ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the influence of nutritional state on the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD). The studies carried out with intact animals have demonstrated that a variety of nutrients and hormones are either directly or indirectly involved with the regulation of hepatic G6PD. In order to sort out the various factors involved in the regulation of hepatic G6PD, the chapter explores primary cultures of liver parenchymal cells maintained in chemically defined, serum-free medium. It seeks to analyze results on nutrient and hormonal control of G6PD from the six laboratories employing hepatocyte primary culture system. The fact that insulin elevates G6PD mRNA in cultured hepatocytes suggests that transcriptional regulation of the G6PD gene may be a critical site of regulation. Use of primary cultures of hepatocytes to define precisely the hormonal and nutrient signals responsible for regulation of G6PD has demonstrated the central role that insulin occupies.
