Down-regulation in the Expression of the Rat-liver Serine Dehydratase during Chronic Metabolic Acidosis

Blood pH controls the activity of important regulatory enzymes in the metabolism. Serine dehydratase (SerDH) transforms L-serine into pyruvate and ammonium and is involved in the regulation of gluconeogenesis from serine in rat liver. In this work, we investigate the effect of chronic metabolic acidosis on the kinetics, specific protein level, tissue location and mRNA levels of rat liver SerDH. Experimental acidosis was induced in rats by ingestion of 0.28 M ammonium chloride solution for 10 days. Acidosis significantly (P<0.05) decreased SerDH activity at all substrate concentrations assayed. Moreover, the Vmax value was 38.50 ± 3.51 (n=7) mU/mg of mitochondrial protein in the acidotic rats and 92.49 ± 6.79 (n=7) mU/mg in the control rats. Western-blot analysis revealed a significant reduction (14%) in the level of rat-liver SerDH protein content during acidosis. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that SerDH location did not change in response to chronic metabolic acidosis and confirmed previous results on SerDH protein levels. Moreover, the SerDH mRNA level, estimated by reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction, was also significantly 33.8% lower than in control. These results suggest that during experimental acidosis a specific repression of rat-liver SerDH gene transcription could result, lowering the amount and activity of this enzyme. The changes found in SerDH expression are part of an overall metabolic response of liver to maintain acid-base homeostasis during acidosis.