Dietary induction of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase synthesis

Summary The effect of dietary carbohydrate on rat liver glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase synthesis has been determined by using a method which can accurately quantitate relative rates of synthesis as low as 0.001 percent of total protein synthesis. Hepatocytes were incubated with ( 3 H)leucine for 60 min and G6PD was separated from all other proteins by immunoprecipitation and electrophoresis on two-dimensional O'Farrell gels. The relative rate of synthesis of G6PD increased 70-fold (from 0.0015 to 0.11% of total protein synthesis) in hepatocytes from fasted rats refed a high carbohydrate diet. We have concluded that the 20–30 fold dietary induction of G6PD is due to a 70 and 3 fold increase in synthesis and degradation, respectively.