Gluconeogenesis in teleost fishes

Abstract

The literature on the substrates, enzymes, pathway, regulation, and physiological function of gluconeogenesis in teleost fishes is reviewed. The information presently available reveals considerable gaps in our knowledge, as well as greater diversity in enyzme (phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase) compartmentation, substrate preference, and hormonal regulation than perhaps previously appreciated. The need for in-depth studies using a variety of teleost species and an integrated approach at different levels of organization (i.e., isolated enzyme to whole organism) is suggested. These analyses are required, first, to address fundamental biochemical problems traditionally studied almost exclusively with rats, second, to allow mechanistic explanations at the biochemical level for events occurring in whole organisms, and third, to provide insights into gluconeogenesis and its regulation in the context of short-term and evolutionary adaptation. It is suggested that the third task can be achieved only through the study of "real animals" in "real environments".