title: Hormone and substrate regulation of glycogen accumulation in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes.
abstract: Hormonal and substrate regulation of hepatic glycogen accumulation was evaluated in primary cultures of hepatocytes prepared from 1-day-fasted rats. Hepatocytes were cultured in media containing 5 mM-glucose and 10 mM-lactate and then exposed to 100 nM-dexamethasone for 4 h before an increase in glucose concentration and the addition of insulin. When this protocol was used to mimic the post-prandial state in vivo, net glycogen accumulation (over 2 h) and insulin (10 nM) effects were linear at physiological (5-10 mM) and supraphysiological (20-30 mM) glucose concentrations. To define the role of substrates in glycogen accumulation, hepatocytes were incubated in a buffered salt solution containing 10 mM-glucose and either 10 mM-lactate or 5 mM-glutamine, or both. In the absence of hormones, net glycogen accumulation was increased by 59%, 83%, and 127% by the addition of lactate, glutamine, and lactate plus glutamine respectively, compared with incubations with glucose alone, and 6-fold in the presence of substrates, insulin and dexamethasone. Labelling with [3-3H]glucose and [U-14C]glucose showed that in the absence of hormones approx. 50% of glycogen formation came from glucose via the direct pathway and the remainder from glucose via the indirect pathway or from non-glucose precursors, or both. Insulin-dependent enhancement of glycogen formation is through stimulation of both the direct and indirect pathways, and dexamethasone-dependent stimulation occurs through stimulation of both these pathways of glycogen formation from glucose as well as from non-glucose precursors. Lactate serves as a gluconeogenic C3 precursor for the observed enhanced glycogen formation, whereas glutamine-dependent enhancement of glycogen accumulation occurs primarily through a stimulation of the direct and indirect pathways of glycogen formation from glucose.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, NY 14642.
authors.forename: A I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Salhanick
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Amatruda
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005947:Glucose / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007328:Insulin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007773:Lactates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008112:Liver Glycogen / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D007773:Lactates; D008112:Liver Glycogen; D003907:Dexamethasone; D005947:Glucose