DEVELOPMENTAL EXPRESSION OF HEXOKINASE-1 IN THE RAT

Hexokinase 1 (HK1) activity varies in a developmental stage- and tissue-specific manner and is a key step in glucose homeostasis and energy metabolism. We conducted studies to determine if HK1 expression is regulated at the transcriptional level. Expression of HK1 was examined in selected pre- and postnatal rat tissues using Northern blot analyses and RNAase protection assays. We found that brain and kidney exhibited significantly higher expression than heart, lung, spleen and skeletal muscle. Brain HK1 expression was constant prenatally, peaked at 7 days of age and reached a constant level after weaning. In kidney, HK1 expression was essentially constant or perhaps gradually decreased after weaning. HK1 transcription in heart, skeletal muscle and liver was higher during fetal stages than postnatally. Lung expression was essentially constant except in the adult. HK1 mRNA levels were compared to phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) mRNA. PGK steady state mRNA levels were relatively constant in all tissues and developmental stages, except in skeletal muscle where there was a postnatal rise. The developmental profiles of HK1 and PGK mRNA expression are not consistent with enzyme activity measurements in all the tissues examined. We conclude that regulation of HK1 expression involves both transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms that are tissue and stage specific.