Studies on recombinant glucokinase (r-glk) protein of Brucella abortus as a candidate vaccine molecule for brucellosis.

Brucellosis is one of the most prevalent zoonotic diseases of worldwide distribution caused by the infection of genus Brucella. Live attenuated vaccines such as B. abortus S19, B. abortus RB51 and B. melitensis Rev1 are found most effective against brucellosis infection in animals, contriving a number of serious side effects and having chances to revert back into their active pathogenic form. In order to engineer a safe and effective vaccine candidate to be used in both animals and human, a recombinant subunit vaccine molecule comprising the truncated region of glucokinase (r-glk) gene from B. abortus S19 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21DE3 host. Female BALB/c mice immunized with purified recombinant protein developed specific antibody titer of 1:64,000. The predominant IgG2a and IgG2b isotypes signified development of Th1 directed immune responses. In vitro cell cytotoxicity assay using anti-r-glk antibodies incubated with HeLa cells showed 81.20% and 78.5% cell viability against lethal challenge of B. abortus 544 and B. melitensis 16M, respectively. The lymphocyte proliferative assay indicated a higher splenic lymphocyte responses at 25µg/ml concentration of protein which implies the elevated development of memory immune responses. In contrast to control, the immunized group of mice intra-peritoneal (I.P.) challenged with B. abortus 544 were significantly protected with no signs of necrosis and vacuolization in their liver and spleen tissue. The elevated B-cell response associated with Th1 adopted immunity, significant in vitro cell viability as well as protection afforded in experimental animals after challenge, supplemented with histopathological analysis are suggestive of r-glk protein as a prospective candidate vaccine molecule against brucellosis.

Glucokinase is an integral component of the insulin granules in glucose-responsive insulin secretory cells and does not translocate during glucose stimulation.

The association of glucokinase with insulin secretory granules has been shown by cell microscopy techniques. We used MIN6 insulin-secretory cells and organelle fractionation to determine the effects of glucose on the subcellular distribution of glucokinase. After permeabilization with digitonin, 50% of total glucokinase remained bound intracellularly, while 30% was associated with the 13,000g particulate fraction. After density gradient fractionation of the organelles, immunoreactive glucokinase was distributed approximately equally between dense insulin granules and low-density organelles that cofractionate with mitochondria. Although MIN6 cells show glucose-responsive insulin secretion, glucokinase association with the granules and low-density organelles was not affected by glucose. Subfractionation of the insulin granule components by hypotonic lysis followed by sucrose gradient centrifugation showed that glucokinase colocalized with the granule membrane marker phogrin and not with insulin. PFK2 (6-phosphofructo-2-kinase-2/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase)/FDPase-2, a glucokinase-binding protein, and glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase, which has been implicated in granule fusion, also colocalized with glucokinase after hypotonic lysis or detergent extaction of the granules. The results suggest that glucokinase is an integral component of the granule and does not translocate during glucose stimulation.

Localization of glucokinase-like immunoreactivity in the rat lower brain stem: for possible location of brain glucose-sensing mechanisms.

Pancreatic glucokinase (GK) is considered an important element of the glucose-sensing unit in pancreatic beta-cells. It is possible that the brain uses similar glucose-sensing units, and we employed GK immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy to examine the anatomical distribution of GK-like immunoreactivities in the rat brain. We found strong GK-like immunoreactivities in the ependymocytes, endothelial cells, and many serotonergic neurons. In the ependymocytes, the GK-like immunoreactivity was located in the cytoplasmic area, but not in the nucleus. The GK-positive ependymocytes were found to have glucose transporter-2 (GLUT2)-like immunoreactivities on the cilia. In addition, the ependymocytes had GLUT1-like immunoreactivity on the cilia and GLUT4-like immunoreactivity densely in the cytoplasmic area and slightly in the plasma membrane. In serotonergic neurons, GK-like immunoreactivity was found in the cytoplasm and their processes. The present results raise the possibility that these GK-like immunopositive cells comprise a part of a vast glucose-sensing mechanism in the brain.

Nutrient-dependent distribution of insulin and glucokinase immunoreactivities in rat pancreatic beta cells.

Functional heterogeneity among pancreatic beta cells is a characteristic feature of the islets of Langerhans. Under physiological conditions, beta cells in the pancreas of fed rats exhibited heterogeneous immunohistochemical staining for insulin and glucokinase. Intracellular beta cell glucokinase staining was either faint or dense. In the pericapillary space beta cell glucokinase immunoreactivity had a polar orientation, with the highest density in cytoplasmic regions close to the blood vessels. Starvation resulted in a loss of heterogeneity with homogeneous insulin staining in all beta cells of the islets, and this was accompanied by a loss of heterogeneous glucokinase staining. The intracellular polarity of glucokinase staining in contact to blood vessels also disappeared after starvation. Refeeding resulted in the reappearance of intercellular heterogeneity. In dependence on the functional demand, the endocrine pancreas recruited insulin from beta cells according to a well-defined hierarchy, with an initial preferential mobilization of medullary beta cells. In the course of this process intracellular polarity of glucokinase staining reappeared in areas of the beta cell with functional contact to the GLUT2 glucose transporter in the plasma membrane. This can be regarded as the morphological correlate of an activation of the glucose signal recognition apparatus. Interestingly, the study also provides evidence that the changes in glucokinase distribution apparently preceded those in insulin distribution, which is in keeping with the central role of glucokinase as the glucose sensor of the pancreatic beta cell.

Changes in subcellular and zonal distribution of glucokinase in rat liver during postnatal development.

Subcellular and zonal distribution of glucokinase in rat liver during postnatal development was examined immunohistochemically. Before day 11 after birth, only some hepatocytes were immunostained, and a positive immunostaining was found in the cytoplasm but not in the nucleus. No zonal distribution of glucokinase was observed in livers of such pups. From day 15, at which time a dietary change from milk to laboratory chow begins to take place, glucokinase immunoreactivity increased; this increase was associated with increases in glucokinase activity and in glucokinase protein, and also the immunostaining was observed mainly in the nuclei. At day 21, the glucokinase immunoreactivity was found almost exclusively in the perivenous zone. At day 30, an intense immunostaining was seen both in the perivenous zone and in the periportal zone, being slightly predominant in the former. The present results indicate that dramatic changes in the distribution of glucokinase in developing rat liver may be related to dietary change.

Heterogeneous expression of glucokinase among pancreatic beta cells.

The cellular location of glucokinase (GK), a key component of the glucose-sensing mechanism of the pancreatic islet, was determined using immunocytochemical techniques. In rat islets, GK immunoreactivity was detected only in beta cells with no immunoreactivity detected in alpha, delta, or pancreatic polypeptide-containing (PP) cells. However, within various beta cells, GK immunoreactivity varied considerably. Most beta cells displayed relatively low levels of cytoplasmic immunoreactivity whereas other beta cells stained intensely for this enzyme. Colocalization studies of GK and GLUT2, the high Km glucose transporter of beta cells, confirmed that these proteins are located in different subcellular domains of beta cells. The lack of GK immunoreactivity in glucagon- and somatostatin-secreting cells in islets suggests that these cells are not directly responsive to glucose or utilize a fundamentally different mechanism for sensing glucose fluctuations. Moreover, the differential expression of GK among pancreatic beta cells suggests that glucose phosphorylation is the probable enzymatic control point for the functional diversity of these cells.

Hexokinase isoenzymes of RIN-m5F insulinoma cells. Expression of glucokinase gene in insulin-producing cells.

We have analysed the pattern of expression of the hexokinase isoenzyme group in RIN-m5F insulinoma cells. Three hexokinase forms were resolved by DEAE-cellulose chromatography. The most abundant isoenzyme co-eluted with hexokinase type II from rat adipose tissue and displayed a Km for glucose of 0.15 mM, similar to the adipose-tissue enzyme. Hexokinase type II was in large part associated with a particulate subcellular fraction in RIN-m5F cells. The two other hexokinases separated by ion-exchange chromatography were an enzyme similar to hexokinase type I from brain and glucokinase (or hexokinase type IV). The latter isoenzyme was identified as the liver-type glucokinase by the following properties: co-elution with hepatic glucokinase from DEAE-cellulose and DEAE-Sephadex; sigmoid saturation kinetics with glucose with half-maximal velocity at 5.6 mM and Hill coefficient (h) of 1.54; suppression of enzyme activity by antibodies raised against rat liver glucokinase; apparent Mr of 56,500 and pI of 5.6, as shown by immunoblotting after one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis; peptide map identical with that of hepatic glucokinase after proteolysis with chymotrypsin and papain. These data indicate that the gene coding for hepatic glucokinase is expressed in RIN-m5F cells, a finding consistent with indirect evidence for the presence of glucokinase in the beta-cell of the islet of Langerhans. On the other hand, the overall pattern of hexokinases is distinctly different in RIN-m5F cells and islets of Langerhans, since hexokinase type II appears to be lacking in islets. Alteration in hexokinase expression after tumoral transformation has been reported in other systems.

Tissue-specific expression of glucokinase: identification of the gene product in liver and pancreatic islets.

The tissue distribution of glucokinase (ATP:D-hexose 6-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.1) was examined by protein blotting analysis. Antibodies raised against rat liver glucokinase recognized a single protein subunit with an apparent Mr of 56,500 on nitrocellulose blots of cytosol protein from liver, separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A protein of identical electrophoretic mobility was detected by immunoblotting of cytosol protein from pancreatic islets. Hepatic glucokinase and the immunoreactive islet product bound to and were eluted from DEAE-cellulose at the same ionic strength. Glucokinase was displayed as a set of two spots with apparent pI values of 5.54 and 5.64 by immunoblotting after two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The two isoforms appeared equally abundant in liver extract, whereas the component with a pI of 5.64 was predominant in islets. By quantitative immunoblotting, glucokinase was estimated to represent 0.1% of total cytosol protein in liver and 1/20th as much in islets. The glucokinase activity of both liver and islet cytosols was suppressed by the antibodies to hepatic glucokinase. Immunoblotting of cytosol protein from intestinal mucosa, exocrine pancreas, epididymal adipose tissue, kidney, brain, and spleen failed to reveal the glucokinase protein. Thus, significant expression of the glucokinase gene appears restricted to the liver and pancreatic islets.

The compartmentation of glycolytic and gluconeogenic enzymes in rat kidney and liver and its significance to renal and hepatic metabolism.

An indirect immunoperoxidase procedure has been used to demonstrate sites of glycolysis and gluconeogenesis in normal rat kidney and liver. In kidney, the gluconeogenic enzyme fructose 1,6-biphosphatase was restricted to the proximal tubular epithelium, while the glycolytic enzyme hexokinase predominated in more distal segments. Intense staining for the biphosphatase in proximal convoluted tubular brush borders suggests that reabsorbed substrates may be used directly at this site in renal gluconeogenesis. In view of the high phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase activities present in collecting ducts, their relatively low hexokinase activities and their relatively pale immunostaining for hexokinase indicate that glycolytic substrates which feed into the pathway subsequent to the initial phosphorylation step, rather than glucose, may be the major energy source for the rat renal papilla. Immunostaining in the liver was consistent with the metabolic zonation of liver parenchyma, in that glucokinase occurred mainly in perivenous regions and fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase in periportal areas. The presence of such metabolic zonation is difficult to reconcile with the widely held view that the majority of hepatic glycogen is derived directly from glucose. A model for hepatic glycogen synthesis is proposed which links the concept of parenchymal zonal heterogeneity with recent biochemical evidence concerning the 'glucose paradox' and with microscopical studies on the dynamics of glycogen deposition after refeeding.

Comparison of glucokinase in C3H/He and C58 mice that differ in their hepatic activity.

Partially purified preparations of the hepatic glucokinase from C3H/He and C58 inbred mice have been used to explore the molecular basis for the observed twofold difference in activity between the strains. The single codominant gene that appears to regulate activity, the alleles of which are designated Gka and Gkb, respectively, for the two strains, could represent a structural gene change. This now seems unlikely because the mouse enzyme, although showing small differences from rat glucokinase, appeared to be identical in the two strains with respect to thermal stability, electrophoretic mobility in agarose gels, and kinetic properties such as the apparent Km values for MgATP2- and glucose and the unique cooperative interaction with the latter substrate. The enzymes also reacted identically in a range of immunological tests (double-diffusion, immunoelectrophoresis, immune precipitation and immune inhibition assays) and ELISA immune inhibition assays indicated that the twofold difference in activity was due to a similar difference in antigenically active enzyme. Genetic control over the physiologically significant regulation of enzyme amount is therefore probable.

Hepatic glucokinase turnover in intact and adrenalectomized rats in vivo.

Regulation of synthesis and degradation of glucokinase, key enzyme of glucose metabolism in liver, was investigated in intact and adrenalectomized rats in vivo, using pulse-labeling experiments and a specific antibody against the enzyme. Refeeding glucose in starved rats resulted in a marked rise in glucokinase activity (from the starvation value 4.8 mU/mg protein to 9.6 mU/mg protein at 4 h, and to 21.8 mU/mg protein at 8 h), which closely correlated to the increase in enzyme synthesis by factor 1.7 at 4 h and 4.1 at 8 h. Similar alterations in enzyme activity and synthesis were observed after glucose refeeding in adrenalectomized/glucocorticoid-restored rats. In contrast, refeeding glucose in adrenalectomized rats led within 8 h only to a small elevation in enzyme activity (from the starvation value 4.2 mU/mg protein to 9.6 mU/mg protein) and a minor rise in enzyme synthesis (factor 1.7). Glucocorticoids per se were without effect on glucokinase activity and synthesis in starved rats. When adapted to pure glucose diet, intact, adrenalectomized and adrenalectomized/glucocorticoid-restored rats showed highly elevated levels in glucokinase (27, 23, 28 mU/mg protein, respectively). However, enzyme synthesis was elevated significantly only in intact and adrenalectomized/glucocorticoid-restored rats. Under these conditions glucokinase degradation was estimated by the double-pulse-labeling technique, applying [14C]leucine and [3H]leucine. From the 3H/14C ratios the apparent half-lives were calculated: 17 h in intact and adrenalectomized/glucocorticoid-restored rats, and 35 h in adrenalectomized rats. It is concluded that in vivo glucocorticoids not only exert a 'permissive' action on glucokinase induction, but also enhance the degradation of the enzyme.