Culture kinetics of glycolytic enzyme induction, glucose utilization, and thymidine incorporation of extended-exposure phytohemagglutinin-stimulated human lymphocytes.

Glycolytic enzyme activity is significantly (P less than 0.05) induced between 24 and 48 hours of incubation in phytohemagglutinin-stimulated human lymphocytes. Nonstimulated cultured cells do not show this induction although these cells have an approximate daily doubling of thymidine incorporation. Maximal glycolytic enzyme activity is reached between 96 and 120 hours of culture in stimulated cells (3.5-fold increase) and maintained until at least 168 hours. There is no significant induction of the hexosemonophosphate shunt or the TCA cycle during seven-day transformation. Induction of glucose utilization becomes significantly (P less than 0.05) greater in stimulated as compared to nonstimulated cultures between 48 and 72 hours of culture and is significantly elevated for at least an additional 96 hours. There is a 17% increase in total protein in the stimulated cells after 24 hours of culture and higher levels of protein content are then maintained over the control. Thymidine incorporation is significantly greater in stimulated cells from 24-144 hours of culture but is not significantly different from the nonstimulated cells at 168 hours (P = 0.98) although glycolytic enzyme activity remains elevated in the stimulated cells. There is a greater enzyme induction of the latter phase of glycolysis during transformation and this phenomenon continues in extended cultures. Increases in glycolytic enzyme activity during mitogenesis appear to be an intrinsic phenomenon independent of cell proliferation and glucose transport. The mitogen-induced increase in the activity of the glycolytic enzymes accompanies blastogenesis and the sustained elevated activity of these enzymes to be related to the high metabolic rate of transformed cells.