Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
DETERMINATION
OF GLYCOGEN
MUSCLE
BY USE OF ANTHRONE
BY
NICHOLAS
(From
V. CARROLL,
JOSEPH
ROBERT
H. ROE
IN LIVER
REAGENT*
W.
LONGLEY,
for publication,
October
AND
AND
of Medicine,
D. C.)
28, 1955)
Method
Reagents1. Anthrone reagent. A solution containing 0.05 per cent anthrone, 1
per cent thiourea, and 72 per cent by volume HzS04 is used. For each
liter of reagent, place in a suitable flask 280 ml. of distilled water and add
cautiously 720 ml. of concentrated
H&04, sp. gr. 1.84, of highest purity.
Place in a flask 500 mg. of purified anthrone, 10 gm. of highest purity
thiourea, and 1 liter of the 72 per cent H,SOb. Warm the mixture to
80-90, occasionally shaking the flask to mix the contents.
Do not overheat the mixture.
Cool and store in a refrigerator.
This reagent will
keep for at least 2 weeks in a refrigerator.
2. 5 per cent trichloroacetic acid.
3:95
per
* Supported
ships, National
cent
ethanol.
of Research
Grants
and FellowPublic
Health
Service.
584
GLYCOGEN
IN
LIVER
AND
MUSCLE
4. Glucose standard.
(a) Stock solution. Dissolve 100 mg. of dry, highest purity glucose in 100 ml. of saturated benzoic acid solution. (b) Working standard. Place 5 ml. of the stock solution in a 100 ml. volumetric
flask and make up to volume with saturated benzoic acid solution. 2 ml.
of this solution, containing 0.1 mg. of glucose, are used as a standard.
Procedure-Place the t,issue sample in an efficient blendor under an appropriate volume of TCA and homogenize for 3 minutes. Pour the homogenate into a suitable centrifuge tube or bottle. Centrifuge and decant
the supernatant fluid upon an acid-washed filter paper placed in a funnel
draining into a graduated cylinder. Transfer the residue quantitatively
to the blendor with an appropriate volume of TCA and homogenize again
for 1 minute. Centrifuge the mixture and pour the supernatant fluid
through the same filter. Two more extractions may be made in the same
manner if it is desired to extract better than 97 per cent of the glycogen
present. Make up to the desired volume with 5 per cent TCA and mix
thoroughly.
The final volume should be a quantity that will contain 10
to 200 y of glycogen per ml.
1 ml. of the trichloroacetic acid filtrate is pipetted into a 15 ml. Pyrex
centrifuge tube. To obtain the most reliable results, duplicate samplesof
each unknown are analyzed. To each tube are added 5 volumes of 95 per
cent ethanol with careful blowing to effect thorough mixing. This should
be checked by noting the absence of an interface. The tubes are capped
with clean rubber stoppers and allowed to stand overnight at room temperature. (Alternatively, placing the tubes in a water bath at 3740 for 3
hours may be carried out.) After precipitation is complete, the tubes are
centrifuged at 3000 r.p.m. for 15 minutes. The clear liquid is gently decanted from the packed glycogen and the tubes are allowed to drain in an
inverted position for 10 minutes.
The glycogen is dissolved by addition of 2 ml. of distilled water, the water
being added in a manner that will wash down the sidesof the tube. If the
glycogen does not dissolve instantly, agitate the tube until solution is complete. A reagent blank is prepared by pipetting 2 ml. of water into a clean
centrifuge tube. A standard is prepared by pipetting 2 ml. of standard
glucosesolution, containing 0.1 mg. of glucose, into a similar tube.
At this point 10 ml. of anthrone reagent are delivered into each tube
with vigorous, but consistent, blowing. The stream of anthrone reagent
is directed into the center of the tube and should be sufficient to insure good
mixing. As each tube receives anthrone reagent, it is tightly capped with
an air condenser and placed in a cold tap water bath. The air condenser
is prepared by cutting off the small end of a size 0 rubber stopper and inserting a 4 inch length of glass tubing, 3 to 4 mm. in diameter. This
serves to prevent water from entering the tube from the water bath.
N.
V.
CARROLL,
R.
W.
LONGLEY,
AND
J.
,H.
ROE
585
After all tubes have reached the temperature of the cold water, they are
immersed in a boiling water bath to a depth a little above the level of the
liquid in the tubes for 15 minutes and then removed to a cold water bath
and cooled to room temperature.
The tubes and stoppers are wiped dry
and the contents of each tube are transferred
to a calorimeter tube and
read at 620 mp after adjusting the calorimeter with the reagent blank.
Care is taken to avoid introduction
of lint or contaminating
carbohydrate
into the anthrone reaction.
Calculation-The
calculation of glycogen is as follows:
DX
volume of extract
x 100 x 0.9
gm. of tissue
= mg. of glycogen per 100 gm. of tissue
Methods of Extraction-In
applying anthrone reagent to the determination of glycogen the main problem was the method of extraction.
Good,
Kramer, and Somogyi (2) concluded that the original Pfhiger procedure,
which involves boiling the tissue in KOH solution, alcohol precipitation,
acid hydrolysis of the precipitate, and copper reduction of the neutralized
hydrolysate, is the only adequate method for the determination of glycogen. These authors introduced improvements into the Pfltiger procedure
which speeded up the method considerably.
Lower glycogen values have been found with acid extracts of tissuesthan
with extracts obtained with boiling alkaline solution (2, 6, 11, 12). Such
findings have led to the suggestion that glycogen exists in tissues in an
easily extractable or free form and a difficult,ly extractable or
fixed form (6, 13).
We made a comparative study of the acid and alkali extraction methods
applied to liver and muscle. With liver the procedure was to divide the
organ, homogenize one half with 5 per cent TCA, and treat the other half
with boiling 30 per cent KOH for 15 minutes. In experiments on muscle
one gastrocnemius muscle was homogenized with 5 per cent TCA and the
other was boiled with 30 per cent KOH. Glycogen was precipitated by
adding 1.2 volumes of 95 per cent ethanol to the KOH solution and 5 volumes of et.hanol to the TCA extract. The 1.2 volumes of ethanol were
added because this concentration is employed in currently used methods
(2, 3, 5) and higher concentrations have been found to precipitate non-glycogen carbohydrate (2, 3). For the precipitation from TCA solution 5
D-u x 0.1 x
GLYCOGEN
586
IN
LIVER
AND
MUSCLE
Nutritional
state
of
Mg. glycogen
TCA
Fed
I
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
Fasted ........................
........................
I
........................
I
........................
........................
I
.........................
........................
I
........................
of Liver
2944
2980
4360
4330
4000
7162
3067
3950
4980
101
42
15
103
20
138
8
21
4440
4560
4260
6975
3233
4025
5044
210
118
82
652
147
987
107
307
I gg
x 100
Di%.XWX
36
80
230
260
187
166
75
64
109
76
67
549
127
849
99
286
99
98
95
94
102
95
98
98
48
35
17
16
13
15
8
7
Results of comparative studies upon muscle are shown in Table II. The
values found by TCA extraction ranged from 92 to 96 per cent of those
obtained by KOH extraction.
Bloom, Lewis, Schumpert, and Shen (6) made a study of the amounts
of glycogen obtained from liver and muscle by boiling with 30 per cent
KOH and by homogenizing with 10 per cent TCA. These authors found
that the amounts of TCA-extractable glycogen in the livers of fed rats,
rats fasted for 12 hours, and rats fasted for 24 hours were 84.9, 56.4, and
7.9 per cent, respectively, of the values obtained in each case by KOH
The per cent of TCA-extractable glycogen in liver observed
extraction.
by these authors varied directly with the glycogen level. Our findings
are in good agreement with the data of Bloom et al. However, we do not,
Comparison
N.
V.
CARROLL,
It.
W.
LONGLEY,
AND
J.
H.
587
ROE
TABLE
Comparison
of TCA
and
KOH
Methods
Mg. glycogen
II
of Extraction
of
gH
TCA
in Fed Rats
Experiment
No.
2
3
4
5
6
Muscle
433
493
470
651
678
567
KOH
453
538
507
693
717
609
x 100
Difference
20
45
37
42
39
42
96
92
93
94
94
93
shown in Table II, our recoveries of glycogen from rat muscle with cold
TCA, compared with those with KOH extraction, are as high as those obtained by Kemp and Kits van Heijningen with boiling TCA, a result probably due to the high speed and repeated homogenizations
we used.
Kits van Heijningen and Kemp (13) made a comparative study of the
free and %xed glycogen content of rat muscle.
They considered the
values obtained by extracting with cold TCA as <free glycogen and those
found by extracting the cold TCA residue wit,h boiling TCA as ((fixed
glycogen.
They observed a mean ratio of free to fixed glycogen of
1.74 f 0.26. The (free glycogen thus averaged 63 per cent of the total
glycogen.
Dialysis Experiments-To
obtain evidence that might explain the discrepancy between the data obtained by the two methods of tissue extraction, experiments were designed to show whether anthrone-sensitive
materials, other than glycogen, are present in the precipitates
obtained by
treatment of the two types of extracts with alcohol.
agree with their assumption that the value obtained by KOH extraction
represents the total and therefore the true glycogen content of the liver,
since, as will be shown later, the KOH extract contains non-glycogen carbohydrate.
Bloom et al. (6) found that the TCA-extractable
glycogen of muscle in
normal fed rats was 55 per cent of that obtained by KOH extraction, a
value that is considerably
lower than the TCA recoveries we obtained
(92 to 96 per cent).
Kemp and Kits van Heijningen (12) developed a method for the determination of glycogen in which the TCA homogenate of tissue is warmed at
100 for 15 minutes.
These authors found that extracts prepared with
boiling TCA gave values for rat muscle that ranged from 89 to 111 per
cent of those obtained by the Pfliiger alkali extrachion procedure.
As
588
GLYCOGEN
IN
LIVER
AND
MUSCLE
Livers were removed from anesthetized animals and either boiled with 30
per cent KOH or homogenized with 5 per cent TCA.
To the KOH and
TCA extracts were added 1.2 and 5 volumes of 95 per cent ethanol, respectively.
After centrifuging,
decanting, draining, and washing with 95 per
cent ethanol, the precipitates were taken up in distilled water, placed in
Visking
cellophane tubing, and dialyzed.
Anthrone-sensitive
material
could not be demonstrated in the 24 hour dialysate from the glycogen prepared by TCA extraction,
but, within an hour from the starting of the
dialysis with the glycogen isolated from the boiling KOH extract, material
responding to ant#hrone reagent was found in the dialysate.
The cello-
Showing
Dialyzable
Anthrone-Sensitive
from KOH
Digests
by 1.2 Volumes
Exp%:?=t
Mg. glycogen
Material
in Glycogen
Precipitated
of 95 Per Cent Ethanol
I
dialysis
After
dialysis
(2)
2060
4625
3535
2160
1486
77
81
100
2040
4480
3400
2040
1358
57
58
60
Difference
(1) -
20
145
135
120
128
20
23
40
(2)
1
3
4
6
9
26
28
40
phane used was shown to be impermeable to clinical dextran! with an average molecular weight of 70,000.
Further experiments were performed to determine t.he amount of dialyzable mat,erial in glycogen isolated from boiling KOH extracts.
The precipitate obtained in the usual KOH procedure, after washing with 95 per
cent ethanol, was taken up in 10 ml. of water.
5 ml. of this solution were
transferred
to a section of Visking cellophane tubing for dialysis and bhe
other 5 ml. were retained for a control.
Dialysis was carried out against
running water for 24 hours, after which the contents of the cellophane tubing were decanted into a volumetric
flask, the tubing was thoroughly
washed, and the solut,ion was made up to volume.
A carbohydrate
determination by the anthrone method was made on the dialyzed portion and
upon the control which was handled in the same manner except that dialysis was omitted.
The difference between the two values was considered
the amount of dialyzablc material.
The results are shown in Table III.
These data show that the apparent glycogen precipitated by alcohol from
III
TABLE
Data
N.
V.
CARROLL,
1~. \V.
LONGLEY,
AND
J.
589
1%. ROE
.55
. 25
FASTED
0-b
o--o
GLYCOGEN
GLYCOGEN
t BLOOD
----------o------a
---------I
2
I
3
TIME
1. Effect
DIGEST
+ KOH
+ KOH
1
I
FIG.
LIVER
.15r
-05
O--e
of heating
with
I
4
IN
30 per
I
5
I
6
-0
I
7
I
8
HOURS
cent
KOH
on rat
liver
glycogen
590
GLYCOGEN
IN
LIVEIL
.1ND
MUSCLE
tamed by boiling liver in 30 per cent KOH, after cooling but before the
insoluble residue had appeared, was determined.
After the residue had
separated and the mixture was centrifuged, determinations
of the glycogen
content of the supernatant
fluid and the insoluble residue were made.
The results are shown in Table IV. The amount of glycogen in the supernatant fluid plus that in the residue accounted completely for the quantity
of glycogen found in the original extract.
These experiments suggested
that the insoluble residue that forms in KOH extracts of tissue is not glycogen, since it is insoluble in KOH solution.
However, it may be argued
that the insoluble residue is glycogen separat,ing from a supersaturated
of KOH
TABLE
IV
Digests
of Liver
and
Muscle
apparentglycogen
Material
After
Original
extract
Supernatant
fluid
Liver.
I
Muscle.
I
20.4
27.4
19.0
39.7
123.9
19.2
567.5
717.0
452.7
507.0
centrifugation
I-
13.9
13.4
15.8
16.6
87.0
14.3
552.2
705.0
424.2
499.0
Residue
6.8
11.1
5.1
20.9
25.8
3.9
17.4
16.0
28.5
8.0
KOH solution.
That this was not the case was shown by further study of
the nature of the residue.
It was found that this residue is not soluble in water which proved that
it was not glycogen.
After washing this substance several times with
water, it was found to react characteristically
with anthrone reagent, and,
after hydrolysis,
to reduce alkaline copper solution.
These observations
showed that the insoluble residue that forms in KOH digests of liver is not.
glycogen and is a material that responds to both anthrone and copper reduction techniques.
Completeness of Extraction with TCA-It
is difficult to remove all of the
glycogen from tissue by grinding with TCA because of the requirement for
completely disrupting the cells and thoroughly dispersing the proteins that
are precipitated by TCA.
To study the recoveries by TCA extraction, rat livers were homogenized
Analysis
N.
V.
CARROLL,
R.
W.
LONGLEY,
AND
J.
H.
591
ROE
of Glycogen
Extraction
No.
Liver
by Repeated
Homogenizations
Acid with Servalb Omnimixer
at 14,000
I-
ICime homogenized
5iingle
with 6 Per
R.p.m.
Cent
Cumulative
min.
Residue
Residue
Residue
1
2
3
4
5
by KOH
I
2
3
4
5
by KOH
3
4
5
by KOH
?IIg.
3
1
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
2
3
1
I
1
2
3367.0
374.8
63.2
24.2
15.1
142.3
718.3
87.0
12.6
11.0
12.6
164.5
64.9
14.7
5.0
2.6
5.4
112.4
87.5
9.7
1.7
0.7
0.4
87.5
97.2
98.9
99.6
100.0
85.4
10.3
1.5
1.3
1.5
85.4
95.7
97.2
98.5
100.0
70.1
15.8
5.4
2.8
5.9
70.1
85.9
91.3
94.1
100.0
Trichloroacetic
from
592
GLYCOGEN
IN
LIVER
AND
MUSCLE
SUMMARY
of glycogen in
N.
V.
CARROLL,
R.
W.
LONGLEY,
AND
J.
I-1.
ROE
593
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Pfliiger,
E. F. W., Das Glykogen
und seine Beziehungen
zur Zuckerkrankheit,
Bonn, 2nd edition
(1905).
2. Good,
C. A., Kramer,
H., and Somogyi,
M., J. Biol.
C&m.,
103, 485 (1933).
3. Cori, G. T., J. Biol.
Chem., 96, 259 (1932).
4. Morris,
D. I,., Science,
107, 254 (1948).
5. Seifter,
S., Dayton,
S., Novic,
B., and Muntwyler,
E., Arch.
Biochem.,
25, 191
(1950).
6. Bloom,
W. L., Lewis,
G. T., Schumpert,
M. Z., and Shen, T.-M.,
J. BioZ. Chem.,
188, 631 (1951).
7. Hanson,
It. W., Schwartz,
H. S., andBarker,
S. B., Abstracts,
American
Chemical
Society,
128th
meeting,
Minneapolis,
73C (1955).
8. Carroll,
N. V., Longley,
R. W., and Roe, J. H., Abstracts,
American
Chemical
Society,
127th meeting,
Cincinnati,
23C (1955).
9. Roe, J. H., J. Biol. Chem., 208, 889 (1954).
10. Roe, J. H., J. Biol. Chem., 212, 335 (1955).
11. Willstiitter,
R., and Rohdewald,
M., 2. physiol. Chem., 226, 103 (1934).
12. Kemp,
A., and Kits van Heijningen,
A. J. M., Biochem.
J., 66, 646 (1954).
13. Kits van Heijningen,
A. J. M., and Kemp,
A., Biochem.
J., 59, 487 (1955).
Alerts:
When this article is cited
When a correction for this article is posted
Click here to choose from all of JBC's e-mail
alerts
This article cites 0 references, 0 of which can be
accessed free at
http://www.jbc.org/content/220/2/583.citation.full.h
tml#ref-list-1