Interleukin 1β Regulates Glycogen Metabolism in Primary Cultured Rat Hepatocytes

Abstract We examined the effects of human recombinant IL-1β on glycogen metabolism in cultured rat hepatocytes. When IL-1β was present at 8 nM in the culture medium for 15 hours prior to cell harvest, glycogen storage in hepatocytes was lowered approximately by 60% of the control. The enzymatic activity of glycogen synthase I in the IL-1β-treated cells (8 nM) was decreased by 70% ; however, the activity ratio of the synthases I to D was not different from the untreated. In addition, the activity of glycogen phosphorylase a, the active form of phosphorylase involved in glycogenolysis, was increased by approximately 27 % while the total phosphorylase activity was not changed. The data demonstrate for the first time that IL-1β lowers the intracellular glycogen contents in primary cultured rat hepatocytes.