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The spectral properties of anhydrous carbonates and nitrates are dominated by strong, sharp vibrational bands due to the CO32− and NO3− anions observed as absorption bands in near-infrared spectra, as Reststrahlen features or absorption bands in mid-IR spectra, depending on particle size, and as peaks in Raman spectra. These spectral features provide a reliable means to identify the occurrence of carbonates and nitrates on planetary surfaces, which in turn contribute to our understanding of the environment and chemistry of planetary bodies. Four modes occur for carbonates and nitrates due to symmetric stretching (ν1), out-of-plane bending (ν2), asymmetric stretching (ν3), and in-plane bending (ν4). The vibrational absorptions of these spectral features vary with the mineral structure and the size of the cation, where the calcite-, dolomite-, aragonite-, and alkali-type structures result in different spectral features. Mid-IR bands for carbonates and nitrates occur from 1,040 to 1,105 cm−1 for ν1, from 810 to 906 cm−1 for ν2, from 1,275 to 1,590 cm−1 for ν3, and from 670 to 756 cm−1 for ν4. In Raman spectra the carbonate and nitrate absorptions are observed near 1,050–1,080 cm−1 for ν1, near 880 cm−1 for ν2, near 1,415–1,430 cm−1 for ν3, and near 680–700 cm−1 for ν4. NIR spectra include bands due to overtones and combinations at ∼1.75, 1.9, 2.0, 2.3, 2.5, 3.4, 4.0, and 4.6 μm for carbonates and ∼1.8, 2.0, 2.2, 2.4, 2.6, 3.5, 4.1, and 4.8 μm for nitrates. This study provides data for remote determination of carbonate and nitrate chemistry and will enable better characterization of these minerals on planetary bodies including Mars, Ceres, and Bennu.

The surface erosion of polyethylene is studied under conditions characteristic of extremely high-rate heating expected in laser-driven and high energy density experiments. A coupled model for photoionization and volumetric photothermal degradation of polyethylene is developed that includes finite rate chemistry and molecular recombination of radicals. First, the model is used to explore the evolution of radicals and hydrocarbons during isochoric heating, for which it is found that polyethylene is not in chemical equilibrium for rates > 10 8 K / s. Then, the model is used to explore the cooperativity between photoionization and photothermal ionization during one-dimensional ablation from a pulsed heating source, accounting for coupled energy deposition, thermokinetics, thermochemistry, hydrodynamics, mechanics, and thermal conduction in the ALEGRA multi-physics code. The ablation depth per energy pulse is found to agree with an analytical model for instantaneous energy deposition and absent molecular recombination or photoionization. Otherwise, molecular recombination of radicals reduces the depth of ablation per pulse, owing to thermal stabilization on forming branched molecules. Radical formation through photoionization can be compensated for by recombination, but it accelerates ablation at high enough photoionization rates. Finally, the influence of molecular recombination on the ablation depth is found to decrease for long pulses, owing to decreased recombination reaction rates at lower vapor densities near the ablated surface. These and other findings highlight competition between the processes of scission, recombination, and photoionization during pulsed ablation of polyethylene.

Mutation of the obese gene produces obesity, hyperinsulinemia, and compensatory “overexpression” of the defective gene. As insulin activates obese gene expression, it seemed possible that hyperinsulinemia might be responsible for overexpression of the gene. To address this question we rapidly neutralized circulating insulin by injection of an insulin antibody. Unexpectedly, insulin depletion in obese ( ob/ob or db/db ) mice caused massive adipose RNA degradation confirmed by histological analysis to result from adipocyte cell death by a largely necrotic mechanism. This effect was not observed in lean littermates and was completely corrected by coadministration of insulin. Comparison of multiple tissues demonstrated that the effect was restricted to adipose tissue. Insulin depletion in obese mice by administration of streptozotocin also led to cell death, but this death was less extensive and appeared to be apoptotic in mechanism. Thus insulin may promote the survival side of the physiological balance between adipocyte survival and death.

The liver is a target for bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and participates in the metabolic response to endotoxemia. Recently published evidence indicates that LPS increases the expression of mitochondrial uncoupling protein-2 (UCP-2) mRNAs in several tissues, including the liver. Because hepatocytes in the healthy liver do not express UCP-2, LPS was thought to induce UCP-2 in liver macrophages, which express UCP-2 constitutively. However, the present studies of cultured peritoneal macrophages indicate that LPS reduces steady state levels of UCP-2 mRNAs in these cells. In contrast, UCP-2 mRNAs are induced in hepatocytes isolated from LPS treated rats and transfection of these hepatocytes with UCP-2 promoter-reporter constructs demonstrates substantial increases in UCP-2 promoter activity. LPS induction of hepatocyte UCP-2 expression is virtually abolished by prior treatment of rats with neutralizing antibodies to tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF). Futhermore, TNFalpha treatment induces UCP-2 mRNA accumulation in primary cultures of hepatocytes from healthy rats. Thus, hepatocytes are likely to be important contributors to endotoxin-related increases in liver UCP-2 via a mechanism that involves the LPS-inducible cytokine, TNFalpha.

A mutation within the obese gene was recently identified as the genetic basis for obesity in the ob/ob mouse. The obese gene product, leptin, is a 16-kDa protein expressed predominantly in adipose tissue. Consistent with leptin's postulated role as an extracellular signaling protein, human embryonic kidney 293 cells transfected with the obese gene secreted leptin with minimal intracellular accumulation. Upon differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes into adipocytes, the leptin mRNA was expressed concomitant with mRNAs encoding adipocyte marker proteins. A factor(s) present in calf serum markedly activated expression of leptin by fully differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. A 16-hr fast decreased (by approximately 85%) the leptin mRNA level of adipose tissue of lean (ob/+ or +/+) mice but had no effect on the approximately 4-fold higher level in obese (ob/ob) littermates. Since the mutation at the ob locus fails to produce the functional protein, yet its cognate mRNA is overproduced, it appears that leptin is necessary for its own downregulation. Leptin mRNA was also suppressed in adipose tissue of rats during a 16-hr fast and was rapidly induced during a 4-hr refeeding period. Insulin deficiency provoked by streptozotocin also markedly down-regulated leptin mRNA and this suppression was rapidly reversed by insulin. These results suggest that insulin may regulate the expression of leptin.

As well as being the precursors of the triacylglycerols deposited as fat in adipose tissue, long-chain fatty acids are one class of agents that induce the differentiation of preadipocytes to adipocytes.

Glucocorticoid agonists, i.e. dexamethasone or triamcinolone acetonide, rapidly induce expression of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) delta and repress expression of C/EBP alpha in fully differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Within 30 min of glucocorticoid treatment, the cellular level of C/EBP delta rises dramatically, increasing > 100-fold within 6 h. Concurrently, the level of C/EBP alpha decreases, reaching a minimum within 4 h. The dexamethasone concentration dependence and steroid specificity of these responses suggest that both processes are mediated by the glucocorticoid receptor. The reciprocal effects of dexamethasone on the steady-state levels of C/EBP alpha and C/EBP delta can be accounted for kinetically and quantitatively by changes in their mRNA levels and by the transcription rates of their respective genes. The glucocorticoid-induced changes in expression of the C/EBP isoforms are correlated with the transcriptional activation of the SCD1 gene, an adipocyte gene known to be transactivated by C/EBP isoforms. Glucocorticoids also regulate expression of the C/EBP isoforms in vivo. Within 4 h of administration of dexamethasone or triamcinolone acetonide to adult rats, expression of C/EBP delta is induced in white adipose tissue while expression of C/EBP alpha is repressed. Like the response in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, the effects of dexamethasone on C/EBP alpha in white adipose tissue are rapid and transient.

The effect of exogenous fatty acids on expression of the stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1) gene was assessed both in vivo and ex vivo. Mice fed a fat-free diet or a diet containing a largely monounsaturated (18:1) fat, i.e., olive oil, expressed high levels of hepatic SCD1 mRNA. In contrast, in mice fed diets containing primarily polyunsaturated (18:2 and 18:3) fats, expression of the hepatic SCD1 message was markedly suppressed. Similar experiments with pure fatty acid esters showed that arachidonate (20:4) and linoleate (18:2) were far more potent in down-regulating expression of the hepatic SCD1 message than oleate (18:1), an end-product (as its CoA thioester) of the SCD1-catalyzed reaction. The reduction of hepatic SCD1 mRNA appears to be primarily due to inhibition of SCD1 gene transcription since polyunsaturated fatty acids caused a decrease in run-on transcription of the gene comparable to the decrease in message level. Consistent with the effects observed in vivo, unsaturated fatty acids suppressed the expression of SCD1 mRNA by rat hepatocytes cultured in serum-free medium. Suppression increased with degree of unsaturation with arachidonic (20:4) and eicosapentaenoic (20:5) acids, causing a > or = 90% reduction in the level of SCD1 message. Thus, the SCD1 gene, like the fatty acid synthase and S14 genes, undergoes coordinate transcriptional down-regulation in response to unsaturated fatty acids.

In our studies of the effects of the trivalent arsenical phenylarsine oxide on insulin-dependent hexose uptake in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, we needed direct methods to study arsenical-protein interactions. In this report, we describe two such new tools. The first is the radiolabeled covalent affinity reagent 4-[125I]iodophenylarsine oxide. This compound has effects on 3T3-L1 adipocytes similar to those of phenylarsine oxide both with respect to effects of hexose uptake and the accumulation of pp15, a phosphotyrosine-containing putative mediator of insulin action. Iodophenylarsine oxide labels numerous proteins in intact cells in a concentration-dependent, but apparently insulin-independent fashion. The second tool is trivalent arsenical affinity chromatography, which we use to show novel direct interactions between trivalent arsenicals and several proteins from 3T3-L1 adipocytes including the insulin-responsive glucose transporter GLUT4, the insulin proreceptor, and both the alpha and beta subunits of tubulin. The non-insulin-dependent glucose transporter GLUT1, the mature insulin receptor, and the fatty acid-binding protein 422(aP2) do not show strong interactions with arsenical resin. These results provide a new chemical approach to the study of both insulin-dependent hexose transport and tubulin function.

It was shown previously that 422 (aP2) protein, a 15-kDa fatty acid binding protein, is phosphorylated on Tyr19 both in vitro by the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase and in intact 3T3-L1 adipocytes treated with insulin and phenylarsine oxide (PAO). Phospho-422(aP2) protein (pp15) accumulates in cells treated with insulin and PAO because the arsenical blocks turnover of the phosphoryl group of pp15. These findings suggest that a PAO-sensitive enzyme mediates turnover of the pp15 tyrosine phosphoryl group. We have purified and characterized two membrane protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases) from 3T3-L1 adipocytes that catalyze hydrolysis of phospho-Tyr19 of authentic pp15. These enzymes, designated PTPases HA1 and HA2, were purified approximately 20,000-fold and approximately 15,000-fold, respectively, and shown to differ markedly in their sensitivity to both vanadate and phosphotyrosine. Both enzymes are inhibited by PAO and accordingly can be labeled with 4-[125I]iodo-PAO. By this method, it was demonstrated that PTPases HA1 and HA2 have molecular masses of approximately 60 kDa and approximately 38 kDa, respectively. Both enzymes exhibit substrate preference for pp15 when compared with other phosphotyrosine-containing protein substrates. Proteins containing phosphoserine and phosphothreonine do not serve as substrates for the enzymes. The pp15 PTPase HA2 is expressed both in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and adipocytes, whereas pp15 PTPase HA1 is expressed only in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

Energy balance is monitored by the hypothalamus. Malonyl-CoA, an intermediate in fatty acid synthesis, serves as an indicator of energy status in the hypothalamic neurons. The cellular malonyl-CoA level is determined by its rate of synthesis, catalyzed by acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), and rate of removal, by fatty acid synthase (FAS). Malonyl-CoA functions in the hypothalamic neurons that express orexigenic and anorexigenic neuropeptides. Inhibitors of FAS, administered systemically or intracerebroventricularly to mice, increase hypothalamic malony-CoA and suppress food intake. Recent evidence suggests that the changes of hypothalamic malonyl-CoA during feeding and fasting cycles are caused by changes in the phosphorylation state and activity of ACC mediated via 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Stereotactic delivery of a viral malonyl-CoA decarboxylase (MCD) vector into the ventral hypothalamus lowers malonyl-CoA and increases food intake. Fasting decreases hypothalamic malonyl-CoA and refeeding increases hypothalamic malonyl-CoA, to alter feeding behavior in the predicted manner. Malonyl-CoA level is under the control of AMP kinase which phosphorylates/inactivates ACC. Malonyl-CoA is an inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyl-CoA transferase-1 (CPT1), an outer mitochondrial membrane enzyme that regulates entry into, and oxidation of fatty acids, by mitochondria. CPT1c, a recently discovered, brain-specific enzyme expressed in the hypothalamus, has high sequence similarity to liver/muscle CPT1a/b and binds malonyl-CoA, but does not catalyze the prototypical reaction. This suggests that CPT1c has a unique function or activation mechanism. CPT1c knockout (KO) mice have lower food intake, weigh less and have less body fat, consistent with the role as an energy-sensing malonyl-CoA target. Paradoxically, CPT1c protects against the effects of a high-fat diet. CPT1cKO mice exhibit decreased rates of fatty acid oxidation, consistent with their increased susceptibility to diet-induced obesity. We suggest that CPT1c may be a downstream target of malonyl-CoA that regulates energy homeostasis.

It was established previously that the 15-kDa protein phosphorylated in 3T3-L1 adipocytes treated with insulin and phenylarsine oxide is O-phospho-Tyr19 422(aP2) protein, a fatty acid-binding protein. To assess its capacity to serve as substrate of the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase in vitro, native 422(aP2) protein was isolated from 3T3-L1 adipocytes and purified to homogeneity. Receptor-catalyzed phosphorylation of 422(aP2) protein on Tyr19 was markedly activated when long-chain fatty acid, e.g. oleic acid, is bound to the protein. Fatty acid had no effect on autophosphorylation of the insulin receptor by its intrinsic tyrosine kinase. Both saturated (C14, C16, and C18) and unsaturated (all cis-delta 9 C16, -delta 9 C18, and -delta 9,12 C18, -delta 9,12,15 C18, and -delta 5,8,11,14 C20) fatty acids caused substrate activation. The Km for 422(aP2) protein was greatly reduced (from 170 to 3 microM) by oleic acid with little or no effect on Vmax. Upon binding fatty acid to 422(aP2) protein the susceptibility of Tyr19 and Tyr128 to iodination by the lactoperoxidase method increased greatly. These results indicate that upon binding fatty acid, 422(aP2) protein undergoes a conformational change whereby Tyr19, which lies within a consensus-type sequence for tyrosine kinase substrates, becomes accessible for phosphorylation by the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase and to iodination by lactoperoxidase.

Control of energy homeostasis requires communication between the brain and adipose tissue. The sympathetic nervous system plays an integral role in relaying information during this process. Recent investigations indicate that the contributions of the sympathetic nervous system to the regulation of adipose tissue are greater than initially appreciated. A recently developed co-culture system provides evidence that a local feedback loop may exist between sympathetic neurons and adipose tissue. The co-culture approach may prove useful in further investigations of the interaction between sympathetic neurons and adipocytes, and might be adapted to study interactions between other types of neurons and adipose tissue.

▪ Abstract Adipose tissue has long been known to house the largest energy reserves in the animal body. Recent research indicates that in addition to this role, the adipocyte functions as a global regulator of energy metabolism. Adipose tissue is exquisitely sensitive to a variety of endocrine and paracrine signals, e.g. insulin, glucagon, glucocorticoids, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF), that combine to control both the secretion of other regulatory factors and the recruitment and differentiation of new adipocytes. The process of adipocyte differentiation is controlled by a cascade of transcription factors, most notably those of the C/EBP and PPAR families, which combine to regulate each other and to control the expression of adipocyte-specific genes. One such gene, i.e. the obese gene, was recently identified and found to encode a hormone, referred to as leptin, that plays a major role in the regulation of energy intake and expenditure. The hormonal and transcriptional control of adipocyte differentiation is discussed, as is the role of leptin and other factors secreted by the adipocyte that participate in the regulation of adipose homeostasis.

The effect of insulin on expression of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) alpha, beta, and delta was investigated in fully-differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Treatment of adipocytes with insulin stimulated rapid dephosphorylation of C/EBP alpha, and repressed the expression of C/EBP alpha within 2-4 h, with > 90% suppression occurring at 24 h. While insulin induced expression of C/EBP beta and C/EBP delta within 1 h and caused a > 20-fold increase by 4 h, expression returned to nearly pretreatment levels by 24 h. The insulin concentration dependence of these effects was consistent with involvement of the insulin receptor. Gel shift analysis revealed that 6 h of insulin treatment decreased the binding of nuclear C/EBP alpha while increasing binding of nuclear C/EBP beta and C/EBP delta. The reciprocal effects of insulin on the steady-state levels of C/EBP transcription factors can be accounted for kinetically and quantitatively by changes in their mRNA levels, which can be accounted for by effects on gene transcription. The effects of insulin on adipocyte gene transcription (e.g. GLUT4) may be mediated, at least in part, by down-regulation of C/EBP alpha and/or its dephosphorylation.

Glucose uptake by adipose tissue is mediated by two glucose transporters: GLUT4, which is most abundant, and GLUT1. While GLUT1 is expressed in many tissues, GLUT4 is unique to tissues that exhibit insulin-stimulated glucose uptake (heart and skeletal muscle and adipose tissue). In the diabetic state and during starvation, insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and GLUT4 expression are decreased in tissue adipocytes. Using 3T3-L1 adipocytes in culture, we investigated the possibility that these effects are mediated by elevated cellular cAMP. When 3T3-L1 adipocytes were treated for 16 hr with forskolin or 8-Br-cAMP, GLUT4 mRNA and protein were decreased by approximately 70%, while expression of GLUT1 mRNA and protein was increased 3-fold. These changes were accompanied by an increased basal rate of 2-deoxyglucose uptake and a loss of acute responsiveness of hexose uptake to insulin. The magnitude of GLUT4 mRNA depletion/GLUT1 mRNA accumulation was dependent upon the concentration of 8-Br-cAMP. The decrease of GLUT4 mRNA caused by 8-Br-cAMP was the result of a decreased transcription rate, while the half-life of the message was unaffected. The increase in GLUT1 mRNA caused by 8-Br-cAMP was the result of both transient transcriptional activation and mRNA stabilization. We suggest that down-regulation of GLUT4 mRNA in adipose tissue in the diabetic state and during starvation is the result of repression of transcription of the GLUT4 gene caused by cAMP.

Publisher Summary Monovalent and tetravalent avidin affinity columns retain biotin-containing compounds. Because the affinity for biotin is lower with avidin monomers than with avidin tetramers, two columns containing these reagents are known as avidin monomer affinity columns. Tetrameric avidin is first coupled to cyanogen bromide activated agarose. Washing of the agarose is done on a medium-frit sintered glass funnel. The activated agarose (40 ml packed volume) is washed successively with 800 ml each of 0.1 M sodium bicarbonate (pH 8.5), water, and 0.1 M sodium phosphate (pH 7). The coupled agarose is washed with 200 ml of 10 mM sodium phosphate (pH 7), then with 100 ml of 0.1 M 2-aminoethanol in 10 mM sodium phosphate (pH 7), and is then resuspended in 80 ml of the latter buffer to block unreacted sites on the activated agarose. A flow rate of 2–3 bed volumes per hour is used with the denaturants, and the affinity matrix is never allowed to run dry.

3T3-L1 preadipocytes differentiate in culture into cells having the enzymatic and morphological characteristics of adipocytes. Differentiation is accompanied by a decrease in total cellular ganglioside content; the ganglioside level is 1.8 to 2.5-fold higher in undifferentiated than in differentiated cells. Gangliosides GM3 and GD1a constitute a majority of total cell gangliosides in both cell types, while ganglioside GM1, the putative choleragen receptor, constitutes less than 5%. Differentiation results in a 75 to 85% decrease in ganglioside GM1. An inverse correlation exists between the percentage of adipocytes in the cell population and: 1) total ganglioside and ganglioside GM1 content, and 2) surface ganglioside GM1 as estimated by choleragen binding or fluorescent staining of bound choleragen. Nondifferentiating 3T3-C2 control cells do not exhibit changes in total ganglioside, ganglioside GM1, or choleragen binding that are observed with 3T3-L1 cells.

Xenopus laevis oocytes possess a glucose transport system that is activated 3- to 5-fold by insulin-like growth factor I (Ka = 3 nM) and insulin (Ka = 200-250 nM), properties suggesting activation mediated by an insulin-like growth factor I receptor. This activation increases the Vmax of hexose uptake and has little or no effect on the Km for deoxyglucose (Km = 1-2 mM). Activation by hormone requires about 60 min and is inhibited by cytochalasin B but not by cycloheximide. The dependence of hexose uptake rate on hexose concentration exhibits cooperativity with Hill coefficients of 1.8 and 1.4 for the basal and hormone-activated states, respectively. Microinjection of a monoclonal antibody directed against the tyrosine kinase domain of the human insulin receptor blocks activation of hexose uptake by insulin-like growth factor I and insulin but has no effect on basal uptake. Taken together the results implicate the tyrosine-specific protein kinase activity of a cell-surface insulin-like growth factor I receptor in the activation of glucose transport in the Xenopus oocyte.

3T3-L1 preadipocytes, cloned from 3T3 mouse embryo fibroblasts, differentiate in monolayer culture into cells with morphological and biochemical characteristics of adipocytes. Deposition of cytoplasmic triglyceride is associated with an increased lipogenic rate and a coordinate rise in the activities of many lipogenic enzymes (Mackall, J.C., Student, A.K., Polakis, S.E., and Lane, M.D. (1976) J. Biol. Chem. 251, 6462-6464). During differentiation induced by a 48-h treatment of postconfluent cells with methylisobutylxanthine, dexamethasone, and insulin, fatty acid synthetase activity increased to a level 19.5-fold higher than that of undifferentiated 3T3-L1 cells or nondifferentiating 3T3-C2 cells. The rate of [3H]leucine incorporation into immunoadsorbable fatty acid synthetase rose to a maximum and then declined to a new level 12.5-fold higher in differentiated than in undifferentiated 3T3-L1 cells. The kinetics of the changing [3H]leucine incorporation rate was reflected in the kinetics of the rise in fatty acid synthetase activity. The rate of degradation of fatty acid synthetase, determined by pulse-chase experiments, was unaffected by differentiation, the t1/2 remaining constant at 1.4 days. It is concluded that the higher level of fatty acid synthetase activity in differentiated 3T3-L1 cells can be attributed entirely to an increased rate of enzyme synthesis. The rate of total cellular protein synthesis also increases early early in differentiation, lending support to a model in which the synthesis of a large number of "differentiated proteins" is coordinately induced.

Using rat or chick hepatocyte monolayers, we have studied the effect of tunicamycin, a specific inhibitor of protein glycosylation, on the synthesis and secretion of serum proteins. Tunicamycin inhibited glucosamine incorporation into rat liver transferrin and the apoprotein B chain of chick liver very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) by 75 to 90%. In contrasts, amino acid incorporation into these two glycoproteins, as well as into the normally unglycosylated proteins, rat serum albumin and apoprotein A of chick liver VLDL, was decreased by only 10 to 25% in the presence of the antibiotic. Despite the inhibitory effect of tunicamycin on glycosylation, secretion of all four proteins was virtually unimpaired. Thus, the carbohydrate moieties of rat liver transferrin or apoprotein B of chick liver VLDL do not appear to play an essential role in the secretion process.

We have reported previously that phenylarsine oxide (PAO) blocks insulin-stimulated glucose transport in 3T3-L1 adipocytes (Frost, S. C., and Lane, M. D. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 2646-2652). As shown in the present study, the locus of inhibition is post-receptor. Insulin stimulated the extent of receptor autophosphorylation in solution and in the intact cell by approximately 4-fold. PAO had no effect on this activity. Using reduced and carboxamidomethylated lysozyme as a substrate for the tyrosine-specific receptor, insulin stimulated the rate of receptor kinase-catalyzed substrate phosphorylation by 2-fold; PAO had no effect on this stimulation. However, the insulin-stimulated, serine-specific phosphorylation of two endogenous phosphoproteins (pp24 and pp240) in the intact cell was blocked by 25 microM PAO. These complementary in situ and in vitro studies demonstrate that the inhibition by PAO must be distal to the insulin receptor's protein tyrosine kinase activity.

Tertiary and quaternary structural changes that occur during post-translational processing of the insulin proreceptor were examined in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. In pulse-chase experiments with [35S]methionine, labeled insulin receptor species, isolated by immuno- and insulin-affinity adsorption, were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under conditions where intra- and intermolecular disulfide bonds remained intact or were cleaved by reduction. Reducing SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis confirmed that the insulin receptor is synthesized as a long-lived (t1/2 = 3 h) proreceptor precursor of 210 kDa which undergoes proteolytic cleavage and carbohydrate maturation to form the alpha- and beta-subunits of the mature receptor. The proreceptor acquires insulin binding activity through a subtle structural change (t1/2 = 45 min) detected only by an autoimmune antibody specific for an epitope of the active insulin binding site. Analysis of insulin receptor species by nonreducing SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that the proreceptor undergoes two additional structural changes not detected by reducing SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The proreceptor is synthesized as a monomer (M1) with an apparent molecular mass of 170 kDa that is converted by disulfide rearrangement to another monomeric form of 190-kDa apparent molecular mass (M2). N-Linked glycosylation is required for this transition, since aglycoproreceptor, synthesized in the presence of tunicamycin, does not undergo any detectable tertiary or quaternary structural changes. M2 self-associates to form a disulfide-linked proreceptor dimer (D) which is subsequently proteolytically processed, forming the mature, disulfide-linked alpha 2 beta 2 receptor tetramer. The mature receptor was distinguished from the three proreceptor species (M1, M2, and D) by its cell surface location and its ability to bind tightly to wheat germ agglutinin-agarose, indicating the presence of complex oligosaccharide chains. Subcellular fractionation indicated that both the M1 to M2 and M2 to D conversions occur in the endoplasmic reticulum. Separation of the nonreduced proreceptor species into "active" and "inactive" forms by affinity chromatography on insulin-agarose revealed that neither the transition of M1 to M2, nor of M2 to D, is correlated with the acquisition of insulin binding function. Rather, during its life-time, the M2 species acquires insulin binding activity and an epitope recognized by a binding site specific autoimmune antibody through a subtle structural change not detected by reducing or nonreducing SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

Citrate, an allosteric activator of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, induces polymerization of an inactive protomeric form of the enzyme into an active filamentous form composed of 10-20 protomers. The light-scattering properties of the carboxylase were used to study the kinetics of its polymerization and depolymerization. From stopped flow kinetic studies, we have established that polymerization is a second order process, with a second order rate constant of 597,000 M-1 s-1. There appear to be two steps which limit polymerization of the inactive carboxylase protomer: 1) a rapid citrate-induced conformational change which is independent of enzyme concentration and leads to an active protomeric form of the enzyme (Beaty, N. B., and Lane, M. D. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 13043-13050, preceding paper) and 2) the dimerization of the active protomer, which constitutes the first step of polymerization and is enzyme concentration-dependent. Dimerization is the rate-limiting step of acetyl-CoA carboxylase polymerization. Depolymerization of fully polymerized acetyl-CoA carboxylase is caused by malonyl-CoA, ATP X Mg, and Mg2+. Both malonyl-CoA and ATP X Mg (and HCO-3) compete with citrate in the maintenance of a given state of the protomer-polymer equilibrium apparently by carboxylating the enzyme to form enzyme-biotin-CO-2 which destablizes the polymeric form. Free citrate is the species responsible for polymerizing the enzyme and Mg2+ causes depolymerization of the enzyme by lowering the concentration of free citrate.

Insulin receptor was purified 10,000-fold from cultured mouse 3T3-L1 adipocytes in 35% overall yield. The specific activities of 125I-insulin binding and autophosphorylation increased in parallel, following the initial Triton X-100 extraction of membranes. The isolation protocol, performed entirely at pH 8.45, entailed adsorption by avidin-Sepharose CL-4B of a complex formed between Triton X-100-solubilized insulin receptor and N alpha B1-(biotinyl-epsilon-aminocaproyl)insulin, and the specific elution of the complex with biotin. The avidin-Sepharose CL-4B was a partially denatured preparation, showing estimated dissociation constants of 0.2 microM for biotin and approximately 1 microM for the bifunctional ligand at, pH 7, 4 degrees C. The bifunctional ligand was characterized by 70% competency in binding to avidin, 100% competency in binding to solubilized insulin receptor, full stimulation of autophosphorylation of the isolated receptor, and maximal stimulation of hexose uptake by intact 3T3-L1 adipocytes. The insulin binding properties of the insulin receptor were uniform throughout this purification procedure. At pH 8.45, 4 degrees C, an average Kd = 0.72 nM was determined for a single class of noninteracting insulin binding sites. The apparent autophosphorylation of the beta-subunit was also unchanged following affinity chromatography. A single oligomeric structure was established for the purified receptor, composed only of 135,000- and 95,000-Da subunits, whose association was lost by denaturation in the presence of reducing agent. This single structure occurred in the initial Triton X-100 extract. The purified insulin receptor was capable of autophosphorylating the beta-subunit and catalyzed phosphorylation of protein substrates.

Tunicamycin, which inhibits N-linked oligosaccharide chain addition to nascent polypeptides, interrupts glycosylation of the insulin receptor in 3T3-L1 adipocytes giving rise to inactive receptors. Chronic exposure of cells to low levels (100 ng/ml) of high performance liquid chromatography-purified tunicamycin causes a greater than or equal to 90% depletion of insulin binding to cell surface and Triton X-100-extractable receptors and a 93% inhibition of [3H]glucosamine incorporation into protein in alkali-stable form. Under identical conditions, protein synthesis was inhibited less than 10%. Recovery of insulin binding activity after the removal of tunicamycin achieves 70-80% of control activity within 36 h. Concomitant with the withdrawal of tunicamycin, cells were shifted to medium containing heavy (greater than 95% 15N, 13C, 2H) amino acids after which Triton X-100-solubilized "light" and "heavy" insulin receptors were separated isopycnically on CsCl density gradients. A kinetic analysis of the recovery of functional receptors revealed that the initial appearance of previously synthesized light receptor was followed, after a short lag, by newly synthesized heavy receptor. Similar levels of light receptor, but no new heavy receptor, accrue in the presence of cycloheximide. This strongly suggests that inactive aglycoinsulin receptor accumulated post-translationally during chronic treatment with tunicamycin and then re-entered the glycosylation pathway when the inhibitor was removed giving rise to a functional insulin receptor.

Adsorption of Actinomyces viscosus strains T14V and T14AV to saliva-treated and untreated hydroxyapatite (HA) under various environmental conditions was studied. Strain T14V adsorption to saliva-treated HA was not influenced by pH, whereas strain T14AV adsorbed in higher numbers under acidic conditions. The addition of cations inhibited adsorption of strains T14V and T14AV to saliva-treated HA. Strain T14V possessed a greater affinity for hydrophobic gels than did strain T14AV, but incorporation of non-ionic detergents, which inhibit hydrophobic interactions, did not influence adsorption of strain T14V to saliva-treated HA. Adsorption of strain T14V to saliva-treated HA increased in the presence of an anionic detergent; however, strain T14AV adsorption was not affected. Strain T14V adsorption decreased in the presence of a cationic detergent, whereas strain T14AV adsorption increased. Collectively, these data suggest that electrostatic interactions, but not hydrophobic interactions, are of major importance in the adsorption of strain T14V to saliva-treated HA.

The nonproliferating chicken liver cell culture system described yields cell monolayers with morphological and lipogenic properties characteristic of the physiological-nutritional state of donor animals. Synthesis and secretion of fatty acid, cholesterol, and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) occur at in vivo rates and respond to hormones and agents which affect these processes in vivo. Cells derived from fed chickens maintain high rates of synthesis of fatty acid and cholesterol for several days if insulin is present in the medium. High rates of fatty acid synthesis are correlated with the appearance of membrane-enclosed triglyceride-rich vesicles in the cytoplasm; deletion of insulin causes a decrease (T1/2 = 22 h) in fatty acid synthetic activity. Addition of glucagon or cyclic AMP (cAMP) causes an immediate cessation of fatty acid synthesis and blocks the appearance of the triglyceride-rich vesicles. Fatty acid synthesis in liver cells prepared from fasted chickens is less than 5% that of cells from fed animals. After 2-3 days in culture with serum-free medium containing insulin +/- triiodothyronine, fatty acid synthesis is restored to normal; glucagon or dibutyryl cAMP blocks this recovery. Liver cells derived from estradiol-treated chickens synthesize and secrete VLDL for at least 48 h in culture. Electron micrographs of these cells reveal more extensive development of the rough endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi complex compared to cells from untreated chickens. Whereas [3H]leucine incorporation into total protein is unaffected by estrogen treatment, [3H]leucine incorporation into cellular and secreted immunoprecipitable VLDL is markedly increased indicating specific activation of VLDL apopeptide synthesis; 8-10% of the labeled protein synthesized and secreted is VLDL. Dodecyl sulfate-acrylamide gel electrophoresis of immunoprecipitated 3H-VLDL reveals three major apopepetides of 300,000, 11,000, and 8,000 daltons corresponding to those of purified chicken VLDL.

The cDNAs for two putative glucose transporters from mouse 3T3-L1 adipocytes were isolated and sequenced. One of these cDNAs encodes the murine homolog of the human hepG2/erythrocyte glucose transporter, termed GT1. GT1 mRNA is most abundant in mouse brain and is expressed in both 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and adipocytes. The other cDNA encodes a glucose transporter-like protein, termed GT2, that has a unique amino acid sequence and tissue distribution. GT2 cDNA encodes a protein with 63% amino acid sequence identity and a similar structural organization to GT1. GT2 mRNA is found at high levels in mouse skeletal muscle, heart, and adipose tissue, all of which exhibit insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. GT2 mRNA is absent from 3T3-L1 preadipocytes but is induced dramatically during differentiation into adipocytes. This increase in mRNA content correlates closely with the acquisition of insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. We propose that GT2 is an insulin-regulated glucose transporter.

The kinetics of citrate-induced activation and polymerization (into filaments) of the 450,000-dalton protomeric form of acetyl-CoA carboxylase were compared to assess the concertedness of the two processes. Rapid-quench techniques were employed to measure the time course of activation by citrate of the carboxylase-catalyzed reaction. When enzyme was preincubated with citrate prior to initiating the steady state turnover reaction with acetyl-CoA in the rapid-quench device, the observed rate of carboxylation of acetyl-CoA was apparently linear from the moment of mixing. However, when enzyme was mixed with citrate to initiate the reaction, a lag (t1/2 = 0.7 s) occurred in the approach to steady state carboxylation rate. This lag was independent of enzyme concentration over a 230-fold range and was marginally dependent upon citrate concentration. Over the same range of enzyme concentration, polymerization of carboxylase protomers, as determined by right angle light scattering, was enzyme concentration-dependent in a manner predicted by a single protomer activation step, followed by a rate-limiting dimerization of active protomer and subsequent polymerization. Based on these results, it is concluded that activation of catalysis and the polymerization of carboxylase protomers are not concerted. Furthermore, activation of carboxylation leading to the formation of an active protomer was faster than polymerization under all conditions, and therefore precedes polymerization. It was also shown that the activation constant (Kact) for citrate is altered in a predictable manner by the accumulation of the reaction product, malonyl-CoA, the Kact increasing with increasing malonyl-CoA concentration. Additional evidence is presented indicating that this change in Kact was not caused by autophosphorylation of the enzyme under these conditions and that phosphorylation does not affect the mechanism of activation elucidated above.

Glucagon and N,(6)O(2)-dibutyryl cyclic adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (Bt(2)cAMP) inhibit fatty acid synthesis from acetate by more than 90% and prevent citrate formation in chick hepatocytes metabolizing glucose. With substrates that enter glycolysis at or below triose-phosphates, e.g., fructose, lactate, or pyruvate, Bt(2)cAMP has no effect on the citrate level and its inhibitory effect on fatty acid synthesis is substantially reversed. Because acetyl-CoA carboxylase requires a tricarboxylic acid activator for activity, it is proposed that regulation of fatty acid synthesis by Bt(2)cAMP is due, in part, to changes in the citrate level. Reduced citrate formation appears to result from a cAMP-induced inhibition of glycolysis. Bt(2)cAMP inhibits (14)CO(2) production from [1-(14)C]-, [6-(14)C]-, and [U-(14)C]glucose and has little effect on (14)CO(2) formation from [1-(14)C]- or [2-(14)C]pyruvate or from [1-(14)C]fructose. [(14)C]Lactate formation from glucose is depressed 50% by Bt(2)cAMP. In the presence of an inhibitor of mitochondrial pyruvate transport lactate accumulation is enhanced, but continues to be lowered 50% by Bt(2)cAMP. The activity of phosphofructokinase is greatly decreased in Bt(2)cAMP-treated cells while the activities of pyruvate kinase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase are unaffected. It appears that decreased glycolytic flux and decreased citrate formation result from depressed phosphofructokinase activity. Fatty acid synthesis from [(14)C]acetate is partially inhibited by Bt(2)cAMP in the presence of fructose, lactate, and pyruvate despite a high citrate level. Incorporation of [(14)C]fructose, [(14)C]pyruvate, or [(14)C]lactate into fatty acids is similarly depressed by Bt(2)cAMP. Synthesis of cholesterol from [(14)C]acetate or [2-(14)C]pyruvate is unaffected by Bt(2)cAMP. These results implicate a second site of inhibition of fatty acid synthesis by Bt(2)cAMP that involves the utilization, but not the production, of cytoplasmic acetyl-CoA.-Clarke, S. D., P. A. Watkins, and M. D. Lane. Acute control of fatty acid synthesis by cyclic AMP in the chick liver cell: possible site of inhibition of citrate formation.

Refractile cytoplasmic vesicles are formed in less than 10 h when chick liver cell monolayers are incubated with serum-free medium containing 0.9 mM oleate. These vesicles are identical in microscopic appearance to those formed in monolayers by de novo fatty acid synthesis (Tarlow, D. M., Watkins, P. A., Reed, R. E., Miller, R. S., Zwergel, E. E., and Lane, M. D. (1977) J. Cell Biol. 73, 332-353), but require about one-seventh the incubation time to achieve comparable size. After release from the cells by lysis in hypotonic medium, the vesicles can be isolated by flotation at 27,000 X g. Electron microscopy reveals that the isolated vesicles are rimmed by a membrane. Analysis of vesicles isolated from cells labeled with [14C]oleate or [14C]acetate showed that greater than 95% of their 14C content was in the form of triglyceride and that most cellular [14C]triglyceride was contained in the triglyceride-rich vesicles. Exposure of cells to dibytyryl-cAMP after removal of oleate from the medium caused the disappearance of triglyceride-rich vesicles within 36 h. In the absence of cyclic nucleotide, the vesicles persist. Consistent with this morphological change, dibutyryl-cAMP caused a 5.5-fold activation of the apparent rate of mobilization of cellular [14C]triglyceride from cells previously labeled with [14C]oleate. L-(--)-Carnitine alone had no effect; however, when added with dibutyryl-cAMP, cellular triglyceride mobilization was activated 7.4-fold. Although [14C]triglyceride was the principal 14C-labeled product secreted in the absence of cyclic nucleotide and comprised 90% of the total, [14C]acetoacetate and [14C] beta-hydroxybutyrate became major products when cells were treated with dibutyryl-cAMP. Thus, dibytyryl-cAMP activated ketogenesis from cellular [14C]triglyceride by 200-fold and when added with L-(--)-carnitine, by 400-fold. Cells containing triglyceride-rich vesicles labeled with [2-glyceryl-3H]triglyceride were generated by incubation with medium containing [2-3H]glycerol. A comparison of the rates of loss of cellular [1-oleoyl-14C- and [2-glyceryl-3H]triglyceride revealed that substantial re-esterification, i.e. recycling, of 14C-fatty acid released by lipolysis occurred. Under conditions where recycling of 3H label ws minimal, it was determined that 15% of the cellular [2-glyceryl-3H]triglyceride was secreted "en bloc," i.e. without prior lipolysis. En bloc secretion was not affected by dibutyryl-cAMP. The rate of lipolysis of vesicle-associated [2-glyceryl-3H]triglyceride was increased 2.2-fold in the presence of dibutyryl-cAmP. Chloroquine markedly inhibited the dibutyryl-cAMP-dependent lipolysis suggesting the participation of lysosomes in the mobilization of triglyceride-rich vesicles. Mechanisms are presented which could account for the effects of cAMP and carnitine on the turnover of vesicle triglyceride both at the level of lipolysis and the utilization of the released fatty acids by mitochondria...

Primary cultures of estrogen-induced chick parenchymal liver cells have been used to study the assembly of the apolipoprotein and glycerolipid constituents of hepatic very low density lipoprotein (VLDL). Liver cell monolayers in serum-free medium were pulse-labeled for 2.5 min with either [3H]leucine or [3H]glycerol and were then chased for 4 h. The kinetics of secretion of VLDL 3H-apolipoproteins (labeled from [3H]leucine) and [3H]triacylglycerol and 3H-phosphoglycerides (labeled from [3H]glycerol) was determined through the chase. Maximal rates of VLDL [3H]triacylglycerol secretion were reached by 20-25 min into the chase, preceding the initial appearance of 3H-apolipoproteins in the medium at 30-35 min of chase time. The secretion of VLDL 3H-phosphoglycerides was maximal much earlier, between 5 and 15 min into the chase, plateaued for 15 min, and then began again at 30 min, thereby displaying a distinctive biphasic pattern. In the presence of cycloheximide or puromycin, such that apopeptide synthesis was halted from the start of the chase, the secretion of VLDL 3H-glycerolipid was depressed after 30 min of chase, without having influenced the temporal pattern of the newly synthesized VLDL 3H-apolipoprotein and 3H-glycerolipid secretion. As compared to the cycloheximide-treated cells in which apolipoprotein B nascent chains were arrested intracellularly, the puromycin-treated cells secreted discharged apolipoprotein B nascent chains as VLDL constituents assembled with triacylglycerol. The differential kinetics of 3H-apolipoprotein, [3H]triacylglycerol, and 3H-phosphoglyceride secretion as VLDL and the timing of the effects of protein synthesis inhibitors on their secretion indicate that VLDL constituents are assembled sequentially in the intact liver cell. Some VLDL phosphoglyceride and the VLDL triacylglycerol are assembled with apolipoprotein early in the secretory pathway, forming a triacylglycerol-rich lipid-protein particle into which further phosphoglyceride is introduced just prior to its secretion as mature VLDL.

Chronic treatment of 3T3-C2 fibroblasts with insulin causes the slow (t1/2 = 3-4 h) down-regulation of cellular insulin receptor to a new steady state level by accelerating receptor decay (Knutson, V.P., Ronnett, G.V., and Lane, M.D. (1982) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 79, 2822-2826). In the present investigation, the synthesis and turnover of the receptor during the transition to the down-regulated state was examined by the heavy isotope density-shift method. It was observed that within two h after insulin addition, receptor decay increased abruptly for several hours then gradually declined until the "down-regulated" rate was achieved. The abrupt increase in receptor decay induced by insulin was preceded by a more rapid (t1/2 less than or equal to 10 min) translocation of cell surface receptor to an "intracellular" trypsin-resistant compartment. Thus, upon exposure to ligand, insulin receptor rapidly redistributes from the cell surface to an intracellular compartment, without an initial net loss of cellular receptors. The translocation process was rapidly reversed (t1/2 less than or equal to 20 min) upon removal of insulin. With prolonged exposure to insulin, the initial rapid translocation of receptor was followed by a slower inactivation of receptor apparently in the intracellular compartment. Cycloheximide, which lengthens receptor half-life by blocking a step in receptor inactivation, had no effect on receptor internalization. Internalization of insulin receptor and its bound ligand were, however, rapidly (less than 10 min) blocked by phenylarsine oxide. These results support the following sequence of events. Upon exposure to ligand, insulin receptors are translocated from the cell surface to an intracellular site which results in accelerated receptor decay and ultimately to a lower steady state cellular receptor level.

It was previously demonstrated that the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor in human A431 cells undergoes a slow post-translational modification by which it acquires EGF binding capacity (Slieker, L.J., and Lane, M.D. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 687-690). In this report, the role of glycosylation in the acquisition of ligand binding activity and in the intracellular translocation of the receptor precursor is characterized. Human A431 cells were incubated with [35S]methionine, and 35S-labeled EGF receptors were purified either by immunoprecipitation (total receptor) or by adsorption to an EGF affinity matrix (high affinity, or active receptor). The half-time for receptor activation is approximately 30 min and precedes its acquisition of resistance to endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H (t 1/2 = 75 min), a medial Golgi event. Activation is blocked by tunicamycin and is markedly slowed (t 1/2 = 120 min) by 1-deoxynojirimycin, an inhibitor of glucosidase I. In the latter case, the oligosaccharide chains are not further processed to complex forms. Treatment of the active high mannose receptor with endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H generates a fully active aglycoreceptor polypeptide, indicating that core oligosaccharide addition is a prerequisite for activation but that oligosaccharide chains are not intrinsically required for EGF binding. Subcellular fractionation studies showed that the EGF receptor is activated in the endoplasmic reticulum and that translocation from that organelle is extremely slow (t 1/2 = 75 min). Since the latter translocation rate approximates that for the acquisition of the resistance to endoglycosidase H, transit from the endoplasmic reticulum appears to be rate-limiting for the maturation of the receptor. Both tunicamycin and 1-deoxynojirimycin inhibit exit from the endoplasmic reticulum in parallel with their effects on the acquisition of binding activity. Immunoprecipitation of 35S-labeled EGF receptor with antiphosphotyrosine antibody in the presence of ATP suggested that the autophosphorylation activity of the receptor is also acquired post-translationally. The possible correlation of this to EGF binding activity is discussed.

Following the differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes insulin acutely activates the rate of 2-deoxy-[1-14C]glucose uptake in the mature 3T3-L1 adipocyte by 15- to 20-fold. Phenylarsine oxide, a trivalent arsenical that forms stable ring complexes with vicinal dithiols, prevents insulin-activated hexose uptake in a concentration-dependent manner (Ki = 7 microM) but has no inhibitory effect on basal hexose uptake. 2,3-Dimercaptopropanol at a level nearly stoichiometric to that of phenylarsine oxide prevents or rapidly reverses the inhibition of hexose uptake; 2-mercaptoethanol, even in high stoichiometric excess over the arsenical, does not reverse inhibition of hexose uptake. When phenylarsine oxide is added after adipocytes have been fully activated by insulin, 2-deoxy-[1-14C]glucose uptake rate decays slowly at a rate corresponding to that caused by the withdrawal of insulin (t1/2 = 10 min). Using the same conditions under which phenylarsine oxide blocked activation, the Km for deoxyglucose uptake, the rate at which 125I-insulin became cell-associated, and the 125I-insulin binding isotherm for solubilized insulin receptor were not affected by phenylarsine oxide. These results support the transporter translocation model for insulin-activated hexose transport and implicate vicinal sulfhydryl groups in a post-insulin binding event essential for the translocation of glucose transporters to the plasma membrane.

A procedure was developed for the immunoprecipitation of glycosylated and nonglycosylated forms of the insulin receptor and its precursors without prior purification using lectins. 3T3-L1 adipocytes were labeled with [35S]methionine after which 35S-labeled receptor polypeptides were specifically immunoprecipitated and characterized by sodium dodecyl sulfatepolyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The first 35S-polypeptide detected was a 190-kDa glycosylated proreceptor which was rapidly (t1/2 approximately equal to 15 min) processed to a 210-kDa intermediate. The latter precursor was more slowly (t1/2 approximately equal to 2 h) proteolytically processed to 125-kDa (alpha') and 83-kDa (beta') precursors of the mature alpha- and beta-receptor subunits. Immediately prior to insertion into the plasma membrane, i.e. about 3 h after translation, the alpha'- and beta'-precursor polypeptides were converted to the mature 135-kDa alpha- and 95-kDa beta-receptor subunits. The characteristics of the oligosaccharide moieties of the receptor precursors and products were investigated. The 210-kDa precursor and its two products, the 125-kDa alpha'- and 83-kDa beta'-species, and the mature alpha- and beta-receptor subunits bind tightly to wheat germ lectin, whereas the 190-kDa proreceptor species is not bound. Upon incubation with endoglycosidase H, both the 210- and 190-kDa species are converted to a 180-kDa species. The 125-kDa alpha'- and 83-kDa beta'-species are also cleaved by endoglycosidase H, being reduced in size to 97 and 79 kDa, respectively. Based on their sensitivity to endoglycosidase H and insensitivity to neuraminidase, the oligosaccharide chains of the receptor precursors (190, 210, 125, and 83 kDa) do not contain terminal sialic acid (or other capping sugars). However, near the time of insertion into the plasma membrane, capping of the alpha'- and beta'-species by sialic acid occurs, giving rise to the mature 135-kDa alpha- and 95-kDa beta-receptor subunits, which are partially endoglycosidase H-resistant and neuraminidase-sensitive. When 3T3-L1 adipocytes are treated with tunicamycin, a 180-kDa proreceptor aglycopolypeptide is synthesized which is incapable of undergoing further processing and proteolytic cleavage to the alpha- and beta (or alpha'- and beta'-)-subunits. The 180-kDa species, which appears to be the aglyco-form of hte 190-kDa proreceptor generated by endoglycosidase H, is resistant to trypsin in the intact cell and apparently has not reached the cell surface. Thus, the oligosaccharide moieties of the insulin receptor precursor are crucial for proper processing, intracellular translocation, and formation of functionally competent insulin re

Binding of 125I-insulin to insulin receptor was studied at equilibrium using plasma membrane protein, from human placenta, solubilized in Triton X-100. Measured at 1 nM 125I-insulin, the amount of radioligand bound specifically was dependent upon pH, the optimal association at 4 degrees C occurring in the pH range 8.2-8.7. The Adair equation was employed for analysis of binding isotherms generated at several pH values for concentrations of radioligand varying from 0.01-8.0 nM. Association constants derived from these analyses showed the same pH dependence described above and were found to be independent of receptor concentration. Hill plots derived from these titrations consistently yielded Hill coefficients of 1 and Scatchard plots gave virtually straight lines. Close correspondence was found between theoretical analyses and observations under all experimental conditions and graphical methods employed. These results are consistent with a single class of noninteracting 125I-insulin binding sites on the solubilized insulin receptor.

Differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, induced by methylisobutylxanthine (MIX), dexamethasone (DEX), and insulin, produces cells with the morphological and biochemical characteristics of adipocytes. Poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase activity in 3T3-L1 cells treated with MIX, DEX, and insulin underwent an abrupt decrease in activity, remained low for several hours, and then increased; this rise was delayed by readdition of MIX, DEX, and insulin. The drop of synthetase activity represents the earliest alteration of a specific enzyme yet detected during the differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells. Nondifferentiating 3T3-C2 control cells do not exhibit changes in poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase activity when treated with MIX, DEX, and insulin. The transient reduction in poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase activity in 3T3-L1 cells occurred prior to the appearance of the adipocyte phenotype induced by the above agents and was not observed when preparations were assayed in the presence of DNase I. It is evident that poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase activity was masked following treatment with MIX, DEX, and insulin since the synthetase is sensitive to agents that affect the physical properties of DNA. This transient reduction in activity may be an early event in differentiation which reflects changes in chromatin structure.

The effects of protein synthesis inhibitors and the lysosomotropic agent chloroquine on the metabolism of the insulin receptor were examined. Through the use of the heavy-isotope density shift technique, cycloheximide was found to inhibit both the synthesis of new insulin receptor and the inactivation of old cellular insulin receptor. Upon investigation of the locus of this effect of protein synthesis inhibition, it was found that cycloheximide did not inhibit 1) the translocation of receptor from the cell surface to an intracellular site, 2) the recycling of receptor from the internal site back to the plasma membrane, nor 3) the degradation of insulin. Cycloheximide did, however, rapidly and completely inhibit the inactivation of the insulin receptor. In the presence of extracellular insulin, this effect of cycloheximide resulted in the long-term (6 h) accumulation of receptor in a trypsin-resistant intracellular compartment. Puromycin and pactamycin, protein synthesis inhibitors with mechanisms of action which differ from cycloheximide, produced the same effects on insulin receptor metabolism as cycloheximide, indicating that this effect on receptor metabolism is due to the inhibition of protein synthesis and not a secondary effect of cycloheximide. Actinomycin D also inhibited the inactivation of receptor. Chloroquine inhibited the receptor-mediated degradation of insulin, but had no effect on either the internalization or inactivation of the insulin receptor. The insulin-induced recycling of the internalized receptor was inhibited by chloroquine, possibly through the inhibition of the discharge of insulin from the insulin-receptor complex. From these observations, we suggest that 1) a protein factor is required to inactivate the insulin receptor, 2) this protein and the messenger RNA coding for the protein have short cellular half-lives, and 3) insulin degradation and insulin receptor inactivation are distinct, separable processes which not only occur at different rates, but possibly occur in distinct subcellular locations.

Homogeneous liver 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A synthase, which catalyzes the condensation of acetyl-CoA with acetoacetyl-CoA to form 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA, also carries out: (a) a rapid transacetylation from acetyl-CoA to 31-dephospho-CoA and (b) a slow hydrolysis of acetyl-CoA to acetate and CoA. Transacetylation and hydrolysis occur at 50 and 1 percent, respectively, the rate of the synthasecatalyzed condensation reaction. It appears that an acetyl-enzyme intermediate is involved in the transacetylase and hydrolase reactions of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase, as well as in the over-all condensation process. Covalent binding to the enzyme of a [14C]acetyl group contributed by [1(-14)C]acetyl-CoA is indicated by migration of the [14C]acetyl group with the dissociated synthase upon electrophoresis in dodecyl sulfate-urea and by precipitation of [14C]acetyl-enzyme with trichloroacetic acid. At 0 degrees and a saturating level of acetyl-CoA, the synthase is rapidly (less than 20 s) acetylated yielding 0.6 acetyl group/enzyme dimer. Performic acid oxidation completely deacetylates the enzyme, suggesting the site of acetylation to be a cysteinyl sulfhydryl group. Proteolytic digestion of [14C]acetyl-S-enzyme under conditions favorable for intramolecular S to N acetyl group transfer quantitatively liberates a labeled derivative with a [14C]acetyl group stable to performic acid oxidation. The labeled oxidation product is identified as N-[14C]acetylcysteic acid, thus demonstrating a cysteinyl sulfhydryl group as the original site of acetylation. The ability of the acetylated enzyme, upon addition of acetoacetyl-CoA, to form 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA indicates that the acetylated cysteine residue is at the catalytic site.

Fluid phase endocytosis by monolayers of 3T3-L1 adipocytes has been followed by measuring [14C]sucrose uptake, a well characterized pinocytic marker. Insulin, at a maximal stimulatory concentration, increased the pinocytic rate by 2-fold within 5 min of its addition; this activation persisted for at least 2 h. The dose-response curve for the enhancement of fluid-phase endocytosis by insulin was identical with that for the stimulation of hexose transport, as measured by the uptake of 2-deoxyglucose. The concentration of insulin eliciting half-maximal effects was 6 nM. These results suggest that activation of endocytosis and hexose uptake by insulin are triggered by the same signalling event. Insulin-activated pinocytosis was not dependent upon the increased metabolism of D-glucose that occurs in response to the hormone, since the stimulation of fluid-phase endocytosis occurred in the absence of 5 nM glucose. Fluid-phase exocytosis was examined by loading cells with [14C]sucrose for various times and then measuring tracer efflux. The rate of sucrose release was biphasic; a portion of the internalized sucrose was rapidly released from the cell (t1/2 approximately 5 min), whereas the remainder was released slowly (t1/2 approximately to 5 h). These results are consistent with a sequential two-compartment model in which the [14C] sucrose first enters a compartment from which about 70% of the sucrose is rapidly released back into the medium and the remaining 30% is transferred to a second compartment. Therefore, the true rate of endocytosis is much greater than the observed accumulation rates, except after short uptake times. Insulin increases the rate of sucrose efflux from both compartments as well as the rate of transfer from the first compartment to the second compartment by about 2-fold. Furthermore, insulin increased the apparent size of the first and second compartments by 1.6- and 3-fold, respectively. The lysosomotropic agent chloroquine (200 muM) had only a small effect on fluid movements in these cells. The rapid and prolonged stimulation of fluid-phase endocytosis and exocytosis by insulin are hitherto unrecognized effects of this hormone.

The process for posttranslational acquisition of ligand binding function is remarkably similar for three receptors with dissimilar structures, namely, the insulin, epidermal growth factor, and acetylcholine receptors. These receptors lack the ability to bind ligand immediately after translation, but slowly (t1/2 = 30-45 min) acquire this capacity while in the endoplasmic reticulum. This activation step occurs with similar kinetics for all three receptors and, in each case, required N-linked glycosylation. Several lines of evidence suggest a common mechanism for the acquisition of ligand binding function that involves the rearrangement of metastable disulfide bonds formed during or immediately after translation. This process precedes subunit assembly of both insulin and acetylcholine receptors, which also occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum. The posttranslational processing steps leading to the acquisition of ligand binding function may be an example of a more general process affecting cell surface proteins.

Labeling experiments with chicken liver cell monolayers and suspensions show that glucagon and N6, O2-dibutyryladenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (dibutyryl cyclic AMP) block fatty acid synthesis from acetate without appreciably affecting cholesterogenesis from acetate or acylglyceride synthesis from palmitate. Neither acetyl-CoA carboxylase [acetyl-CoA:carbon-dioxide ligase (ADP-forming), EC 6.4.1.2] activity assayed in the presence of citrate nor fatty acid synthetase activity is decreased in extracts of cells treated with glucagon. However, the cytoplasmic concentration of citrate, a required allosteric activator of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, is depressed more than 90% by glucagon or dibutyrl cyclic AMP. Pyruvate or lactate largely prevents the inhibitory action of these effectors on fatty acid synthesis by causing a large increase in cytoplasmic citrate level. Thus, it appears that glucagon, acting via cyclic AMP, inhibits fatty acid synthesis by blocking the formation of citrate, an essential activator of acetyl-CoA carboxylase.

Acetyl-CoA reacts stoichiometrically with a cysteinyl sufhydryl group of avian liver 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl (HMG)-CoA synthase to yield acetyl-S-enzyme (Miziorko H.M., Clinkenbeard, K.D., Reed, W.D., and Lane, M.D. (1975) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 5768-5773). Evidence that acetyl-S-enzyme condenses with the second substrate, acetoacetyl CoA, to form enzyme-S-HMG-SCoA has been obtained by trapping and characterizing this putative intermediate. [14C]Acetyl-S-enzyme was incubated briefly at -25 degrees with acetoacetyl-CoA, precipitated with trichloroacetic acid, and the labeled acylated enzyme species were isolated. Performic acid oxidation of the precipitated [14C]acyl-S-enzyme intermediates produced volatile [14C]acetic acid from unreacted [14C]acetyl-S-enzyme and nonvolatile [14C]3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaric acid from enzyme-S-[14C]HMG-SCoA. Condensation of unlabeled acetyl-S-enzyme with [14C]aceto-acetyl-CoA or acetoacetyl-[3H]CoA also produced labeled enzyme-S-HMG-SCoA. Thus, the acetyl moiety from acetyl-CoA and the acetoacetyl and CoA moieties from acetoacetyl-CoA all are incorporated into the HMG-CoA which is covalently-linked to the enzyme. Enzyme-S-[14C]HMG-SCoA was subjected to proteolytic digestion under conditions favorable for intramolecular S to N acyl transfer in the predicted cysteine-S-[14C]HMG-SCoA fragment. Performic acid oxidation of the protease-digested material yields N-[14C]HMG-cysteic acid indicating that HMG-CoA had been covalently bound to the enzyme via the -SH of an active site cysteine. An isotope trapping technique was employed to test the kinetic competence of acetyl-S-enzyme as an intermediate in the HMG-CoA synthase-catalyzed reaction. Evidence is presented which indicates that the rate of condensation of acetoacetyl-CoA with acetyl-S-enzyme to form enzyme-S-HMG-SCoA is more rapid than either the acetylation of the synthase by acetyl-CoA or the overall forward reaction leading to HMG-CoA. These observations, together with indirect evidence that hydrolysis of enzyme-S-HMG-SCoA is extremely rapid, suggest that acetylation of synthase is the rate-limiting step in HMG-CoA synthesis.