Regulation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase by glutamine and ATP as possible control mechanisms of renal gluconeogenesis.

In different metabolic states renal phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEP-CK) activities are closely correlated with in vitro glucogenic rates, suggesting a limitation of the glucogenic capacity of kidney by this enzyme. Stimulation of renal gluconeogenesis from pyruvate, lactate, and succinate by lysine and glutamine was therefore associated with a regulatory attack of these amino acids at the level of PEP-carboxykinase. This postulate was confirmed by the failure of lysine to stimulate glucose synthesis from fructose. Experimental support for an interference of glutamine and PEP-carboxykinase was obtained by a study on the inactivation of this enzyme in kidney cortex homogenates: A rapid inactivation of enzyme activity within 40-50 min could be slowed down by glutamine. In addition the inactivation was counteracted by ATP. At suboptimal concentrations of the trinucleotide its effect was potentiated by c-AMP and c-GMP. Studies on the effect of ATP on PEP-carboxykinase in kidney cortex homogenates from rats in different metabolic states revealed: In homogenates from carbohydrate fed animals extreme low activities of PEP-CK were not altered by ATP, whereas elevated enzyme activities after a protein rich diet could be further raised by a factor of 2 or 3 by ATP. GTP and ITP could substitute for ATP. An extension of these studies on hepatic enzymes showed a similar inactivation of tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT) and a protective effect of ATP. The data obtained from these experiments favour an interconversion of PEP-carboxykinase and tyrosine aminotransferase into different forms as possible mechanism for their regulation.