bm401714v_si_001.pdf (238.4 kB)
Download fileChanges in Glycogen Structure over Feeding Cycle Sheds New Light on Blood-Glucose Control
journal contribution
posted on 2015-12-17, 00:31 authored by Mitchell
A. Sullivan, Samuel T. N. Aroney, Shihan Li, Frederick
J. Warren, Jin Suk Joo, Ka Sin Mak, David I. Stapleton, Kim S. Bell-Anderson, Robert G. GilbertLiver
glycogen, a highly branched polymer of glucose, is important
for maintaining blood-glucose homeostasis. It was recently shown that db/db mice, a model for Type 2 diabetes,
are unable to form the large composite glycogen α particles
present in normal, healthy mice. In this study, the structure of healthy
mouse-liver glycogen over the diurnal cycle was characterized using
size exclusion chromatography and transmission electron microscopy.
Glycogen was found to be formed as smaller β particles, and
then only assembled into large α particles, with a broad size
distribution, significantly after the time when glycogen content had
reached a maximum. This pathway, missing in diabetic animals, is likely
to give optimal blood-glucose control during the daily feeding cycle.
Lack of this control may contribute to, or result from, diabetes.
This discovery suggests novel approaches to diabetes management.