We examined the effects of
vitamin A deficiency and
all-trans retinoic acid (RA) supplementation on regulation of three important genes in hepatic gluconeogenesis: the genes for
phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK),
fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (Fru-1,6-P2ase) and 6-phosphofructo-2-
kinase/
fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase (6-PF-2-K/Fru-2,6-P2ase). Mice were made
vitamin A deficient in the second generation by initiating a
vitamin A-deficient diet on d 10 of gestation. At 7 wk of age,
vitamin A-deficient mice were treated with all-trans RA or vehicle alone and killed for
RNA analysis. In liver,
vitamin A deficiency resulted in PEPCK
mRNA levels that were 74% lower and 6-PF-2-K/Fru-2,6-P2ase
mRNA levels that were 42% lower than the respective
mRNA measured in control mice. The Fru-1,6-P2ase
mRNA abundance was not affected by
vitamin A deficiency. The decrease in hepatic PEPCK and 6-PF-2-K/Fru-2,6-P2ase
mRNA levels was reversed by treatment with all-trans RA within 3 h of administration. In mice fed the control diet, food deprivation for 15 h resulted in PEPCK
mRNA levels that were 3.5-fold higher, Fru-1,6-P2ase
mRNA levels that were 2-fold higher, and 6-PF-2-K/Fru-2,6-P2ase
mRNA levels that were 3.4-fold higher than in fed mice.
Vitamin A-deficient mice did not respond to food deprivation with induced PEPCK
mRNA levels, whereas 6-PF-2-K/Fru-2,6-P2ase and Fru-1,6-P2ase
mRNA levels were induced. The pattern of 6-PF-2-K/Fru-2,6-P2ase
mRNA abundance with
vitamin A deficiency and food deprivation was complex and different from that for either PEPCK or Fru-1,6-P2ase transcripts. The cAMP-responsiveness of the PEPCK gene in
vitamin A-deficient mice was tested.
Vitamin A deficiency caused a significant reduction in cAMP stimulation of PEPCK
mRNA levels in liver. These results in the whole animal indicate that
vitamin A regulation of the hepatic PEPCK gene is physiologically important; without adequate
vitamin A nutriture, stimulation of the PEPCK gene by food deprivation or cAMP treatment is inhibited in the liver.