doi:10.1369/jhc.7A7222.2007
Volume 55 (9): 975-980, 2007 Copyright ©The Histochemical Society, Inc. NADPH Production by the Pentose Phosphate Pathway in the Zona Fasciculata of Rat Adrenal Gland
Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Correspondence to: Prof. Dr. C.J.F. Van Noorden, Department of Cell Biology & Histology, Academic Medical Center, Meibergdreef 15, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands. E-mail: c.j.vannoorden{at}amc.uva.nl
Biosynthesis of steroid hormones in the cortex of the adrenal gland takes place in smooth endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria and requires NADPH. Four enzymes produce NADPH: glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), the key regulatory enzyme of the pentose phosphate pathway, phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (PGD), the third enzyme of that pathway, malate dehydrogenase (MDH), and isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH). However, the contribution of each enzyme to NADPH production in the cortex of adrenal gland has not been established. Therefore, activity of G6PD, PGD, MDH, and ICDH was localized and quantified in rat adrenocortical tissue using metabolic mapping, image analysis, and electron microscopy. The four enzymes have similar localization patterns in adrenal gland with highest activities in the zona fasciculata of the cortex. G6PD activity was strongest, PGD, MDH, and ICDH activity was 60%, 15%, and 7% of G6PD activity, respectively. The Km value of G6PD for glucose-6-phosphate was two times higher than the Km value of PGD for phosphogluconate. As a consequence, virtual flux rates through G6PD and PGD are largely similar. It is concluded that G6PD and PGD provide the major part of NADPH in adrenocortical cells. Their activity is localized in the cytoplasm associated with free ribosomes and membranes of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum, indicating that NADPH-demanding processes related to biosynthesis of steroid hormones take place at these sites. Complete inhibition of G6PD by androsterones suggests that there is feedback regulation of steroid hormone biosynthesis via G6PD. (J Histochem Cytochem 55:975–980, 2007)
Key Words: NADPH adrenal gland glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase phosphogluconate dehydrogenase
GLUCOSE-6-PHOSPHATE DEHYDROGENASE (G6PD; EC 1.1.1.49) is the key regulatory enzyme of the pentose phosphate pathway. It produces ribose that is incorporated in nucleotides and nucleic acids, and NADPH, the major cytoplasmic reducing compound (Kletzien et al. 1994
High G6PD activity has been found in adrenocortical cells of the adrenal gland (Rudolph and Klein 1964
Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) has been shown to stimulate G6PD activity in rat adrenocortical cells (McKerns 1964
So far, the contribution to NADPH production by phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (PGD), the third enzyme of the pentose phosphate pathway, and the two other NADPH-producing enzymes, malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH), in adrenocortical cells is not known. Therefore, in the present study we investigated the kinetic properties of G6PD, PGD, MDH, and ICDH in rat adrenal gland with in situ techniques and image analysis. Effects of androsterone, an inhibitor of G6PD activity in a number of cell types (Shantz et al. 1989
Tissue Preparation Adrenal glands were obtained from five male Wistar rats weighing 325–350 g after sacrifice by an overdose of phenobarbital or an incision in the vena cava. Principles of laboratory animal care were followed and, according to Dutch law, the Animal Welfare Committee of the Academic Medical Center approved the study. The adrenals were immediately embedded in 7% (w/v) gelatin in distilled water, frozen in liquid nitrogen, and stored at –80C up to maximally 1 week until used. Eight-µm-thick cryostat sections were cut at –25C on a motor-driven Bright cryostat (Huntington, UK) fitted with a rotary retracting microtome, picked up on glass slides, and stored at –25C until used (Van Noorden and Frederiks 1992
Cell Isolation Procedure
Demonstration of G6PD, PGD, MDH, and ICDH Activity
To investigate the possible involvement of hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (H6PD) in the assay of G6PD activity, 10 mM galactose-6-phosphate (Boehringer) was used as a substrate instead of G6P (Kidder 1983
Effects of different inhibitors on G6PD activity were tested by incubating in the presence of 10 mM epiandrosterone (Sigma), dehydroepiandrosterone (Sigma), and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (Sigma), all dissolved in dimethylformamide and 10 mM N-ethylmaleimide (Sigma) dissolved in ethanol. Vmax and Km values toward G6P and PG of G6PD and PGD, respectively, were determined by incubating sections in the presence of various concentrations of G6P or PG in the range of 0–10 mM, respectively (Jonges et al. 1995
Ultrastructural Localization of G6PD and PGD Activity in Isolated Cells
Image Analysis
Statistics
Flux rates (
Localization of NADPH-producing Enzymes G6PD, PGD, MDH, and ICDH activity in serial sections of adrenal gland showed similar distribution patterns. Enzyme activities were highest in cells of the zona fasciculata of the cortex of adrenal gland. A somewhat lower activity was found in cells of the zona glomerulosa and zona reticularis, whereas activities were scarcely present in cells of the medulla and the capsule of the gland (Figure 1 ). Only small amounts of final reaction product were formed in cortical cells of the gland after incubation in the absence of substrate and coenzyme.
To exclude the involvement of H6PD in the detection of G6PD activity, the incubation was performed in the presence of galactose-6-P instead of G6P. The amounts of final reaction product formed in the presence of galactose-6-P were similar to the amounts produced in the absence of substrate (data not shown). This suggests that H6PD was not interfering in the G6PD reaction.
Quantification of G6PD, PGD, MDH, and ICDH Activity
Table 1
demonstrates that G6PD showed the highest activity in the zona fasciculata of adrenal glands. PGD was approximately half the G6PD activity, whereas the relative contribution of MDH and ICDH to NADPH synthesis was only 15% and 7%, respectively. Determination of Vmax and Km values of G6PD and PGD in the zona fasciculata showed that G6PD activity was
Ultrastructural Localization of G6PD and PGD Activity Suspensions of cells from adrenal glands were incubated for the demonstration of G6PD and PGD activity with the ferricyanide method. At the electron microscopic level, cells were observed with lipid droplets, extensive networks of SER, and spherical mitochondria with tubular cristae typical for adrenocortical cells. These cells contained varying amounts of electron-dense precipitate, likely dependent on their localization in the cortex of the adrenal glands. Cells with the highest amounts of electron-dense precipitate were carefully studied. Electron-dense reaction product due to G6PD activity was present in the cytoplasm associated with membranes of SER and free ribosomes (Figure 2 ). Nuclei always contained some precipitate, but this was considered to be nonspecific because it was also observed after control incubations. Final reaction product was not observed after incubation in the absence of G6P and NADP+, except for nuclei. A similar distribution pattern of electron-dense reaction product was observed when cells were incubated for the demonstration of PGD activity (Figure 2D).
The present study shows that four NADPH-producing enzymes (G6PD, PGD, MDH, and ICDH) have similar localization patterns in adrenal gland. Highest activities were found in the zona fasciculata in the cortex where glucocorticoids are synthesized, whereas medulla showed scarcely any activity of these enzymes (Figure 1). The two NADPH-producing enzymes of the phosphate pathway, G6PD and PGD, produce 85% of the total pool of NADPH. Both enzymes can produce roughly the same amount of NADPH at physiological substrate concentrations (Table 2). Therefore, it can be concluded that the pentose phosphate pathway is the major provider of NADPH for glucocorticoid synthesis in the zona fasciculata.
Steroids produced in the zona fasciculata are mainly glucocorticoids, whereas zona glomerulosa and zona reticularis synthesize and secrete mineralocorticoids and androgens, respectively. In the present study we have shown that DHEA is a strong inhibitor of G6PD activity, whereas ACTH has been demonstrated to stimulate G6PD activity in the cortex (McKerns 1964
In the present study we also demonstrated that G6PD activity was localized in the cytoplasm, associated with SER and free ribosomes (Figure 2). This is in accordance with previous findings in adrenal gland (Berchtold 1979
N-ethylmaleimide, a blocker of SH groups, was shown to affect G6PD activity in rat liver (De Jong et al. 2001 In conclusion, both G6PD and PGD, but not MDH and ICDH, have a high capacity to produce NADPH in SER for steroid biosynthesis in adrenocortical cells. This pathway is regulated by androsterones via G6PD.
The authors thank Mr. A. Maas and Mr. G. van Woerkom for obtaining adrenal glands, Mr. J. Peeterse and Mr. C. Gravemeijer for photographic work, and Mrs. T.M.S. Pierik for preparation of the manuscript.
Received for publication February 28, 2007; accepted May 14, 2007
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