Triiodothyronine stimulates and glucagon inhibits transcription of the acetyl-CoA carboxylase gene in chick embryo hepatocytes: glucose and insulin amplify the effect of triiodothyronine.

The mechanisms by which triiodothyronine (T3), glucose, insulin, and glucagon regulate acetyl-CoA carboxylase expression in primary cultures of chick embryo hepatocytes have been investigated. Incubating hepatocytes with T3 in the absence of glucose caused a fourfold increase in acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity. Addition of glucose (20 mM) enhanced the T3-induced increase in acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity by threefold but had no effect on enzyme activity in the absence of T3. The effects of T3 and glucose on acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity were accompanied by similar changes in acetyl-CoA carboxylase mRNA levels, indicating that regulation occurred at a pretranslational step. Xylitol mimicked the effect of glucose on acetyl-CoA carboxylase mRNA abundance, suggesting that an intermediate(s) of the nonoxidative branch of the pentose phosphate pathway may be involved in mediating this response. Insulin accelerated the accumulation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase mRNA abundance caused by T3 and glucose but had no effect on steady-state levels of acetyl-CoA carboxylase mRNA in the absence or presence of T3. Glucagon caused a 65% decrease in the accumulation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase mRNA in hepatocytes incubated with T3 and glucose. The effects of T3, glucose, insulin, and glucagon on the abundance of acetyl-CoA carboxylase mRNA were accounted for by changes in the transcription rate of the acetyl-CoA carboxylase gene. These data support the hypothesis that T3, glucose, insulin, and glucagon play a role in mediating the effects of nutritional manipulation on transcription of acetyl-CoA carboxylase in liver.