Fuel utilization in colonocytes of the rat.

In incubated colonocytes isolated from rat colons, the rates of utilization O2, glucose or glutamine were linear with respect to time for over 30 min, and the concentrations of adenine nucleotides plus the ATP/ADP or ATP/AMP concentration ratios remained approximately constant for 30 min. Glutamine, n-butyrate or ketone bodies were the only substrates that caused increases in O2 consumption by isolated incubated colonocytes. The maximum activity of hexokinase in colonic mucosa is similar to that of 6-phosphofructokinase. Starvation of the donor animal decreased the activities of hexokinase and 6-phosphofructokinase, whereas it increased those of glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-bisphosphatase. Isolated incubated colonocytes utilized glucose at about 6.8 mumol/min per g dry wt., with lactate accounting for 83% of glucose removed. These rates were not affected by the addition of glutamine, acetoacetate or n-butyrate, and starvation of the donor animal. Isolated incubated colonocytes utilized glutamine at about 5.5 mumol/min per g dry wt., which is about 21% of the maximum activity of glutaminase. The major end-products of glutamine metabolism were glutamate, aspartate, alanine and ammonia. Starvation of the donor animal decreased the rate of glutamine utilization by colonocytes, which is accompanied by a decrease in glutamate formation and in the maximum activity of glutaminase. Isolated incubated colonocytes utilized acetoacetate at about 3.5 mumol/min per g dry wt. This rate was not markedly affected by addition of glucose or by starvation of the donor animal. When colonocytes were incubated with n-butyrate, both acetoacetate and 3-hydroxybutyrate were formed, with the latter accounting for only about 19% of total ketones produced.     

Evaluation of the isolated perfused rat hindquarter for the study of muscle metabolism

1. The metabolic integrity of a new isolated rat hindquarter preparation was studied. The hindquarter was perfused with a semi-synthetic medium containing aged human erythrocytes. More than 95% of the oxidative metabolism of the preparation was due to muscle, the remainder being due to bone, adipose tissue and, where present, skin. 2. Consumption of O(2), glucose utilization, glycerol release and lactate production were similar in the presence and in the absence of the skin, indicating that the latter contributed little to the overall metabolism of the preparation. 3. After 40min of perfusion, tissue concentrations of creatine phosphate, ATP and ADP were similar to those found in muscle taken directly from intact animals. The muscle also appeared normal under the electron microscope. 4. The hindquarter did not lose K(+) to the medium during a 30min perfusion. In the presence of insulin it had a net K(+) uptake. 5. Insulin caused a sixfold increase in glucose uptake, stimulated O(2) consumption by nearly 40% and depressed glycerol release to less than half the control value. 6. Bilateral sciatic-nerve stimulation caused severalfold increases in O(2) consumption and lactate production. In the absence of insulin nerve stimulation also enhanced glucose uptake; in the presence of insulin it did not further increase the already high rate of glucose uptake. 7. Rates of lactate production and O(2) consumption of the rat hindquarter in vivo and the isolated perfused hindquarter were very similar. 8. Ketone bodies were a major oxidative fuel in vivo of the hindquarter of a rat starved for 2 days. If the acetoacetate and 3-hydroxybutyrate removed by the tissue were completely oxidized, they would have accounted for 77% of the O(2) consumption. 9. Acetoacetate accounted for 84% of the ketone bodies removed by the hindquarter in vivo even though its arterial concentration was half that of 3-hydroxybutyrate. 10. Similar rates of acetoacetate and 3-hydroxybutyrate utilization were observed in the perfused hindquarter. 11. Acetoacetate utilization by the perfused hindquarter was not diminished by the addition of either oleate or insulin to the perfusate. 12. Oxidation of glucose to CO(2) accounted for less than 4% of the O(2) consumed by the perfused hindquarter in both the presence and the absence of insulin. 13. The results indicate that the isolated perfused hindquarter is a useful tool for studying muscle metabolism. They also suggest that ketone bodies, if present in sufficient concentration, are the preferred oxidative fuel of resting muscle.     

Competition between fatty acids and carbohydrate or ketone bodies as metabolic fuels for the isolated perfused heart

The ability of carbohydrate fuels (lactate, pyruvate, glucose) and the ketone bodies (acetoacetate, beta-hydroxybutyrate) to compete with fatty acids as fuels of respiration in the isolated Langendorf-perfused heart was studied. Oleate and octanoate were used as fatty acid fuels since oleate requires carnitine for entry into mitochondria, whereas octanoate does not. The two ketone bodies inhibited the oxidation of both oleate and octanoate implying an intramitochondrial site of action. Pyruvate, lactate, and lactate plus glucose inhibited oleate oxidation but not octanoate oxidation, indicating a mechanism of inhibition that involves the carnitine system. Pyruvate was a more potent inhibitor than lactate at equal concentrations, but the effect of lactate could be greatly increased by dichloroacetate, an inhibitor of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase. The physiological and mechanistic implications of these observations are discussed.     

Impaired sensitivity to insulin of rat livers perfused with blood of diminished haematocrit.

1. In livers from fed rats perfused with homologous whole blood of a haematocrit value of 37%, insulin decreased the perfusate concentrations of glucose and amino acids, production of ketone bodies (3-hydroxybutyrate + acetoacetate) and increased bile flow. 2. Perfusion with blood diluted with buffer to a haematocrit value of 17% decreased hepatic O2 consumption by 40-50%. Perfusate concentrations of glucose and lactate, the rate of ketogenesis and the ratios [lactate]/[pyruvate] and [3-hydroxybutyrate]/[acetoacetate] were all increased. 3. In livers perfused with blood of diminished haematocrit, effects of insulin on perfusate glucose an amino acids, ketogenesis and bile flow were abolished.     

Acetoacetate and Glucose as Lipid Precursors and Energy Substrates in Primary Cultures of Astrocytes and Neurons from Mouse Cerebral Cortex

Primary cultures of astrocytes and neurons derived from neonatal and embryonic mouse cerebral cortex, respectively, were incubated with [3-14C]acetoacetate or [2-14C]glucose. The utilization of glucose and acetoacetate, the production of lactate, D-3-hydroxybutyrate, and 14CO2, and the incorporation of 14C and of 3H from 3H2O into lipids and lipid fractions were measured. Both cell types used acetoacetate as an energy substrate and as a lipid precursor; lactate was the major product of glucose metabolism. About 60% of the acetoacetate that was utilized by neurons was oxidized to CO2, whereas this was only approximately 20% in the case of cultured astrocytes. This indicates that the rate at which 14C-labeled Krebs cycle intermediates exchange with pools of unlabeled intermediates is much higher in astrocytes than in neurons. Acetoacetate is a better precursor for the synthesis of fatty acids and cholesterol than glucose, presumably because it can be used directly in the cytosol for these processes; preferential incorporation into cholesterol was not observed in these in vitro systems. We conclude that ketone bodies can be metabolized both by the glial cells and by the neuronal cells of developing mouse brain.     

The effect of rumen epithelial development on metabolic activities and ketogenesis by the tissue in vitro.

1. An investigation was made on oxygen consumption, glucose and lactate uptake and ketogenesis from butyrate by rumen epithelium in vitro from lambs at various stages of development. 2. Oxygen uptake was decreased by about 35% and glucose uptake by about 90% between 2 weeks and 1/2 year of age. 3. The uptake of L-lactate and the utilization of butyrate as a substrate for respiration were increased during epithelial development. 4. The production of D(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate from butyrate by the epithelium was largely increased between 4 to 10 weeks of age, independently of rumen fermentation. 5. A synergistic effect of glucose on the production of D(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate and on total ketone bodies from butyrate by the epithelium was observed. It accounted to 40-80% over butyrate depending on the stage of epithelial development.     

Ketone-body utilization by homogenates of adult rat brain

The regulation of ketone-body metabolism and the quantitative importance of ketone bodies as lipid precursors in adult rat brain has been studied in vitro. Utilization of ketone bodies and of pyruvate by homogenates of adult rat brain was measured and the distribution of¹⁴C from [3-¹⁴C]ketone bodies among the metabolic products was analysed. The rate of ketone-body utilization was maximal in the presence of added Krebs-cycle intermediates and uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation. The consumption of acetoacetate was faster than that ofd-3-hydroxybutyrate, whereas, pyruvate produced twice as much acetyl-CoA as acetoacetate under optimal conditions. Millimolar concentrations of ATP in the presence of uncoupler lowered the consumption of ketone bodies but not of pyruvate. Indirect evidence is presented suggesting that ATP interferes specifically with the mitochondrial uptake of ketone bodies. Interconversion of ketone bodies and the accumulation of acid-soluble intermediates (mainly citrate and glutamate) accounted for the major part of ketone-body utilization, whereas only a small part was oxidized to CO₂. Ketone bodies were not incorporated into lipids or protein. We conclude that adult rat-brain homogenates use ketone bodies exclusively for oxidative purposes.     

Glucose metabolism in perfused skeletal muscle. Effects of starvation, diabetes, fatty acids, acetoacetate, insulin and exercise on glucose uptake and disposition.

1. The regulation of glucose uptake and disposition in skeletal muscle was studied in the isolated perfused rat hindquarter. 2. Insulin and exercise, induced by sciatic-nerve stimulation, enhanced glucose uptake about tenfold in fed and starved rats, but were without effect in rats with diabetic ketoacidosis. 3. At rest, the oxidation of lactate (0.44 mumol/min per 30 g muscle in fed rats) was decreased by 75% in both starved and diabetic rats, whereas the release of alanine and lactate (0.41 and 1.35 mumol/min per 30 g respectively in the fed state) was increased. Glycolysis, defined as the sum of lactate+alanine release and lactate oxidation, was not decreased in either starvation or diabetes. 4. In all groups, exercise tripled O2 consumption (from approximately 8 to approximately 25 mumol/min per 30 g of muscle) and increased the release and oxidation of lactate five- to ten-fold. The differences in lactate release between fed, starved and diabetic rats observed at rest were no longer apparent; however, lactate oxidation was still several times greater in the fed group. 5. Perfusion of the hindquarter of a fed rat with palmitate, octanoate or acetoacetate did not alter glucose uptake or lactate release in either resting or exercising muslce; however, lactate oxidation was significantly inhibited by acetoacetate, which also increased the intracellular concentration of acetyl-CoA. 6. The data suggest that neither that neither glycolysis nor the capacity for glucose transport are inhbitied in the perfused hindquarter during starvation or perfusion with fatty acids or ketone bodies. On the other hand, lactate oxidation is inhibited, suggesting diminished activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase. 7. Differences in the regulation of glucose metabolism in heart and skeletal muscle and the role of the glucose/fatty acid cycle in each tissue are discussed.     

Mechanism for the oleate stimulation of gluconeogenesis from dihydroxyacetone by hepatocytes from fasted rats

Oleate stimulates glucose production and concomitantly decreases lactate and pyruvate production by rat hepatocyte suspensions incubated with dihydroxyacetone as substrate. The actions of oleate could be blocked by D-(+)dodecanoylcarnitine, which inhibits transport of the fatty acid into the mitochondria and the subsequent oxidation. beta-Hydroxybutyrate, but not acetoacetate, also stimulated glucose synthesis and inhibited lactate and pyruvate production. Furthermore, both beta-hydroxybutyrate and oleate stimulated oxygen consumption to the same extent. This suggests that oleate stimulates glucose production by the provision of energy subsequent to mitochondrial beta-oxidation of the fatty acids. The content of ATP itself did not appear to be responsible for the effects of oleate. Crossover analysis of the gluconeogenic intermediates implicated a site of oleate action between fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and fructose 6-phosphate, suggesting phosphofructokinase and/or fructose-bisphosphatase as possible regulatory sites. Coupled with the finding that intracellular citrate accumulates upon addition of oleate or beta-hydroxybutyrate, but not acetoacetate, the results suggest that citrate inhibition of phosphofructokinase accounts for the redirection of carbon flow from lactate and pyruvate formation and towards that of glucose.     

Effects of increased mechanical work by isolated perfused rat heart during production or uptake of ketone bodies. Assessment of mitochondrial oxidized to reduced free nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide ratios and oxaloacetate concentrations.

Metabolic effects of increased mechanical work were studied by comparing isolated pumping rat hearts perfused by the atrial-filling technique with aortic-perfused non-pumping hearts perfused by the technique of Langendorff. The initial medium usually contained glucose (11 mm) and palmitate (0.6 mm bound to 0.1 mm albumin). During increased heart work (comparing pumping with non-pumping hearts) the uptake of oxygen and glucose increased threefold, but that of free fatty acids was unchanged. Tissue contents of alpha-oxoglutarate, NH4+, malate, lactate, pyruvate and Pi rose with increased heart work, but contents of ATP, phosphocreatine and citrate fell. Ketone bodies were produced with a ratio of beta-hydroxybutyrate/acetoacetate of about 3:1 in both pumping and non-pumping hearts but with higher net production rates in non-pumping hearts. When ketone bodies were added in relatively high concentrations (total 4 mm) to a glucose (11 mm) medium the medium, ratios of beta-hydroxybutyrate/acetoacetate were not steady even after 60 min of perfusion. The validity of calculating mitochondrial free NAD+/NADH ratios from the tissue contents of the reactants of the glutamate dehydrogenase system or the beta-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase system is assessed. The activities of these enzymes are considerably less in the rat heart than in the rat liver, introducing reservations into the application to the heart of the principles used by Williamson et al. (1967) for calculation of mitochondrial free NAD+/NADH ratios of liver mitochondria...     

Utilization of energy-providing substrates in the isolated working rat heart.

1. An improved perfusion system for the isolated rat heart is described. It is based on the isolated working heart of Neely, Liebermeister, Battersby & Morgan (1967) (Am. J. Physiol. 212, 804-814) and allows the measurement of metabolic rates and cardiac performance at a near-physiological workload. The main improvements concern better oxygenation of the perfusion medium and greater versatility of the apparatus. Near-physiological performance (cardiac output and aortic pressure) was maintained for nearly 2 h as compared with 30 min or less in the preparations of earlier work. 2. The rates of energy release (O2 uptake and substrate utilization) were 40-100% higher than those obtained by previous investigators, who used hearts at subphysiological workloads. 3. Values are given for the rates of utilization of glucose, lactate, oleate, acetate and ketone bodies, for O2 consumption and for the relative contributions of various fuels to the energy supply of the heart. Glucose can be replaced to a large extent by lactate, oleate or acetate, but not by ketone bodies. 4. Apart from quantitative differences there were also major qualitative differences between the present and previous preparations. Thus insulin was not required for maximal rates of glucose consumption at near-physiological, in contrast with subphysiological, workloads when glucose was the sole added substrate. When glucose oxidation was suppressed by the addition of other oxidizable substrates (lactate, acetate or acetoacetate), insulin increased the contribution of glucose as fuel for cardiac energy production at high workload. 5. In view of the major effects of workload on cardiac metabolism, experimentation on hearts performing subphysiologically or unphysiologically is of limited value to the situation in vivo.     

Glucose and glutamine utilization by rat lymphocytes, monocytes and neutrophils in culture: a comparative study

Glucose and glutamine utilization and production of glutamate and lactate were determined for up to 48 h in lymphocytes, monocytes and neutrophils cultured in medium rich in metabolites and vitamins. Glucose was utilized by the three cell types in culture in the following order: neutrophils > monocytes > lymphocytes, whereas lactate was produced in the order: monocytes > neutrophils > lymphocytes. The consumption of glucose followed the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase but it was not related to hexokinase activity. Glutamine was consumed by the three leukocyte types in culture as follows: neutrophils > lymphocytes > or = monocytes. The consumption of glutamine was not fully related to the activity of phosphate-dependent glutaminase. The production of glutamate was not remarkably different among the three cell types. For comparison, glutamine and glucose utilization and glutamate and lactate production were also evaluated using 1-h incubated leukocytes. Under this condition, only glucose or glutamine was added to the medium. Glucose was utilized as follows: neutrophils > monocytes > lymphocytes, whereas lactate was produced in the following order: monocytes > or = neutrophils > lymphocytes. Glutamine was consumed as follows: neutrophils > lymphocytes > monocytes, whereas glutamate was produced as follows: neutrophils > or = monocytes = lymphocytes. The ratio of the amount of glucose/glutamine consumed by 1-h incubated cells was 0.5 for neutrophils, 1.5 for monocytes, and 0.3 for lymphocytes. However, the three cell types cultured for 48 h utilized glucose to a much higher degree than glutamine. The ratio of the amount of glucose/glutamine utilized by the cultured cells was 8.9 for neutrophils, 16.4 for monocytes, and 6.7 for lymphocytes. These observations support the proposition that glutamine is required in much higher amounts than glucose to accomplish the total metabolic requirement of leukocytes. Under conditions closer to physiological when the availability of a variety of metabolites and vitamins is not restricted, glucose is the preferred substrate for lymphocytes, monocytes and neutrophils.     

Effects of fatty acids, ketone bodies, lactate and pyruvate on glucose utilization by guinea-pig cerebral cortex slices

1. Starvation did not affect the rates of glucose utilization or lactate formation by guinea-pig cerebral cortex slices. 2. Palmitate (1mm), butyrate (5mm) or acetoacetate (5mm) did not affect glucose utilization or lactate formation by cerebral cortex slices from guinea pigs starved for 48hr. 3. dl-beta-Hydroxybutyrate (10mm) increased the formation of lactate without affecting glucose utilization by cerebral cortex slices from guinea pigs starved for 48hr. This implies that beta-hydroxybutyrate decreased the rate of glucose oxidation. 4. Metabolism of added ketone bodies can account for 20-40% of observed rates of oxygen consumption. 5. Lactate or pyruvate (5mm) decreased the rates of glucose utilization by guinea-pig cerebral cortex slices.     

Metabolic effects of propionate in normal and vitamin B12-deficient rats

1. Administration of propionate caused a twofold increase in the concentrations of lactate and pyruvate in the blood of vitamin B(12)-deficient rats, whereas there was a slight decrease in lactate and a 50% increase in pyruvate in normal rats. 2. Concentrations of total ketone bodies in the blood of normal rats were not significantly altered by propionate administration but the [3-hydroxybutyrate]/[acetoacetate] ratio decreased from 3.0 to 2.0. In the vitamin B(12)-deficient rats there was a 40% decrease in total ketone bodies and a change in the ratio from 3.4 to 1.2. 3. The changes in the concentration of ketone bodies in freeze-clamped liver preparations were similar in pattern to those observed in blood. 4. Propionate administration caused a decrease in the concentration of acetyl-CoA in the livers of both groups of animals, but the absolute decrease was greater in the vitamin B(12)-deficient group. The decrease in the concentration of CoA was similar in both groups. 5. As in blood, there were threefold increases in the concentrations of lactate and pyruvate in the livers of the vitamin B(12)-deficient rats after propionate administration, whereas there was no significant change in the concentrations of these metabolites in the normal rats. 6. There was a 50% inhibition of glucose synthesis in perfused livers from vitamin B(12)-deficient rats when lactate and propionate were substrates as compared with lactate alone. 7. It is concluded that the conversion of lactate into glucose is inhibited in vitamin B(12)-deficient rats after propionate administration, and that this effect is due to inhibition of the pyruvate carboxylase step resulting from a decrease in acetyl-CoA concentration and a postulated increase in methylmalonyl-CoA concentration.     

Metabolism of ketone bodies, oleate and glucose in lymphocytes of the rat.

Isolated incubated lymphocytes utilized acetoacetate, 3-hydroxybutyrate or oleate at about 0.5 mumol/min per g dry wt. These rates were not markedly affected by concanavalin A or by starvation of the donor animal. When ketone bodies replaced glucose in the culture medium, they could not support lymphocyte proliferation when cells were cultured for 48 h. Addition of oleate (0.5 mM) to isolated lymphocytes increased the rate of O2 consumption markedly, suggesting that it could contribute about 30% to O2 consumption. The rate of oleate uptake and the stimulated rate of O2 consumption were maximal at 0.5 M-oleate; this is in contrast with the effect in some other tissues, in which the rate of fatty acid oxidation is linear with concentration up to about 2 mM. Since the normal plasma concentration of fatty acid in the fed state is about 0.5 mM, this suggests that lymphocytes can utilize fatty acids at a maximal rate in the fed state. Ketone bodies or oleate decreased the rate of glucose utilization by incubated lymphocytes; ketone bodies decreased the rate of pyruvate oxidation and increased the intracellular concentration of hexose monophosphate and citrate, suggesting that 6-phosphofructokinase is inhibited by citrate, and hexokinase by glucose 6-phosphate. These effects may be important not so much in conserving glucose in the whole animal but in maintaining the concentrations of glycolytic intermediates necessary for biosynthetic processes during proliferation.     

Energy metabolism of cultured TM4 cells and the action of gossypol

The energy metabolism of cultured TM4 cells, a cell line originally derived from mouse testicular cells, has been studied in relation to the action of gossypol. In the absence of externally added substrates, TM4 cells consumed oxygen at 37 +/- 5 nmoles O2 X mg protein-1 X h-1. Pyruvate stimulated oxygen consumption in a dose-dependent fashion up to 23%. Addition of glucose to the cells suspended in substrate-free medium inhibited oxygen consumption. At 5.5 mM glucose, the inhibition of oxygen consumption was 45 +/- 9%. The rate of aerobic lactate production from endogenous substrates was less than 7 nmoles lactate X mg protein-1 X h-1, even in the presence of optimal concentrations of the mitochondrial uncoupler carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone. The rate of aerobic lactate production was 920 +/- 197 nmoles X mg protein-1 X h-1 at external glucose concentrations of 2 mM or greater. The formation of aerobic glycolytic adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in 5 mM glucose comprised about 80% of the total ATP production. Gossypol stimulated both aerobic lactate production and oxygen consumption of the transformed testicular cells in a dose-dependent manner. The effect of gossypol on glucose transport, aerobic lactate production, and oxygen consumption is consistent with the hypothesis that gossypol modifies energy metabolism in these cells mainly by partially uncoupling mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. The possible impairment of cell and tissue function under gossypol treatment would depend on the metabolic properties of each specific differentiated cell.     

Cerebral Metabolic State During the Ethanol Withdrawal Reaction in the Rat

Abstract: A severe ethanol withdrawal reaction was induced in rats by means of repeated intragastric intubation during a 4-day period. At the peak of the withdrawal reaction cerebral cortical tissue was frozen in situ for analysis of glycogen, glucose, phosphocreatine, creatine, ATP, ADP, AMP, lactate, pyruvate, GAB A, β-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate, cAMP and cGMP. Blood glucose concentration was also measured. The level of brain glycogen was decreased during ethanol withdrawal. Brain glucose concentration was increased, probably secondary to the increase in blood glucose concentration. The calculated NADH/NAD⁺ ratio was slightly increased during the withdrawal and brain ATP concentration and adenine nucleotide pool size were decreased. The adenylate energy charge remained unchanged. The overall changes in the metabolites were in agreement with the previously shown metabolic activation during ethanol withdrawal. The brain concentrations of ketone bodies (β-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate) during withdrawal did not deviate from controls, indicating that no abnormal ketone metabolism had developed as a consequence of the long-lasting ethanol intoxication. No changes were observed in the concentrations of GABA, cAMP, or cGMP in the rat cerebral cortex during ethanol withdrawal.     

Quantitative analysis of intermediary metabolism in rat hepatocytes incubated in the presence and absence of ethanol with a substrate mixture including ketoleucine.

Hepatocytes isolated from livers of fed rats were incubated with a mixture of glucose (10 mM), ribose (1.0 mM), acetate (1.25 mM), alanine (3.5 mM), glutamate (2.0 mM), aspartate (2.0 mM), 4-methyl-2-oxovaleric acid (ketoleucine) (3.0 mM), and, in paired flasks, 10 mM-ethanol. One substrate was 14C-radiolabelled in any given incubation. Incorporation of 14C into glucose, glycogen, CO2, lactate, alanine, aspartate, glutamate, acetate, urea, lipid glycerol, fatty acids and the 1- and 2,3,4-positions of ketone bodies was measured after 20 and 40 min of incubation under quasi-steady-state conditions. Data were analysed with the aid of a realistic structural metabolic model. In each of the four conditions examined, there were approx. 77 label incorporation measurements and several measurements of changes in metabolite concentrations. The considerable excess of measurements over the 37 independent flux parameters allowed for a stringent test of the model. A satisfactory fit to these data was obtained for each condition. There were large bidirectional fluxes along the gluconeogenic/glycolytic pathways, with net gluconeogenesis. Rates of ureagenesis, oxygen consumption and ketogenesis were high under all four conditions studied. Oxygen utilization was accurately predicted by three of the four models. There was complete equilibration between mitochondrial and cytosolic pools of acetate and of CO2, but for several of the metabolic conditions, two incompletely equilibrated pools of mitochondrial acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate were required. Ketoleucine was utilized at a rate comparable to that reported by others in perfused liver and entered the mitochondrial pool of acetyl-CoA directly associated with ketone body formation. Ethanol, which was metabolized at rates comparable to those in vivo, caused relatively few changes in overall flux patterns. Several effects related to the increased NADH/NAD+ ratio were observed. Pyruvate dehydrogenase was completely inhibited and the ratio of acetoacetate to 3-hydroxybutyrate was decreased; flux through glutamate dehydrogenase, the citric acid cycle, and ketoleucine dehydrogenase were, however, only slightly inhibited. Net production of ATP occurred in all conditions studied and was increased by ethanol. Futile cycling was quantified at the glucose/glucose 6-phosphate, glycogen/glucose 6-phosphate, fructose 6-phosphate/fructose 1,6-bis-phosphate, and phosphoenolpyruvate/pyruvate/oxaloacetate substrate cycles. Cycling at these four loci consumed about 22% of cellular ATP production in control hepatocytes and 14% in ethanol-treated cells.     

Glutamine and glucose metabolism in thymocytes from normal and spontaneously diabetic BB rats.

Metabolism of glutamine and glucose was studied in thymocytes from normal rats and BB rats with the spontaneous autoimmune diabetic syndrome to assess their potential roles as fuels. The major measured products from glucose were lactate and, to a lesser extent, CO2, and pyruvate. Glutamine had no effect on the rates of their production from glucose. Glutamine was metabolized to ammonia, aspartate, glutamate, and CO2, with aspartate being the major product of carbons from glutamine in the absence of glucose. Glucose markedly decreased the formation of ammonia, aspartate, and CO2 from glutamine, but increased that of glutamate, with an overall decrease in glutamine utilization by 55%. More glutamate than aspartate was produced from glutamine in the presence of glucose. The potential production of ATP from glucose was similar to that when glutamine was present alone. However, glucose markedly decreased production of ATP from glutamine, but not vice versa. This resulted in ATP production from glucose being 2.5 times that from glutamine when both substrates were present. The oxidation of glucose to CO2 via the Krebs cycle accounts for 75-80% of glucose-derived ATP production. Cellular ATP levels markedly decreased in the absence of exogenous substrates, but were constant throughout a 2-h incubation in the presence of glutamine, glucose, or both. There were no differences in thymocyte glucose or glutamine metabolism between normal and diabetic BB rats, in contrast to previous findings in peripheral lymphoid organs. Our results suggest that glucose is a more important fuel than glutamine for "resting" thymocytes, again in contrast to the cells of peripheral lymphoid organs in which glutamine is as important as glucose as a fuel.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Ketone-body metabolism in tumour-bearing rats.

During starvation for 72 h, tumour-bearing rats showed accelerated ketonaemia and marked ketonuria. Total blood [ketone bodies] were 8.53 mM and 3.34 mM in tumour-bearing and control (non-tumour-bearing) rats respectively (P less than 0.001). The [3-hydroxybutyrate]/[acetoacetate] ratio was 1.3 in the tumour-bearing rats, compared with 3.2 in the controls at 72 h (P less than 0.001). Blood [glucose] and hepatic [glycogen] were lower at the start of starvation in tumour-bearing rats, whereas plasma [non-esterified fatty acids] were not increased above those in the control rats during starvation. After functional hepatectomy, blood [acetoacetate], but not [3-hydroxybutyrate], decreased rapidly in tumour-bearing rats, whereas both ketone bodies decreased, and at a slower rate, in the control rats. Blood [glucose] decreased more rapidly in the hepatectomized control rats. Hepatocytes prepared from 72 h-starved tumour-bearing and control rats showed similar rates of ketogenesis from palmitate, and the distribution of [1-14C] palmitate between oxidation (ketone bodies and CO2) and esterification was also unaffected by tumour-bearing, as was the rate of gluconeogenesis from lactate. The carcinoma itself showed rapid rates of glycolysis and a poor ability to metabolize ketone bodies in vitro. The results are consistent with the peripheral, normal, tissues in tumour-bearing rats having increased ketone-body and decreased glucose metabolic turnover rates.