Adv Biochem Eng Biotechnol 2017 ;159:181-198

Laboratory of Microbial Physiology, Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita-9 Nishi-9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-8589, Japan.

In the 1980s, Shiio and coworkers demonstrated using random mutagenesis that the following three phenotypes were effective for boosting lysine production by Corynebacterium glutamicum: (1) low-activity-level citrate synthase (CS(L)), (2) phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) resistant to feedback inhibition by aspartic acid (PEPC(R)), and (3) pyruvate kinase (PYK) deficiency. Here, we reevaluated these phenotypes and their interrelationship in lysine production using recombinant DNA techniques.The pyk deletion and PEPC(R) (D299N in ppc) independently showed marginal effects on lysine production, but both phenotypes synergistically increased lysine yield, demonstrating the importance of PEPC as an anaplerotic enzyme in lysine production. Read More

Metab Eng 2016 Nov 14. Epub 2016 Nov 14.

Children's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USA; McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USA. Electronic address:

The mitochondrial citrate transport protein (CTP), encoded by SLC25A1, accommodates bidirectional trafficking of citrate between the mitochondria and cytosol, supporting lipid biosynthesis and redox homeostasis. Genetic CTP deficiency causes a fatal neurodevelopmental syndrome associated with the accumulation of L- and D-2-hydroxyglutaric acid, and elevated CTP expression is associated with poor prognosis in several types of cancer, emphasizing the importance of this transporter in multiple human pathologies. Here we describe the metabolic consequences of CTP deficiency in cancer cells. Read More

J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) 2016 ;62(2):81-7

Department of Dietary Environment Analysis, School of Human Science and Environment, University of Hyogo.

Biotin is a water-soluble vitamin that functions as a cofactor for biotin-dependent carboxylases. The biochemical and physiological roles of biotin in brain regions have not yet been investigated sufficiently in vivo. Thus, in order to clarify the function of biotin in the brain, we herein examined biotin contents, biotinylated protein expression (e. Read More

J Inherit Metab Dis 2016 Sep 22;39(5):597-610. Epub 2016 Apr 22.

Department of Department of Biochemistry, Hôpital Femme Mère Enfant, Hospices Civils de Lyon, 59 bd Pinel, 69677, Bron cedex, France.

This review highlights the importance of performing an autopsy when faced with fetal abortion or termination of pregnancy with suspicion of an inborn error of metabolism. Radiological, macroscopic and microscopic features found at autopsy as well as placental anomalies that can suggest such a diagnosis are detailed. The following metabolic disorders encountered in fetuses are discussed: lysosomal storage diseases, peroxisomal disorders, cholesterol synthesis disorders, congenital disorders of glycosylation, glycogenosis type IV, mitochondrial respiratory chain disorders, transaldolase deficiency, generalized arterial calcification of infancy, hypophosphatasia, arylsulfatase E deficiency, inborn errors of serine metabolism, asparagine synthetase deficiency, hyperphenylalaninemia, glutaric aciduria type I, non-ketotic hyperglycinemia, pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency, pyruvate carboxylase deficiency, glutamine synthase deficiency, sulfite oxidase and molybdenum cofactor deficiency. Read More

Diabetes 2016 Jun 18;65(6):1521-33. Epub 2016 Mar 18.

Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

Hypoxia and iron both regulate metabolism through multiple mechanisms, including hypoxia-inducible transcription factors. The hypoxic effects on glucose disposal and glycolysis are well established, but less is known about the effects of hypoxia and iron deficiency on hepatic gluconeogenesis. We therefore assessed their effects on hepatic glucose production in mice. Read More

J Biosci Bioeng 2016 Aug 13;122(2):160-7. Epub 2016 Mar 13.

Laboratory of Microbial Physiology, Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita-9 Nishi-9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8589, Japan. Electronic address:

Various attempts have been made to enhance lysine production in Corynebacterium glutamicum. Pyruvate kinase (PYK) defect is one of the strategies used to enhance the supply of oxaloacetic acid (OAA), a precursor metabolite for lysine biosynthesis. However, inconsistent effects of this mutation have been reported: positive effects of PYK defect in mutants having phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) desensitized to feedback inhibition by aspartic acid, while negative effects in simple PYK gene (pyk) knockout mutants. Read More

Mol Genet Metab 2015 Nov 1;116(3):204-14. Epub 2015 Sep 1.

Unidad de Genética de la Nutrición, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México y del Instituto Nacional de Pediatría, México D.F., México. Electronic address:

Certain inborn errors of metabolism result from deficiencies in biotin containing enzymes. These disorders are mimicked by dietary absence or insufficiency of biotin, ATP deficit being a major effect,whose responsible mechanisms have not been thoroughly studied. Here we show that in rats and cultured cells it is the result of reduced TCA cycle flow, partly due to deficient anaplerotic biotin-dependent pyruvate carboxylase. Read More

Antioxid Redox Signal 2015 Oct 24;23(10):761-74. Epub 2015 Aug 24.

Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa , Honolulu, Hawaii.

Aims: Selenocysteine lyase (Scly) mediates selenocysteine decomposition. It was previously demonstrated that, upon adequate caloric intake (12% kcal fat) and selenium deficiency, disruption of Scly in mice leads to development of metabolic syndrome. In this study, we investigate the effect of a high-fat (45% kcal) selenium-adequate diet in Scly knockout (KO) mice on development of metabolic syndrome. Read More

J Biosci Bioeng 2016 Feb 11;121(2):172-7. Epub 2015 Jul 11.

Laboratory of Microbial Physiology, Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita-9 Nishi-9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8589, Japan. Electronic address:

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) in Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC13032, a glutamic-acid producing actinobacterium, is subject to feedback inhibition by metabolic intermediates such as aspartic acid and 2-oxoglutaric acid, which implies the importance of PEPC in replenishing oxaloacetic acid into the TCA cycle. Here, we investigated the effects of feedback-insensitive PEPC on glutamic acid production. A single amino-acid substitution in PEPC, D299N, was found to relieve the feedback control by aspartic acid, but not by 2-oxoglutaric acid. Read More

Immunology 2015 Oct 27;146(2):292-300. Epub 2015 Jul 27.

Department of Nephrology, Medical School, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece.

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is expressed in antigen-presenting cells and exerts immunosuppressive effects on CD4(+) T cells. One mechanism is through the inhibition of aerobic glycolysis. Another prerequisite for T-cell proliferation and differentiation into effector cells is increased fatty acid (FA) synthesis. Read More

FEBS Lett 2014 Nov 19;588(21):3947-53. Epub 2014 Sep 19.

Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Chonnam National University, South Korea. Electronic address:

We show that testicular orphan nuclear receptor 4 (TR4) increases the expression of pyruvate carboxylase (PC) gene in 3T3-L1 adipocytes by direct binding to a TR4 responsive element in the murine PC promoter. While TR4 overexpression increased PC activity, oxaloacetate (OAA) and glycerol levels with enhanced incorporation of (14)C from (14)C-pyruvate into fatty acids in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, PC knockdown by short interfering RNA (siRNA) or inhibition of PC activity by phenylacetic acid (PAA) abolished TR4-enhanced fatty acid synthesis. Moreover, TR4 microRNA reduced PC expression with decreased fatty acid synthesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, suggesting that TR4-mediated enhancement of fatty acid synthesis in adipocytes requires increased expression of PC gene. Read More

Tree Physiol 2014 Jun 23;34(6):608-18. Epub 2014 Jun 23.

College of Resource and Environmental Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China Institute of Horticultural Plant Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China Fujian Key Laboratory for Plant Molecular and Cell Biology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China

Boron (B) deficiency is a widespread problem in many crops, including Citrus. The effects of B-deficiency on gas exchange, carbohydrates, organic acids, amino acids, total soluble proteins and phenolics, and the activities of key enzymes involved in organic acid and amino acid metabolism in 'Xuegan' [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck] leaves and roots were investigated. Read More

Endocrinology 2014 Aug 10;155(8):2881-91. Epub 2014 Jun 10.

Laboratório de Bioenergética (M.N., A.T.S., C.S.B., L.A.K., L.d.M.), Instituto de Bioquímica Médica, Laboratório de Radiobiologia Molecular (R.S.F.) and Laboratório de Fisiologia Endócrina Doris Rosenthal (R.A.N.L., D.P.C.), Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil.

Menopause is associated with increased visceral adiposity and disrupted glucose homeostasis, but the underlying molecular mechanisms related to these metabolic changes are still elusive. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays a key role in energy expenditure that may be regulated by sexual steroids, and alterations in glucose homeostasis could precede increased weight gain after ovariectomy. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the metabolic pathways in both the BAT and the liver that may be disrupted early after ovariectomy. Read More

J Exp Bot 2014 Jul 10;65(12):2995-3003. Epub 2014 Apr 10.

Department of Plant Nutrition, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, P. R. China.

Light intensity affects photosynthetic carbon (C) fixation and the supply of carbon to roots. To evaluate interactions between carbon supply and phosphorus (P) supply, effects of light intensity on sucrose accumulation, root growth, cluster root formation, carboxylate exudation, and P uptake capacity were studied in white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) grown hydroponically with either 200 µmol m(-2) s(-1) or 600 µmol m(-2) s(-1) light and a sufficient (50 µM P) or deficient (1 µM P) P supply. Read More

Oncogene 2015 Feb 17;34(8):1044-50. Epub 2014 Mar 17.

Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.

Cancer cells are reprogrammed to utilize glycolysis at high rates, which provides metabolic precursors for cell growth. Consequently, glucose levels may decrease substantially in underperfused tumor areas. Gluconeogenesis results in the generation of glucose from smaller carbon substrates such as lactate and amino acids. Read More

Am J Hum Genet 2014 Mar 13;94(3):453-61. Epub 2014 Feb 13.

Division of Biochemical Diseases, BC Children's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6H 3V4, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, BC Children's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6H 3V4, Canada; Treatable Intellectual Disability Endeavour in British Columbia, BC Children's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada.

Four children in three unrelated families (one consanguineous) presented with lethargy, hyperlactatemia, and hyperammonemia of unexplained origin during the neonatal period and early childhood. We identified and validated three different CA5A alterations, including a homozygous missense mutation (c.697T>C) in two siblings, a homozygous splice site mutation (c. Read More

Adv Clin Chem 2014 4;67:73-150. Epub 2014 Nov 4.

Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, United Kingdom. Electronic address:

Human adults produce around 1000 mmol of ammonia daily. Some is reutilized in biosynthesis. The remainder is waste and neurotoxic. Read More

Int J Obes (Lond) 2014 Sep 16;38(9):1172-9. Epub 2013 Dec 16.

1] Department of Life Sciences, Agricultural Biotechnology Center, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan [2] Rong Hsing Research Center for Translational Medicine and the iEGG Center, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan.

Objective: Fatty liver disease is commonly associated with obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes. Severe fatty liver is sometimes accompanied by steatohepatitis and may lead to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. At present, there is no effective treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); thus, recent investigations have focused on developing effective therapeutics to treat this condition. Read More

Eur J Pediatr 2014 Mar 10;173(3):361-6. Epub 2013 Oct 10.

Willink Unit, Genetic Medicine, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9WL, UK.

Unlabelled: Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) deficiency (OMIM 266150) is an autosomal recessive disorder that usually presents with lactic acidaemia and severe neurological dysfunction, leading to death in infancy. Because the enzyme is involved in gluconeogenesis and anaplerosis of the Krebs cycle, therapeutic strategies have included avoiding fasting and attempts to correct the defect of anaplerosis. Triheptanoin is a triglyceride of C7 fatty acids. Read More

An Pediatr (Barc) 2014 Mar 5;80(3):184-6. Epub 2013 Oct 5.

Unidad de Nutrición y Metabolopatías, Hospital La Fe, Valencia, España.

We report a case of holocarboxylase synthetase deficiency with normal pyruvate carboxylase activity in the lymphocytes of an 8 year-old girl with clinical toxicity without the classic dermatological involvement. The identification of three nucleotide changes in the holocarboxylase synthetase (HLCS) gene, only one of them described as a pathogenic mutation could be related to a slight variant of the disease that would explain the unusual presentation beyond the age of infant. Treatment with biotin at 40 mg/day with protein controlled diet allows normal physical growth and psychomotor development for their age. Read More

Metabolism 2013 Nov 27;62(11):1673-85. Epub 2013 Aug 27.

Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics; Department of Internal Medicine/Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism; Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center; VA Nebraska Western Iowa Health Care System, Omaha, NE. Electronic address:

Objective: Adipose tissue (AT)-specific inflammation is considered to mediate the pathological consequences of obesity and macrophages are known to activate inflammatory pathways in obese AT. Because cyclooxygenases play a central role in regulating the inflammatory processes, we sought to determine the role of hematopoietic cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) in modulating AT inflammation in obesity.

Materials/methods: Bone marrow transplantation was performed to delete COX-1 in hematopoietic cells. Read More

Gene 2013 Dec 23;532(2):302-6. Epub 2013 Aug 23.

Department of Neurology, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, Spain; CIBERER (Biomedical Network Research Centre on Rare Diseases), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.

Pyruvate carboxylase deficiency is a rare metabolic disorder, with three different phenotypes. We aim to report the case of a newborn presenting the severe neonatal form of this deficiency (the B or "French" phenotype, hypokinesia and rigidity being the main features) and the results of the study of classic neurotransmitters involved in movement control. Hyperdopaminergic transmission (both in the cerebrospinal fluid and in the substantia nigra) and hypoGABAergic transmission (in the substantia nigra) were found. Read More

Metabolism 2013 Nov 5;62(11):1651-61. Epub 2013 Aug 5.

Orentreich Foundation for the Advancement of Science, Inc., 855 Route 301, Cold Spring-on-Hudson, NY 10516, USA. Electronic address:

Objective: This study investigated the effects of dietary methionine restriction (MR) on the progression of established hepatic steatosis in the leptin-deficient ob/ob mouse.

Material/methods: Ten-week-old ob/ob mice were fed diets containing 0.86% (control-fed; CF) or 0. Read More

Mol Genet Metab 2013 Sep-Oct;110(1-2):145-52. Epub 2013 Jul 19.

Division of Human Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.

Unlabelled: Diagnosing primary mitochondrial respiratory chain (RC) dysfunction has long relied on invasive tissue biopsies, since no blood-based biomarker has been shown to have sufficiently high sensitivity and specificity across the myriad of individual clinical presentations. We sought to determine whether cohort-level evaluation of commonly obtained blood analytes might reveal consistent patterns to discriminate a heterogenous group of primary mitochondrial RC disease subjects both from control individuals and from subjects with pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency.

Methods: Following IRB approval, 62 biochemical analyte concentrations or ratios were retrospectively analyzed in three well-defined and intentionally heterogeneous subject cohorts reflective of clinical practice: [1] Primary mitochondrial disease (n=19); [2] pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency (n=4); and [3] controls (n=27). Read More

Anesthesiology 2013 Nov;119(5):1120-36

* Research Associate, ‖ Visiting Professor, ** Professor, The Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, † Professor, The Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, ‡ Research Associate Professor, # Professor, The Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, The University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California. § NMR Spectroscopist and Laboratory Manager, QB3 Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, The University of California, Berkeley, California.

Background: Mild brain hypothermia (32°-34°C) after human neonatal asphyxia improves neurodevelopmental outcomes. Astrocytes but not neurons have pyruvate carboxylase and an acetate uptake transporter. C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of rodent brain extracts after administering [1-C]glucose and [1,2-C]acetate can distinguish metabolic differences between glia and neurons, and tricarboxylic acid cycle entry via pyruvate dehydrogenase and pyruvate carboxylase. Read More

J Biol Chem 2013 Jul 20;288(27):19739-49. Epub 2013 May 20.

Department of Medicine, Washington University, St Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.

Preservation of bioenergetic homeostasis during the transition from the carbohydrate-laden fetal diet to the high fat, low carbohydrate neonatal diet requires inductions of hepatic fatty acid oxidation, gluconeogenesis, and ketogenesis. Mice with loss-of-function mutation in the extrahepatic mitochondrial enzyme CoA transferase (succinyl-CoA:3-oxoacid CoA transferase, SCOT, encoded by nuclear Oxct1) cannot terminally oxidize ketone bodies and develop lethal hyperketonemic hypoglycemia within 48 h of birth. Here we use this model to demonstrate that loss of ketone body oxidation, an exclusively extrahepatic process, disrupts hepatic intermediary metabolic homeostasis after high fat mother's milk is ingested. Read More

Endocr J 2013 10;60(8):941-50. Epub 2013 May 10.

Department of Endocrinology, Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, China.

Our previous study reported that thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) promotes cholesterol synthesis via the cyclic adenosine monophosphate/protein kinase A/cAMP regulatory element-binding protein (cAMP/PKA/CREB) pathway after binding to TSH receptors (TSHR) in the liver. The hepatic cAMP/PKA/CREB pathway also plays an important role in maintaining fasting glucose homeostasis. These findings implied a possible role for TSH in hepatic glucose metabolism. Read More

Handb Clin Neurol 2013 ;113:1667-73

Pediatric Neurology and Metabolism, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address:

Pyruvate dehydrogenase and pyruvate carboxylase deficiency are the most common disorders in pyruvate metabolism. Diagnosis is made by enzymatic and DNA analysis after basic biochemical tests in plasma, urine, and CSF. Pyruvate dehydrogenase has three main subunits, an additional E3-binding protein and two complex regulatory enzymes. Read More

Biomed J 2013 Jan-Feb;36(1):16-7

Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Children's Hospital at Linkou, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan.

Ketogenic diet (KD) was usually tried as a last resort in the treatment of intractable epilepsy after failure of many antiepileptics and even epilepsy surgery. Glucose transporter-1 deficiency and pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency must be treated with KD as the first choice because of inborn errors of glucose metabolism. Infantile spasms, tuberous sclerosis complex, Rett syndrome, Doose syndrome, Dravet syndrome, etc. Read More

Tree Physiol 2013 Mar 5;33(3):320-9. Epub 2013 Mar 5.

Department of Citriculture and Vegetal Production, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias, 46113 Moncada, Valencia, Spain.

The effects of iron (Fe) deficiency on the low-molecular-weight organic acid (LMWOA) metabolism have been investigated in Carrizo citrange (CC) [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osb. × Poncirus trifoliata (L. Read More

JIMD Rep 2013 31;9:1-5. Epub 2012 Aug 31.

Department of Clinical Genetics, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark.

We have investigated seven patients with the type B form of pyruvate carboxylase (PC) deficiency. Mutation analysis revealed eight mutations, all novel. In a patient with exon skipping on cDNA analysis, we identified a homozygous mutation located in a potential branch point sequence, the first possible branch point mutation in PC. Read More

Eur J Appl Physiol 2013 Apr 2;113(4):951-63. Epub 2012 Oct 2.

The Åstrand Laboratory of Work Physiology, GIH, The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, Box 5626, 114 86 Stockholm, Sweden.

Recent studies suggest that carbohydrate restriction can improve the training-induced adaptation of muscle oxidative capacity. However, the importance of low muscle glycogen on the molecular signaling of mitochondrial biogenesis remains unclear. Here, we compare the effects of exercise with low (LG) and normal (NG) glycogen on different molecular factors involved in the regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis. Read More

J Child Neurol 2013 Nov 10;28(11):1505-1508. Epub 2012 Sep 10.

1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Metabolism and Nutrition, Fellow of Metabolism, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.

Nemaline rods are the pathologic hallmark of nemaline myopathy, but they have also been described as a secondary phenomenon in a variety of other disorders. Nemaline rods have not been reported in pyruvate carboxylase deficiency before. Here we present a patient with pyruvate carboxylase deficiency and nemaline rods detected on muscle biopsy. Read More

J Plant Physiol 2012 Jul 17;169(11):1121-4. Epub 2012 Jun 17.

Department of Plant Nutrition, Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-EEAD-CSIC, P.O. Box 13034, E-50080 Zaragoza, Spain.

The effects of iron (Fe) deficiency on carboxylate metabolism were investigated in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) using two cultivars, Steptoe and Morex, which differ in their Fe efficiency response. In both cultivars, root extracts of plants grown in Fe-deficient conditions showed higher activities of enzymes related to organic acid metabolism, including citrate synthase, malate dehydrogenase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, compared to activities measured in root extracts of Fe-sufficient plants. Read More

J Anim Sci 2012 Nov 4;90(11):3821-32. Epub 2012 Jun 4.

Agricultural Experiment Station and Division of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA.

The objective of this 49-d experiment was to test effects of cecal oxytetracycline (OTC) infusion, and dietary avidin and biotin supplementation on the biotin status of nongravid gilts. Twenty-eight crossbred gilts with an initial age of 160 d and BW of 120 kg were surgically fitted with a T-cannula in the terminal ileum, a cecal fistula, and an indwelling catheter in the anterior vena cava, and allotted to 7 dietary treatments. Treatments with the basal semipurified (SP) diet fed at 1. Read More

Mol Biol Rep 2012 May 4;39(5):6353-66. Epub 2012 Feb 4.

College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, 350002, Fuzhou, China.

The objective was to determine the possible links between the expression levels of genes involved in alternative glycolytic pathways, phosphorus (P) scavenging and recycling and Citrus tolerance to aluminum (Al) and/or P-deficiency. 'Xuegan' (Citrus sinensis) and 'Sour pummelo' (Citrus grandis) seedlings were irrigated for 18 weeks with nutrient solution containing 0 and 1.2 mM AlCl(3)·6H(2)O × 0, 50 and 200 μM KH(2)PO(4). Read More

Fish Physiol Biochem 2012 Aug 25;38(4):1183-93. Epub 2012 Jan 25.

Département des Sciences Animales, Université Laval, 2425 Rue de l'Agriculture, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada.

This study was undertaken to assess the interactive effects of dietary biotin and avidin on growth, feed conversion, survival and deficiency syndrome of tilapia and to determine the influence of dietary biotin deficiency on the expression of key genes related to biotin metabolism in tilapia. Six iso-nitrogenous and iso-energetic diets based on a common purified basal diet (vitamin-free casein as the protein source) were prepared for this study. The six dietary groups were 0 g avidin with 0 mg biotin (A0B0), 0 g avidin with 0. Read More

Wei Sheng Wu Xue Bao 2011 Nov;51(11):1476-84

Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.

Objective: In order to optimize precursor supply for L-arginine biosynthesis, we constructed a Corynebacterium crenatum 8-193 mutant with gamma-glutamyl kinase gene (proB) in-frame deletion. The effects of proB knock-out on physiological characteristics of the mutant were investigated.

Methods: The upstream and downstream fragments of proB were cloned from C. Read More

Microbiology 2011 Dec 21;157(Pt 12):3361-9. Epub 2011 Sep 21.

Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.

We have identified a methanol- and biotin-starvation-inducible zinc finger protein named ROP [repressor of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK)] in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. When P. pastoris strain GS115 (wild-type, WT) is cultured in biotin-deficient, glucose-ammonium (Bio(-)) medium, growth is suppressed due to the inhibition of anaplerotic synthesis of oxaloacetate, catalysed by the biotin-dependent enzyme pyruvate carboxylase (PC). Read More

J Mol Med (Berl) 2012 Jan 6;90(1):81-8. Epub 2011 Sep 6.

School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.

Biotin (vitamins H and B7) is an important micronutrient as defects in its availability, metabolism or adsorption can cause serious illnesses, especially in the young. A key molecule in the biotin cycle is holocarboxylase synthetase (HLCS), which attaches biotin onto the biotin-dependent enzymes. Patients with congenital HLCS deficiency are prescribed oral biotin supplements that, in most cases, reverse the clinical symptoms. Read More

Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2011 Nov 10;301(5):R1501-9. Epub 2011 Aug 10.

Centre of Inflammation and Metabolism and Copenhagen Muscle Research Centre, Section of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, Dept. of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

The transcriptional coactivator peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ coactivator (PGC)-1α plays a role in regulation of several metabolic pathways. By use of whole body PGC-1α knockout (KO) mice, we investigated the role of PGC-1α in fasting, acute exercise and exercise training-induced regulation of key proteins in gluconeogenesis and metabolism in the liver. In both wild-type (WT) and PGC-1α KO mice liver, the mRNA content of the gluconeogenic proteins glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) was upregulated during fasting. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2011 May 9;108(21):8674-9. Epub 2011 May 9.

Department of Pediatrics, Advanced Imaging Research Center, and McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Texas-Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9063, USA.

Tumor cells require a constant supply of macromolecular precursors, and interrupting this supply has been proposed as a therapeutic strategy in cancer. Precursors for lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins are generated in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and removed from the mitochondria to participate in biosynthetic reactions. Refilling the pool of precursor molecules (anaplerosis) is therefore crucial to maintain cell growth. Read More

J Plant Physiol 2011 May 18;168(7):644-52. Epub 2011 Feb 18.

College of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, PR China.

Self-rooted, 10-month-old, uniform tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze cv. Read More

Arch Biochem Biophys 2011 Jan 18;505(2):231-41. Epub 2010 Oct 18.

Institute for Medical Sciences, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of mitochondrial metabolism on high glucose/palmitate (HG/PA)-induced INS-1 beta cell death. Long-term treatment of INS-1 cells with HG/PA impaired energy-producing metabolism accompanying with depletion of TCA cycle intermediates. Whereas an inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1 augmented HG/PA-induced INS-1 cell death, stimulators of fatty acid oxidation protected the cells against the HG/PA-induced death. Read More

Mol Genet Metab 2011 Jan 24;102(1):69-77. Epub 2010 Sep 24.

Unidad de Genética de la Nutrición, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.

We recently showed that in biotin starvation in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and rat Rattus norvegicus, despite abundant glucose provision, the expression of genes for glucose utilization and lipogenesis were lowered, and for fatty acid β-oxidation and gluconeogenesis were raised, and glycolytic/fermentative flow was reduced. This work explored the mechanisms of these results. We show that they are associated with ATP deficit and activation of the energy stress sensor AMP kinase (AMPK; Snf1 in yeast). Read More

Mol Genet Metab 2010 Sep 9;101(1):9-17. Epub 2010 Jun 9.

Department of Neurology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-8813, USA.

Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) is a regulated mitochondrial enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of pyruvate to oxaloacetate, a critical transition that replenishes citric acid cycle intermediates and facilitates other biosynthetic reactions that drive anabolism. Its deficiency causes multiorgan metabolic imbalance that predominantly manifests with lactic acidemia and neurological dysfunction at an early age. Three clinical forms of PC deficiency have been identified: an infantile form (Type A), a severe neonatal form (Type B), and a benign form (Type C), all of which exhibit clinical or biochemical correlates of impaired anaplerosis. Read More

IUBMB Life 2010 Jul;62(7):535-8

School of Molecular & Biomedical Science, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

Obesity (Silver Spring) 2010 Sep 21;18(9):1701-9. Epub 2010 Jan 21.

Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA.

Although germ-line deletion of c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) improves overall insulin sensitivity in mice, those studies could not reveal the underlying molecular mechanism and the tissue site(s) in which reduced JNK activity elicits the observed phenotype. Given its importance in nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) and glucose utilization, we hypothesized that the insulin-sensitive phenotype associated with Jnk deletion originates from loss of JNK function in skeletal muscle. Short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-mediated gene silencing was used to identify the functions of JNK subtypes in regulating energy metabolism and metabolic responses to elevated concentrations of NEFA in C2C12 myotubes, a cellular model of skeletal muscle. Read More

Zhonghua Er Ke Za Zhi 2009 Nov;47(11):878-80