Carbohydrate metabolism by primary cultures of rabbit proximal tubules

Renal proximal tubular epithelia were used to assess the factors responsible for the induction of glycolysis in cultured cells. Primary cultures of rabbit proximal tubules, which achieved confluency at 6 days, exhibited hormonal responsiveness and brush-border characteristics typical of proximal tubular cells. Beginning at day 4, these cultured cells exhibited increased glycolytic metabolism reflected by enhanced glucose uptake and lactate production, along with parallel increases in activity of the glycolytic enzymes, pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase. The gluconeogenic enzymes, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FDP), were downregulated, and the cultured cells exhibited lower oxygen consumption rates than fresh tubules. Cells grown on a rocker, to mitigate hypoxia, exhibited a metabolic and enzymatic profile similar to cells grown under still conditions. ATP levels in cultured cells were higher than in fresh tubules. Furthermore, pyruvate kinase activity was higher in cells grown in media containing 0.5 as contrasted with 25 mM glucose. The enhanced glycolytic metabolism exhibited by cultured proximal tubular cells appears to be a characteristic of proliferation and is not a response to hypoxia, the Pasteur effect, or environmental glucose.