of the functionalizing organochemical groups, was obtained in the range of 0.9–1.5 mmol g-1. The modified wood was analyzed by attenuated total reflection IR spectroscopy. Modification with three electronically different benzoates clearly reduced the colonization of the specimen’s surfaces by the blue stain fungus Aureobasidium pullulans but did not fully prevent it. The degree of colonization appeared to decrease with increasing QCO values of the modification agents but apparently did not strongly depend on the additional functionality of the benzoate.


2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 146-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle S. Steen ◽  
Marvin E. Adams ◽  
Yan Tesch ◽  
Stanley C. Froehner

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and other types of muscular dystrophies are caused by the loss or alteration of different members of the dystrophin protein complex. Understanding the molecular mechanisms by which dystrophin-associated protein abnormalities contribute to the onset of muscular dystrophy may identify new therapeutic approaches to these human disorders. By examining gene expression alterations in mouse skeletal muscle lacking α-dystrobrevin (Dtna−/−), we identified a highly significant reduction of the cholesterol trafficking protein, Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1). Mutations in NPC1 cause a progressive neurodegenerative, lysosomal storage disorder. Transgenic expression of NPC1 in skeletal muscle ameliorates muscular dystrophy in the Dtna−/− mouse (which has a relatively mild dystrophic phenotype) and in the mdx mouse, a model for DMD. These results identify a new compensatory gene for muscular dystrophy and reveal a potential new therapeutic target for DMD.


2000 ◽  
Vol 279 (4) ◽  
pp. E806-E814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henriette Pilegaard ◽  
George A. Ordway ◽  
Bengt Saltin ◽  
P. Darrell Neufer

Exercise training elicits a number of adaptive changes in skeletal muscle that result in an improved metabolic efficiency. The molecular mechanisms mediating the cellular adaptations to exercise training in human skeletal muscle are unknown. To test the hypothesis that recovery from exercise is associated with transcriptional activation of specific genes, six untrained male subjects completed 60–90 min of exhaustive one-legged knee extensor exercise for five consecutive days. On day 5, nuclei were isolated from biopsies of the vastus lateralis muscle of the untrained and the trained leg before exercise and from the trained leg immediately after exercise and after 15 min, 1 h, 2 h, and 4 h of recovery. Transcriptional activity of the uncoupling protein 3 (UCP3), pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4), and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) genes (relative to β-actin) increased by three- to sevenfold in response to exercise, peaking after 1–2 h of recovery. Increases in mRNA levels followed changes in transcription, peaking between 2 and 4 h after exercise. Lipoprotein lipase and carnitine pamitoyltransferase I gene transcription and mRNA levels showed similar but less dramatic induction patterns, with increases ranging from two- to threefold. In a separate study, a single 4-h bout of cycling exercise ( n = 4) elicited from 5 to >20-fold increases in UCP3, PDK4, and HO-1 transcription, suggesting that activation of these genes may be related to the duration or intensity of exercise. These data demonstrate that exercise induces transient increases in transcription of metabolic genes in human skeletal muscle. Moreover, the findings suggest that the cumulative effects of transient increases in transcription during recovery from consecutive bouts of exercise may represent the underlying kinetic basis for the cellular adaptations associated with exercise training.


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