The Molecular Basis for Variation in Heart Glucose Metabolism

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9419781 Crawford Metabolism in the heart utilizes glucose as a source of energy. Glucose metabolism is affected by the concentrations of the enzymes that break down this nutrient (i.e., enzymes in the glycolytic pathway). Dr. Crawford intends to measure the rate of glucose utilization, the variation in enzyme concentration for all enzymes in the glycolytic pathway and determine the molecular mechanisms responsible for the change in enzyme concentration. To explore these processes, the teleost fish (Fundulus heteroclitus), a cold-blooded organism that lives in different thermal environments, will be utilized. Populations of this species should modify heart metabolism to adapt to these different environments. These modifications should reveal mechanisms that regulate glucose use. He intends to empirically verify these results by altering the concentration of one or more glycolytic enzymes in cardiac muscle cells and quantify the effect on glucose utilization. The data from this approach will contribute to knowing the role of gene expression in metabolic processes as well as provide empirical evidence addressing questions concerning metabolic control. ***