Carbohydrate metabolism during and after exercise in rats: studies with radioglucose

Carbohydrate metabolism in exercise, including regulation of glucose production, was studied by isotope-dilution methods, and these were evaluated. Chronically catheterized rats were examined before, during, and after 45 min of running at either low (LIE) or moderate (MIE) intensity. Glucose production (Ra) and disappearance (Rd), as well as muscular glycogen breakdown (Gly), were estimated by primed constant infusions of [3-3H]- and [U-14 C]glucose, and pyruvate oxidation was estimated by sampling of expired 14CO2. During exercise, Ra increased faster than Rd and was, as were steady-state glucose concentration (G) and Gly, directly related to exercise intensity. During recovery Ra and G decreased rapidly, but after MIE, G showed a rebound increase. 14C estimates and chemical measurements sometimes disagreed. Methodological evaluation showed marked incorporation of label in glycogen, lipid, and protein at rest and mobilization of label during exercise. 14CO2 recovery in expired air ranged from only 50% at rest to 77% during MIE. In conclusion, during exercise, mobilization of hepatic glycogen is a primary event and not secondary to increased muscular demand. During and after exercise, plasma glycogen is not precisely controlled at euglycemic levels. Isotope methods may be used to study carbohydrate metabolism in exercising rats, but the results (especially 14C data) should be interpreted with caution.     

Effect of liver glycogen content on glucose production in running rats

The influence of supranormal compared with normal hepatic glycogen levels on hepatic glucose production (Ra) during exercise was investigated in chronically catheterized rats. Supranormal hepatic glycogen levels were obtained by a 24-h fast-24-h refeeding regimen. During treadmill running for 35 min at a speed of 21 m/min, Ra and plasma glucose increased more (P less than 0.05) and liver glucogen breakdown was larger in fasted-refed compared with control rats, although the stimuli for Ra were higher in control rats, the plasma concentrations of insulin and glucose being lower (P less than 0.05) in control compared with fasted-refed rats. Also, plasma concentrations of glucagon and both catecholamines tended to be higher and muscle glycogenolysis lower in control compared with fasted-refed rats. Lipid metabolism was similar in the two groups. The results indicate that hepatic glycogenolysis during exercise is directly related to hepatic glycogen content. The smaller endocrine glycogenolytic signal in face of higher plasma glucose concentrations in fasted-refed compared with control rats is indicative of metabolic feedback control of glucose mobilization during exercise. However, the higher exercise-induced increase in Ra, plasma glucose, and liver glycogen breakdown in fasted-refed compared with control rats indicates that metabolic feedback mechanisms are not able to accurately match Ra to the metabolic needs of working muscles.     

Gluconeogenic pathway in liver and muscle glycogen synthesis after exercise

To determine whether prior exercise affects the pathways of liver and muscle glycogen synthesis, rested and postexercised rats fasted for 24 h were infused with glucose (200 mumol.min-1.kg-1 iv) containing [6-3H]glucose. Hyperglycemia was exaggerated in postexercised rats, but blood lactate levels were lower than in nonexercised rats. The percent of hepatic glycogen synthesized from the indirect pathway (via gluconeogenesis) did not differ between exercised (39%) and nonexercised (36%) rats. In red muscle, glycogen was synthesized entirely by the direct pathway (uptake and phosphorylation of plasma glucose) in both groups. However, only approximately 50% of glycogen was formed via the direct pathway in white muscle of exercised and nonexercised rats. Therefore prior exercise did not alter the pathways of tissue glycogen synthesis. To further study the incorporation of gluconeogenic precursors into muscle glycogen, exercised rats were infused with either saline, lactate (100 mumol.min-1.kg-1), or glucose (200 mumol.min-1.kg-1), containing [6-3H]glucose and [14C(U)]lactate. Plasma glucose was elevated one- to twofold and three- to fourfold by lactate and glucose infusion, respectively. Plasma lactate levels were elevated by about threefold during both glucose and lactate infusion. Glycogen was partially synthesized via an indirect pathway in white muscle and liver of glucose- or lactate-infused rats but not in saline-infused animals. Thus participation of an indirect pathway in white skeletal muscle glycogen synthesis required prolonged elevation of plasma lactate levels produced by nutritive support.     

Glucose metabolism in the developing rat. Studies in vivo

1. The specific radioactivity of plasma d-glucose and the incorporation of (14)C into plasma l-lactate, liver glycogen and skeletal-muscle glycogen was measured as a function of time after the intraperitoneal injection of d-[6-(14)C]glucose and d-[6-(3)H]glucose into newborn, 2-, 10- and 30-day-old rats. 2. The log of the specific radioactivity of both plasma d-[6-(14)C]- and d-[6-(3)H]-glucose of the 2-, 10- and 30-day-old rats decreased linearly with time for at least 60min after injection of labelled glucose. The specific radioactivity of both plasma d-[6-(14)C]- and d-[6-(3)H]-glucose of the newborn rat remained constant for at least 75min after injection. 3. The glucose turnover rate of the 30-day-old rat was significantly greater than (approximately twice) that of the 2- and 10-day-old rats. The relative size of both the glucose pool and the glucose space decreased with age. Less than 10% of the glucose utilized in the 2-, 10- and 30-day-old rats was recycled via the Cori cycle. 4. The results are discussed in relationship to the availability of dietary glucose and other factors that may influence glucose metabolism in the developing rat.     

Short-term insulin infused through the portal vein enhances liver gluconeogenesis and glycogenesis from [3-14C]pyruvate in the starved rat

Insulin infusion through the portal vein immediately after a pulse of [3-14C]pyruvate in 24 hr starved rats enhanced the appearance of [14C]glucose at 2, 5 and 10 min and glucose specific activity at 1, 2 and 20 min in blood collected from the cava vein at the level of the suprahepatic veins. Insulin infusion for 5 min decreased liver pyruvate concentration and enhanced both liver and plasma lactate/pyruvate ratio, and it decreased the plasma concentration of all amino acids. When insulin was infused together with glucose, [14C]glucose levels and glucose specific activity decreased in blood but there was a marked increase in liver [14C]glycogen, glycogen specific activity and glycogen concentration, and an increase in liver lactate/pyruvate ratio. The effect of insulin plus glucose infusion on plasma amino acids concentration was smaller than that found with insulin alone. It is proposed that insulin effect enhancing liver gluconeogenesis is secondary to its effect either enhancing liver glycolysis which modifies the liver's cytoplasmic oxidoreduction state to its more reduced form, increasing liver amino acids consumption or both. In the presence of glucose, products of gluconeogenesis enhanced by insulin are diverted into glycogen synthesis rather than circulating glucose. This together with results of the preceding paper (Soley et al., 1985), indicates that glucose enhances liver glycogen synthesis from C3 units in the starved rat, the process being further enhanced in the presence of insulin.     

Glucose metabolism in the newborn rat. Temporal studies in vivo

1. The concentrations of plasma d-glucose, l-lactate, free fatty acids and ketone bodies and of liver glycogen were measured in caesarian-delivered newborn rats at time-intervals up to 4h after delivery. Glucose and lactate concentrations decreased markedly during the first hours after delivery, but there was a delay of 60-90min before significant glycogen mobilization occurred. 2. The specific radioactivity of plasma d-glucose was measured as a function of time for up to 75min after the intraperitoneal injection of d-[6-(14)C]glucose and d-[6-(3)H]glucose into caesarian-delivered rats at 0, 1 and 2h after delivery. Calculations revealed that there was an appreciable rate of glucose formation at all ages studied, but immediately after delivery this was exceeded by the rate of glucose utilization. Around 2h post partum the rate of glucose utilization decreased dramatically and this coincided with a reversal of the immediately postnatal hypoglycaemia. 3. The specific radioactivity of plasma l-lactate and the incorporation of (14)C into plasma d-glucose and liver glycogen was measured as a function of time after the intraperitoneal injection of l-[U-(14)C]lactate into rats immediately after delivery. The logarithm of the specific radioactivity of plasma l-[U-(14)C]lactate decreased linearly with time for at least 60min after injection and the calculated rate of lactate utilization exceeded the rate of lactate formation. 4. (14)C incorporation into plasma d-glucose was maximal from 30-60min after injection of l-[U-(14)C]lactate and the amount incorporated at 60min was 23% of that present in plasma lactate. Although (14)C was also incorporated into liver glycogen the amount was always less than 3% of that present in plasma glucose. 5. The results are discussed in relationship to the adaptation of the newly born rat to the extra-uterine environment and the possible involvement of gluconeogenesis at this time before feeding is established.     

Quantitative estimation of the pathways followed in the conversion to glycogen of glucose administered to the fasted rat

When [6-3H,6-14C]glucose was given in glucose loads to fasted rats, the average 3H/14C ratios in the glycogens deposited in their livers, relative to that in the glucoses administered, were 0.85 and 0.88. When [3-3H,3-14C]lactate was given in trace quantity along with unlabeled glucose loads, the average 3H/14C ratio in the glycogens deposited was 0.08. This indicates that a major fraction of the carbons of the glucose loads was converted to liver glycogen without first being converted to lactate. When [3-3H,6-14C]glucose was given in glucose loads, the 3H/14C ratios in the glycogens deposited averaged 0.44. This indicates that a significant amount of H bound to carbon 3, but not carbon 6, of glucose is removed within liver in the conversion of the carbons of the glucose to glycogen. This can occur in the pentose cycle and by cycling of glucose-6-P via triose phosphates: glucose----glucose-6-P----triose phosphates----glucose-6-P----glycogen. The contributions of these pathways were estimated by giving glucose loads labeled with [1-14C]glucose, [2-14C]glucose, [5-14C]glucose, and [6-14C]glucose and degrading the glucoses obtained by hydrolyzing the glycogens that deposited. Only a few per cent of the glucose carbons deposited in glycogen were deposited in liver via glucose-6-P conversion to triose phosphates. Between 4 and 9% of the glucose utilized by the liver was utilized in the pentose cycle. While these are relatively small percentages, since three NADP3H molecules are formed from each molecule of [3-3H]glucose-6-P utilized in the cycle, a major portion of the difference between the ratios obtained with [3-3H]glucose and with [6-3H]glucose is attributable to metabolism in the pentose cycle. Because 3H of [3-3H]glucose is extensively removed during the conversion of the glucose to glycogen within liver the extent of incorporation of the 3H into liver glycogen is not the measure of glucose's metabolism in other tissues before its carbons are deposited in liver glycogen. The distributions of 14C from the 14C-labeled glucoses into the carbons of the liver glycogens mean that at a minimum about 30% of the carbons of the glucose deposited in the glycogen were first converted to lactate or its metabolic equivalent.     

Comparative utilization of glycerol and alanine as liver gluconeogenic substrates in the fed late pregnant rat

The appearance of plasma [14C]glucose in the inferior cava vein after a pulse of 0.2 mmol of [U-14C]L-alanine or [U-14C]glycerol/200 g body wt given through the portal vein was studied in fed 21 day pregnant rats and virgin controls under pentobarbital anesthesia. In both groups values were much higher when [U-14C]glycerol was the administered tracer than when [U-14C]L-alanine, and they were augmented in pregnant versus virgin animals at 1 min when receiving [U-14C]glycerol and at 2 min when receiving [U-14C]L-alanine. 20 min after the tracers rats receiving [U-14C]glycerol showed much higher liver [14C]glycogen and [14C]glyceride glycerol than those receiving [U-14C]L-alanine. Radioactivity present in liver as [14C]glyceride glycerol was greater in pregnant than in virgin rats receiving [U-14C]glycerol whereas radioactivity corresponding to [14C]fatty acids was lower in the former group receiving either tracer. At 20 min after maternal treatments fetuses showed lower plasma [14C]glycerol than [14C]alanine values but plasma [14C]glucose and liver [14C]glycogen values were much greater in fetuses from mothers receiving [U-14C]glycerol than [U-14C]L-amine. Besides showing the higher gluconeogenic efficiency in pregnant than in virgin rats, results indicate that at late gestation glycerol is used as a preferential substrate for both glucose and glyceride glycerol synthesis in liver.     

Pathways of glycogen synthesis from glucose during the glycogenic response to insulin in cultured foetal hepatocytes.

The pathways of glycogen synthesis from glucose were studied using double-isotope procedures in 18-day cultured foetal-rat hepatocytes in which glycogenesis is strongly stimulated by insulin. When the medium containing 4 mM-glucose was supplemented with [2-3H,U-14C]glucose or [3-3H,U-14C]glucose, the ratios of 3H/14C in glycogen relative to that in glucose were 0.23 +/- 0.04 (n = 6) and 0.63 +/- 0.09 (n = 8) respectively after 2 h. This indicates that more than 75% of glucose was first metabolized to fructose 6-phosphate, whereas 40% reached the step of the triose phosphates prior to incorporation into glycogen. The stimulatory effect of 10 nM-insulin on glycogenesis (4-fold) was accompanied by a significant increase in the (3H/14C in glycogen)/(3H/14C in glucose) ratio with 3H in the C-2 position (0.29 +/- 0.05, n = 6, P less than 0.001) or in the C-3 position (0.68 +/- 0.09, n = 8, P less than 0.01) of glucose, whereas the effect of a 12 mM-glucose load (3.5-fold) did not alter these ratios. Fructose (4 mM) displaced [U-14C]glucose during labelling of glycogen in the presence and absence of insulin by 50 and 20% respectively, and produced under both conditions a similar increase (45%) in the (3H/14C in glycogen)/(3H/14C in glucose) ratio when 3H was in the C-2 position. 3-Mercaptopicolinate (1 mM), an inhibitor of gluconeogenesis from lactate/pyruvate, further decreased the already poor labelling of glycogen from [U-14C]alanine, whereas it increased both glycogen content and incorporation of label from [U-14C]serine and [U-14C]glucose with no effect on the relative 3H/14C ratios in glycogen and glucose with 3H in the C-3 position of glucose. These results indicate that an alternative pathway in addition to direct glucose incorporation is involved in glycogen synthesis in cultured foetal hepatocytes, but that insulin preferentially favours the classical direct route. The alternative foetal pathway does not require gluconeogenesis from pyruvate-derived metabolites, contrary to the situation in the adult liver.     

Metabolism of glucose in hyper- and hypo-thyroid rats in vivo. Glucose-turnover values and futile-cycle activities obtained with 14C- and 3H-labelled glucose.

1. A trace amount of glucose labelled with 14C uniformly and with 3H at position 2, 3 or 6 was injected intravenously into starved rats to measure the turnover rate of blood glucose. 2. Reliable estimates were made based on the semilogarithmic plot of specific radioactivity of the glucose contained in whole blood samples taken from the tail vein. 3. Glucose turned over more rapidly in hyperthyroid and more slowly in hypothyroid than in euthyroid rats. The percentage contribution of glucose recycling (determined from the difference in replacement rates between [U-14C]glucose and [6-3H]glucose) to the glucose utilization increased on induction of hyperthyroidism. 4. Futile cycles between glucose and glucose 6-phosphate (determined from the difference between replacement rates of [2-3H]glucose and [6-3H]glucose) were activated and inactivated by induction of hyperthyroid and hypothyroid states respectively. 5. The hepatic content of glycogen was much lower in hyper- and hypo-thyroid than in euthyroid rats. The enhanced glucose production in hyperthyroid rats resulted from not only activationof hepatic gluconeogenesis but also diversion of the final product of gluconeogenesis from liver glycogen to blood glucose. In hypothyroidism, the inhibition of gluconeogensis led to suppression of both glucose production and glycogenesis in the liver.     

Gluconeogenesis from lactate in the developing rat. Studies in vivo

1. The specific radioactivity of plasma l-lactate and the incorporation of (14)C into plasma d-glucose, liver glycogen and skeletal-muscle glycogen were measured as a function of time after the intraperitoneal injection of l-[U-(14)C]lactate into 2-, 10- and 30-day-old rats. 2. Between 15 and 60min after the injection of the l-[U-(14)C]lactate, the specific radioactivity of plasma lactate decreased with a half-life of 20-33min in animals at all three ages. 3. At all times after injection examined, the specific radioactivity of plasma glucose of the 2- and 10-day-old rats was at least fourfold greater than that of the 30-day-old rats. 4. Although (14)C was incorporated into liver glycogen the amount incorporated was always less than 5% of that present in plasma glucose. 5. The results are discussed with reference to the factors that may influence the rate of incorporation of (14)C into plasma glucose, and it is concluded that the rate of gluconeogenesis in the 2- and 10-day-old suckling rat is at least twice that of the weaned 30-day-old animal.     

Influence of fasting on carbohydrate and fat metabolism during rest and exercise in men

Metabolic effects of an overnight fast (postabsorptive state, PA) or a 3.5-day fast (fasted state, F) were compared in eight healthy young men at rest and during exercise to exhaustion at 45% maximum O2 uptake. Glucose rate of appearance (Ra) and disappearance (Rd) were calculated from plasma glucose enrichment during a primed, continuous infusion of [6,6-2H]glucose. Serum substrates and insulin levels were measured and glycogen content of the vastus lateralis was determined in biopsies taken before and after exercise. At rest, whole-body glucose flux (determined by the deuterated tracer) and carbohydrate oxidation (determined from respiratory exchange ratio) were lower in F than PA, but muscle glycogen levels were similar. During exercise, glucose flux, whole-body carbohydrate oxidation, and the rate of muscle glycogen utilization were significantly lower during the fast. In the PA state, glucose Ra and Rd increased together throughout exercise. However, in the F state Ra exceeded Rd during the 1st h of exercise, causing an increase in plasma glucose to levels similar to those of the PA state. The increase in glucose flux was markedly less throughout F exercise. Lower carbohydrate utilization in the F state was accompanied by higher circulating fatty acids and ketone bodies, lower plasma insulin levels, and the maintenance of physical performance reflected by similar time to exhaustion.     

Lipogenesis and gluconeogenesis in the liver of irradiated rats

The incorporation of 14C from [U-14C] glucose and 3H from 3H2O into the total lipids fatty acids and glycogen of the liver incorporation of 3H from 3H2O into blood glucose was studied in rats totally irradiated in a dose of 14.4 Gy. It is shown that in the liver of irradiated rats glucose is accumulated in considerable amounts as glycogen but it is slightly used as a source of carbon for lipid synthesis. The study of 3H incorporation shows that irradiation stimulates glucogenesis, glyconeogenesis and lipogenesis in the liver.     

Glucose feeding and exercise in trained rats: mechanisms for glycogen sparing

This investigation studied the effect of an oral glucose feeding on glycogen sparing during exercise in non-glycogen-depleted and glycogen-depleted endurance-trained rats. The non-glycogen-depleted rats received via a stomach tube 2 ml of a 20% glucose solution labeled with [U-14C]glucose just prior to exercise (1 h at 25 m/min). Another group of rats ran for 40 min at higher intensity to deplete glycogen stores, after which they received the same glucose feeding and continued running for 1 h at 25 m/min. The initial 40-min run depleted glycogen in heart, skeletal muscle, and liver. In the non-glycogen-depleted rats the glucose feeding spared glycogen in the liver, primarily from the oxidation of blood-borne glucose in muscle. In the glycogen-depleted rats, muscle glycogen was repleted after the feeding, but sources other than the administered glucose also contributed to glycogen synthesis. The results suggest that glycogen depletion rather than the glucose feeding per se stimulates glycogen resynthesis in muscle during exercise in endurance-trained rats.     

Glycogen metabolism in the liver of the neonatal gsd/gsd and control (GSD/GSD) rat.

1. The metabolism of hepatic glycogen, labelled with [6-3H]glucose at day 19.5 of gestation and with 14C from [U-14C]galactose at delivery, was followed for 10 h in food-deprived gsd/gsd and control (GSD/GSD) neonatal rats. 2. In the affected pups glycogen was maintained at 12% (w/w) and there was no loss of incorporated radioactivity. 3. The 3H and 14C in glycogen from the controls were both decreased by 80%, but 14C was removed at 0--5 h and [6-3H]glucose at 5--10 h. 4. Blood glucose concentrations in the unaffected neonatal rats fell from 5.3 mM at 20 min to 1.7 mM after 10 h. In the gsd/gsd pups blood glucose concentration was decreased from 2 mM at birth to 0.3 mM at 2.5 h: it was maintained at 0.8 mM between 5 and 10 h. 5. In neonatal rats that had been dead for 10 h, hepatic glycogen was decreased by 34% in the controls and by 22% in the gsd/gsd pups. These results demonstrate that liver from the affected rats contains glycogenolytic activity, but that it is not expressed in living tissue.     

Effects of training on glucose metabolism of gluconeogenesis-inhibited short-term-fasted rats

To evaluate the effects of endurance training on gluconeogenesis and blood glucose homeostasis, trained as well as untrained short-term-fasted rats were injected with mercaptopicolinic acid (MPA), a gluconeogenic inhibitor, or the injection vehicle. Glucose kinetics were assessed by primed-continuous venous infusion of [U-14C]- and [6-3H]glucose at rest and during submaximal exercise at 13.4 m/min on level grade. Arterial blood was sampled for the determination of blood glucose and lactate concentrations and specific activities. In resting untrained sham-injected rats, blood glucose and lactate were 7.6 +/- 0.2 and 1.3 +/- 0.1 mM, respectively; glucose rate of appearance (Ra) was 71.1 +/- 12.1 mumol.kg-1.min-1. MPA treatment lowered blood glucose, raised lactate, and decreased glucose Ra. Trained animals had significantly higher glucose Ra at rest and during exercise. At rest, trained MPA-treated rats had lower blood glucose, higher blood lactate, and similar glucose Ra and disappearance rates (Rd) than trained sham-injected animals. Exercising sham-injected untrained animals had increased blood glucose and glucose Ra compared with rest. Exercising trained sham-injected rats had increased blood glucose and glucose Ra and Rd but no change in blood lactate compared with untrained sham-injected animals. In the trained animals during exercise, MPA treatment increased blood lactate and decreased blood glucose and glucose Ra and Rd. There was no measurable glucose recycling in trained or untrained MPA-treated animals either at rest or during submaximal exercise. There was no difference in running time to exhaustion between trained and untrained MPA-treated rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Glucose infused through the portal vein enhances liver gluconeogenesis and glycogenesis from [3-14C]pyruvate in the starved rat

After a pulse of [3-14C]pyruvate, 24 hr starved rats were infused through the portal vein with two different doses of glucose (7.8 or 20.8 mg/min) or the medium, and blood was collected from the inferior cava vein at the level of the suprahepatic veins. The highest dose of glucose enhanced the appearance of [14C]glucose in blood from the 2nd to the 20th min after tracer delivery. It also enhanced production of [14C]glycogen and concentration of glycogen in the liver after 5 and 20 min. At 20 min of glucose infusion the appearance of [14C]glyceride glycerol in liver as well as liver lactate concentration and lactate/pyruvate ratio were increased. The low dose of glucose used enhanced liver values of [14C]glycogen, [14C]glycogen specific activity and glycogen concentration. Our results support the hypothesis that in the starved rat glucose is converted into C3 units prior to being deposited as liver glycogen and based on the liver zonation model (Jungermann et al., 1983) it is proposed that glucose stimulated gluconeogenesis by shifting the liver to the cytosolic redox state as a secondary consequence of increased glycolytic activity.     

Defect in glucokinase translocation in Zucker diabetic fatty rats

Hepatic glucose fluxes and intracellular movement of glucokinase (GK) in response to increased plasma glucose and insulin were examined in 10-wk-old, 6-h-fasted, conscious Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats and lean littermates. Under basal conditions, plasma glucose (mmol/l) and glucose turnover rate (GTR; micromol.kg(-1).min(-1)) were slightly higher in ZDF (8.4 +/- 0.3 and 53 +/- 7, respectively) than in lean rats (6.2 +/- 0.2 and 45 +/- 4, respectively), whereas plasma insulin (pmol/l) was higher in ZDF (1,800 +/- 350) than in lean rats (150 +/- 14). The ratio of hepatic uridine 5'-diphosphate-glucose 3H specific activity to plasma glucose 3H specific activity ([3H]UDP-G/[3H]G; %), total hepatic glucose output (micromol.kg(-1).min(-1)), and hepatic glucose cycling (micromol.kg(-1).min(-1)) were higher in ZDF (35 +/- 5, 87 +/- 16, and 33 +/- 10, respectively) compared with lean rats (18 +/- 3, 56 +/- 6, and 11 +/- 2, respectively). [3H]glucose incorporation into glycogen (micromol glucose/g liver) was similar in lean (1.0 +/- 0.7) and ZDF (1.6 +/- 0.8) rats. GK was predominantly located in the nucleus in both rats. With elevated plasma glucose and insulin, GTR (micromol.kg(-1).min(-1)), [3H]UDP-G/[3H]G (%), and [3H]glucose incorporation into glycogen (micromol glucose/g liver) were markedly higher in lean (191 +/- 22, 62 +/- 3, and 5.0 +/- 1.4, respectively) but similar in ZDF rats (100 +/- 6, 37 +/- 3, and 1.4 +/- 0.4, respectively) compared with basal conditions. GK translocation from the nucleus to the cytoplasm occurred in lean but not in ZDF rats. The unresponsiveness of hepatic glucose flux to the rise in plasma glucose and insulin seen in prediabetic ZDF rats was associated with impaired GK translocation.     

Role of liver nerves and adrenal medulla in glucose turnover of running rats

Sympathetic control of glucose turnover was studied in rats running 35 min at 21 m X min-1 on the level. The rats were surgically liver denervated, adrenodemedullated, or sham operated. Glucose turnover was measured by primed constant infusion of [3-3H]glucose. At rest, the three groups had identical turnover rates and concentrations of glucose in plasma. During running, glucose production always rose rapidly to steady levels. The increase was not influenced by liver denervation but was halved by adrenodemedullation. Similarly, hepatic glycogen depletion was identical in denervated and control rats but reduced after adrenodemedullation. Early in exercise, glucose uptake rose identically in all groups and, in adrenodemedullated rats, matched glucose production. Accordingly, plasma glucose concentration increased in liver-denervated and control rats but was constant in adrenodemedullated rats. Compensatory changes in hormone or substrate levels explaining the lack of effect of liver denervation were not found. In rats with intact adrenals, the plasma epinephrine concentration was increased after 2.5 min of running. It is concluded that, in rats carrying out exercise of moderate intensity and duration, hepatic glycogenolysis and glucose production are not influenced by the autonomic liver nerves but are enhanced by circulating epinephrine.     

Glycogen metabolism as detected by in vivo and in vitro 13C-NMR spectroscopy using [1,2-13C2]glucose as substrate

The metabolism of glucose to glycogen in the liver of fasted and well-fed rats was investigated with 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy using [1,2-(13)C2]glucose as the main substrate. The unique spectroscopic feature of this molecule is the 13C-13C homonuclear coupling leading to characteristic doublets for the C-1 and C-2 resonances of glucose and its breakdown products as long as the two 13C nuclei remain bonded together. The doublet resonances of [1,2-(13)C2]glucose thus provide an ideal marker to follow the fate of this exogenous substrate through the metabolic pathways. [1,2-(13)C2]Glucose was injected intraperitoneally into anesthetized rats and the in vivo 13C-NMR measurements of the intact animals revealed the transformation of the injected glucose into liver glycogen. Glycogen was extracted from the liver and high resolution 13C-NMR spectra were obtained before and after hydrolysis of glycogen. Intact [1,2-13C2]glucose molecules give rise to doublet resonances, natural abundance [13C]glucose molecules produce singlet resonances. From an analysis of the doublet-to-singlet intensities the following conclusions were derived. (i) In fasted rats virtually 100% of the glycosyl units in glycogen were 13C-NMR visible. In contrast, the 13C-NMR visibility of glycogen decreased to 30-40% in well-fed rats. (ii) In fed rats a minimum of 67 +/- 7% of the exogenous [1,2-(13)C2]glucose was incorporated into the liver glycogen via the direct pathway. No contribution of the indirect pathway could be detected. (iii) In fasted rats externally supplied glucose appeared to be consumed in different metabolic processes and less [1,2-(13)C2]glucose was found to be incorporated into glycogen (13 +/- 1%). However, the observation of [5,6-(13)C2]glucose in liver glycogen provided evidence for the operation of the so-called indirect pathway of glycogen synthesis. The activity of the indirect pathway was at least 9% but not more than 30% of the direct pathway. (vi) The pentose phosphate pathway was of little significance for glucose but became detectable upon injection of [1-(13)C]ribose.