Regulation of gluconeogenesis during exposure of young rats to hypoxic conditions

1. Two-day-old rats were exposed at constant temperature to atmospheres containing air and nitrogen with the air content varied in steps from 100 to 0%. By using this system of graded hypoxia a comparison was made between rates of gluconeogenesis from lactate, serine and aspartate in the whole animal and the concentrations of several liver metabolites. 2. Gluconeogenesis, expressed as the percentage incorporation of labelled isotope into glucose plus glycogen, proceeds linearly for 30min when the animals are incubated in a normal air atmosphere, but is completely suppressed if the atmosphere is 100% nitrogen. 3. Preincubation of animals for between 5 and 30min under an atmosphere containing 19% air results in the attainment of a new steady state with respect to gluconeogenesis and hepatic concentrations of ATP, ADP, AMP, lactate, pyruvate, beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate. 4. When lactate (100mumol), aspartate (20mumol) or serine (20mumol) was injected, it was shown that the more severe the hypoxia the greater the depression of gluconeogenesis. Under conditions when gluconeogenesis was markedly inhibited there were no changes in the degree of phosphorylation of hepatic adenine nucleotides, but free [NAD(+)]/[NADH] ratios fell in both cytosol and mitochondrial compartments of the liver cell. 5. Measurements of total liver NAD(+) and NADH showed that the concentrations of these nucleotide coenzymes changed less with anoxia, in comparison with the concentration ratio of free coenzymes. 6. Calculations showed that the difference in NAD(+)-NADH redox potentials between mitochondrial and cytosol compartments increased with the severity of hypoxia. 7. From the constancy of the concentrations of adenine nucleotides it is concluded that liver of hypoxic rats can conserve ATP by lowering the rate of ATP utilization for gluconeogenesis. Gluconeogenesis may be regulated in turn by the changes in mitochondrial and cytosol redox state.     

The effects of inhibition of gluconeogenesis on ketogenesis in starved and diabetic rats.

Experiments were performed in which the effects of inhibiting gluconeogenesis on ketone-body formation were examined in vivo in starved and severely streptozotocin-diabetic rats. The infusion of 3-mercaptopicolinate, an inhibitor of gluconeogenesis (DiTullio et al., 1974), caused decreases in blood [glucose] and increases in blood [lactate] and [pyruvate] in both normal and ketoacidotic rats. Patterns of liver gluconeogenic intermediates after 3-mercaptopicolinate infusion suggested inhibition at the level of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase. This was confirmed by measurement of hepatic oxaloacetate concentrations which were increased 5-fold after 3-mercaptopicolinate administration. The infusion of 3-mercaptopicolinate caused a decrease in total ketone-body concentrations of 30% in starved rats and 73% in the diabetic animals. Blood glycerol and hepatic triglyceride concentrations remained unchanged. The decreases in ketone-body concentrations were associated with increases in the calculated hepatic cytosolic and mitochondrial [NADH]/[NAD+] ratios. The decrease in ketogenesis seen after inhibition of gluconeogenesis may have resulted from an inhibition of hepatic fatty acid oxidation by the more reduced mitochondrial redox state. It was concluded that gluconeogenesis may stimulate ketogenesis by as much as 30% in severe diabetic ketoacidosis.     

The metabolic effects of sodium dichloroacetate in the starved rat

1. Sodium dichloroacetate (300mg/kg body wt. per h) was infused in 24h-starved rats for 4h. 2. Blood glucose decreased significantly, an effect that had previously only been noted in diabetic animals 3. Plasma insulin concentration decreased by 63%; blood lactate and pyruvate concentrations decreased by 50 and 33%, whereas concentrations of 3-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate increased by 81 and 73% respectively. 4. Livers were freeze-clamped at the end of the 4h infusion. There were significant decreases in hepatic [glucose], [glucose 6-phosphate], [2-phosphoglycerate], the [lactate]/[pyruvate] ratio, [citrate] and [malate], and also [alanine], [glutamate] and [glutamine], suggesting a diminished supply of gluconeogenic substrates. 5. Animals subjected to a functional hepatectomy at the end of 2h infusions showed no difference in blood-glucose disappearance but a highly significant decrease in the rate of accumulation of lactate, pyruvate, glycerol and alanine, compared with control animals. Dichloroacetate decreased ketone-body clearance. 6. After functional hepatectomy an increase in glutamine accumulation appeared to compensate for the decrease in alanine accumulation. 7. It is concluded that dichloroacetate causes hypoglycaemia by decreasing the net release of gluconeogenic precursors from extrahepatic tissues while inhibiting peripheral ketone-body uptake. 8. These findings are consistent with the activation of pyruvate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.4.1) in rat muscle by dichloroacetate previously described by Whitehouse & Randle (1973).     

Properties of the transfer ribonucleic acid methylase activity in vitro of hamster tumours induced by adenovirus-12. Base analysis

1. The ratio [ATP]/[ADP][P(i)], as measured by direct determination of the three components in rat liver, was found in various nutritional states to have approximately the same value as the ratio [ATP]/[ADP][P(i)] calculated from the concentrations of lactate, pyruvate, glyceraldehyde phosphate and 3-phosphoglycerate on the assumption that lactate dehydrogenase, glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase and 3-phosphoglycerate kinase are at near-equilibrium in the liver. This implies that the redox state of the NAD couple in the cytoplasm is linked to, and partially controlled by, the phosphorylation state of the adenine nucleotides. 2. The combined equilibrium constant of the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase and 3-phosphoglycerate kinase reactions at 38 degrees C and I0.25, was found to be 5.9x10(-6). 3. The fall of the [NAD(+)]/[NADH] ratio in starvation and other situations is taken to be the consequence of a primary fall of the [ATP]/[ADP][HPO(4) (2-)] ratio.     

Evidence that the flux control coefficient of the respiratory chain is high during gluconeogenesis from lactate in hepatocytes from starved rats. Implications for the hormonal control of gluconeogenesis and action of hypoglycaemic agents.

1. Increasing concentrations of 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU), a mild respiratory-chain inhibitor [Halestrap (1987) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 927, 280-290], caused progressive inhibition of glucose production from lactate + pyruvate by hepatocytes from starved rats incubated in the presence or absence of oleate and gluconeogenic hormones. 2. No significant changes in tissue ATP content were observed, but there were concomitant decreases in ketone-body output and cytochrome c reduction and increases in NADH fluorescence and the ratios of [lactate]/[pyruvate] and [beta-hydroxybutyrate]/[acetoacetate]. 3. The inhibition by DCMU of palmitoylcarnitine oxidation by isolated liver mitochondria was used to calculate a flux control coefficient of the respiratory chain towards gluconeogenesis. In the presence of 1 mM-oleate, the calculated values were 0.61, 0.39 and 0.25 in the absence of hormone and in the presence of glucagon or phenylephrine respectively, consistent with activation of the respiratory chain in situ as previously suggested [Quinlan & Halestrap (1986) Biochem. J. 236, 789-800]. 4. Cytoplasmic oxaloacetate concentrations were shown to decrease under these conditions, implying inhibition of pyruvate carboxylase. 5. Inhibition of gluconeogenesis from fructose and dihydroxyacetone was also observed with DCMU and was accompanied by an increased output of lactate + pyruvate, suggesting that activation of pyruvate kinase was occurring. With the latter substrate, measurements of tissue ADP and ATP contents showed that DCMU caused a small fall in [ATP]/[ADP] ratio. 6. Two inhibitors of fatty acid oxidation, pent-4-enoate and 2-tetradecylglycidate, were shown to abolish and to decrease respectively the effects of hormones, but not valinomycin, on gluconeogenesis from lactate + pyruvate, without changing tissue ATP content. 7. It is concluded that the hormonal increase in mitochondrial matrix volume stimulates fatty acid oxidation and respiratory-chain activity, allowing stimulation of pyruvate carboxylation and thus gluconeogenesis to occur without major changes in [ATP]/[ADP] or [NADH]/[NAD+] ratios. 8. The high flux control coefficient of the respiratory chain towards gluconeogenesis may account for the hypoglycaemic effect of mild respiratory-chain inhibitors.     

Formation of hexose 6-phosphates from lactate + pyruvate + glutamate by a cell-free system from rat liver.

A cell-free system prepared from rat liver containing cytosol and mitochondria as well as a number of cofactors and gluconeogenic intermediates at near-physiological concentrations was shown to form hexose 6-phosphates linearly from lactate + pyruvate + glutamate at a rate of 0.82 +/- 0.05 mumol/min per g of liver (mean +/- S.E.M., n = 8, 37 degrees C). The indicated rates were measured between 20 min and 60 min incubation time, when the system was near steady state. Experiments with either [1-14C]lactate or [U-14C]glutamate revealed that the incorporation of radioactive label into hexose 6-phosphates was proportional to the utilization of lactate + pyruvate and of glutamate during incubation and that both served as gluconeogenic substrates at a ratio of about 2:1. When the [ATP]/[ADP] ratio was lowered from 60 to 19 by addition of ATPase, the rate of hexose 6-phosphate formation fell to one-third. This decrease in gluconeogenic flux was mainly due to a decreased flow through the phosphoglycerate kinase step. Hexose 6-phosphate formation could also be decreased by increasing the ratio [NADH]/[NAD+], either by addition of ethanol or by increasing the initial concentration of lactate + pyruvate at a fixed ratio of 10:1. The observed inhibition was linked to a limitation in the availability of oxaloacetate for the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase reaction and to an increased formation of sn-glycerol 3-phosphate. Finally, the rates of hexose 6-phosphate formation in incubations with cytosols from fed rats were only 50% of those observed with cytosols from animals starved for 48 h. One of the limiting steps was found to be the flow through the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase step.     

The development of gluconeogenesis in rat liver. Experiments in vivo

1. The injection of substrate amounts of lactate into newborn rats produced an increase in the concentration of phosphoenolpyruvate in liver. Similar experiments with foetal rats showed no increase in phosphoenolpyruvate concentration although pyruvate formation was observed. 2. The administration of pyruvate to foetal rats was also without effect on the hepatic phosphoenolpyruvate concentration, although a 20-fold increase in this was observed when pyruvate was injected into newborn animals. 3. Analogous experiments with aspartate produced qualitatively similar differences between foetal and newborn rats. 4. When [(14)C]-lactate, -pyruvate or -aspartate was injected into foetal or newborn rats incorporation of radioactivity into liver glucose was observed only in the newborn animals. 5. Lactate/pyruvate ratios of 213 in foetal liver and 13.5 in the livers of newborn rats indicated a relatively reduced environment in the cytosol of foetal liver. This difference in redox state was illustrated experimentally by a greater conversion of pyruvate into lactate and an increased formation of malate in foetal liver. 6. Although both the substrate-loading and tracer experiments indicated a block in gluconeogenesis in foetal liver at the stage of conversion of oxaloacetate into phosphoenolpyruvate, gluconeogenesis was also hindered by a highly reduced environment.     

The redox state of the nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotides in rat liver homogenates

1. The redox state of the NAD couple of rat liver mitochondria, as measured by the [beta-hydroxybutyrate]/[acetoacetate] ratio, rapidly changed in the direction of oxidation during the preparation of homogenates in a saline medium. The value of the [beta-hydroxybutyrate]/[acetoacetate] ratio fell from 2.3 to 0.15 in 10min. EDTA diminished the fall and succinate prevented it. 2. The redox state of the rat liver cytoplasm, as measured by the [lactate]/[pyruvate] ratio, changed slightly in the direction of reduction during the preparation of homogenate. This was prevented by succinate. 3. In unsupplemented homogenates the differences in the redox states of mitochondria and cytoplasm decreased. Succinate and EDTA together maintained the differences within the physiological range. A measure of the ability of the mitochondria to maintain different redox states in mitochondria and cytoplasm is the value of the expression [lactate][acetoacetate]/[pyruvate][beta-hydroxybutyrate]. If there are no differences in the redox states of the NAD in the two cell compartments the value of the expression is 444 at 37 degrees . The value in the intact rat liver is between 4.7 and 21. 4. alpha-Oxoglutarate or glutamate were still more effective than succinate in maintaining high [beta-hydroxybutyrate]/[acetoacetate] ratios in the homogenates because these substrates supply a reducing agent of NAD(+) and, through succinate, an inhibitor of the oxidation of NADH. 5. When supplemented with alpha-oxoglutarate and EDTA, homogenates readily adjust the redox state of the beta-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase system after it has been upset by the addition of either acetoacetate or beta-hydroxybutyrate. 6. Amytal and rotenone raised the value of the [beta-hydroxybutyrate]/[acetoacetate] ratio. This is taken to indicate that the reduction of acetoacetate in the homogenates was not an energy-linked process. 7. 2,4-Dinitrophenol shifted the [beta-hydroxybutyrate]/[acetoacetate] ratio in the presence of succinate in favour of oxidation because it inhibited the oxidation of succinate and accelerated the oxidation of NADH. 8. Rotenone increased the rate of ketone-body formation of liver homogenates, though it decreased the rate of oxygen uptake.     

Effect of glucagon on metabolite compartmentation in isolated rat liver cells during gluconeogenesis from lactate

1. The subcellular distribution of adenine nucleotides, acetyl-CoA, CoA, glutamate, 2-oxoglutarate, malate, oxaloacetate, pyruvate, phosphoenolpyruvate, 3-phosphoglycerate, glucose 6-phosphate, aspartate and citrate was studied in isolated hepatocytes in the absence and presence of glucagon by using a modified digitonin procedure for cell fractionation. 2. In the absence of glucagon, the cytosol contains about two-thirds of cellular ATP, some 40-50% of ADP, acetyl-CoA, citrate and phosphoenolpyruvate, more than 75% of total 2-oxoglutarate, glutamate, malate, oxaloacetate, pyruvate, 3-phosphoglycerate and aspartate, and all of glucose 6-phosphate. 3. In the presence of glucagon the cytosolic space shows an increase in the content of malate, phosphoenolpyruvate and 3-phosphoglycerate by more than 60%, and those of aspartate and glucose 6-phosphate rise by about 25%. Other metabolites remain unchanged. After glucagon treatment, cytosolic pyruvate is decreased by 37%, whereas glutamate and 2-oxoglutarate decrease by 70%. The [NAD(+)]/[NADH] ratios calculated from the cytosolic concentrations of the reactants of lactate dehydrogenase and malate dehydrogenase were the same. Glucagon shifts this ratio and also that of the [NADP(+)]/[NADPH] couple towards a more reduced state. 4. In the mitochondrial space glucagon causes an increase in the acetyl-CoA and ATP contents by 25%, and an increase in [phosphoenolpyruvate] by 50%. Other metabolites are not changed by glucagon. Oxaloacetate in the matrix is only slightly decreased after glucagon, yet glutamate and 2-oxoglutarate fall to about 25% of the respective control values. The [NAD(+)]/[NADH] ratios as calculated from the [3-hydroxybutyrate]/[acetoacetate] ratio and from the matrix [malate]/[oxaloacetate] couple are lowered by glucagon, yet in the latter case the values are about tenfold higher than in the former. 5. Glucagon and oleate stimulate gluconeogenesis from lactate to nearly the same extent. Oleate, however, does not produce the changes in cellular 2-oxoglutarate and glutamate as observed with glucagon. 6. The changes of the subcellular metabolite distribution after glucagon are compatible with the proposal that the stimulation of gluconeogenesis results from as yet unknown action(s) of the hormone at the mitochondrial level in concert with its established effects on proteolysis and lipolysis.     

Effect of glycerol on gluconeogenesis in isolated rabbit kidney cortex tubules

In renal tubules isolated from fed rabbits glycerol is not utilized as a glucose precursor, probably due to the rate-limiting transfer of reducing equivalents from cytosol to mitochondria. Pyruvate and glutamate stimulated an incorporation of [14C]glycerol to glucose by 50- and 10-fold, respectively, indicating that glycerol is utilized as a gluconeogenic substrate under these conditions. Glycerol at concentration of 1.5 mM resulted in an acceleration of both glucose formation and incorporation of [14C]pyruvate and [14C]glutamate into glucose by 2- and 9-fold, respectively, while it decreased the rates of these processes from lactate as a substrate. In the presence of fructose, glycerol decreased the ATP level, limiting the rate of fructose phosphorylation and glucose synthesis. As concluded from the 'cross-over' plots, the ratios of both 3-hydroxybutyrate/acetoacetate and glycerol 3-phosphate/dihydroxyacetone phosphate, as well as from experiments performed with methylene blue and acetoacetate, the stimulatory effect of glycerol on glucose formation from pyruvate and glutamate may result from an acceleration of fluxes through the first steps of gluconeogenesis as well as glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. As inhibition by glycerol of gluconeogenesis from lactate is probably due to a marked elevation of the cytosolic NADH/NAD+ ratio resulting in a decline of flux through lactate dehydrogenase.     

Responsiveness to glucagon by isolated rat hepatocytes controlled by the redox state of the cytosolic nicotinamide--adenine dinucleotide couple acting on adenosine 3'':5''-cyclic monophosphate phosphodiesterase.

1. The effects of changes in the cytoplasmic [NADH]/[NAD+] ratio on the efficacy of glucagon to alter rates of metabolism in isolated rat hepatocytes were examined. 2. Under reduced conditions (with 10mM-lactate), 10nM-glucagon stimulated both gluconeogenesis and urea synthesis in isolated hepatocytes from 48h-starved rats; under oxidized conditions (with 10mM-pyruvate), 10nM-glucagon had no effect on either of these rates. 3. The ability of glucagon to alter the concentration of 3':5'-cyclic AMP and the rates of glucose output, glycogen breakdown and glycolysis in cells from fed rats were each affected by a change in the extracellular [lactate]/[pyruvate] ratio; minimal effects of glucagon occurred at low [lactate]/[pyruvate] ratios. 4. Dose-response curves for glucagon-mediated changes in cyclic AMP concentration and glucose output indicated that under oxidized conditions the ability of glucagon to alter each parameter was decreased without affecting the concentration of hormone at which half-maximal effects occurred. 5. The phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (0.05 mM) significantly reversed the inhibitory effects of pyruvate on glucagon-stimulated glucose output. 6. For exogenously added cyclic [3H]AMP(0.1 mM), oxidized conditions decreased the stimulatory effect on glucose output as well as the intracellular concentration of cyclic AMP attained, but did not alter the amount of cyclic [3H]AMP taken up. 7. The effects of lactate, pyruvate, NAD+ and NADH on cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activities of rat hepatocytes were examined. 8. NADH (0.01--1 MM) inhibited the low-Km enzyme, particularly that which was associated with the plasma membrane. 9. The inhibition of membrane-bound cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase by NADH was specific, reversible and resulted in a decrease in the maximal velocity of the enzyme. 10. It is proposed that regulation of the membrane-bound low-Km cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase by nicotinamide nucleotides provides the molecular basis for the effect of redox state on the hormonal control of hepatocyte metabolism by glucagon.     

The energy state of tumor-bearing rats

Rats bearing the Walker-256 carcinosarcoma have a profoundly altered liver metabolite content with significant increases in the concentrations of glucose 6-phosphate, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, citrate, lactate, and alanine, while the concentrations of glucose, pyruvate, dihydroxyacetone phosphate, and glutamine are decreased. As a result of these changes both the cytosolic NAD+/NADH ratio and the cytosolic phosphorylation potential are significantly lowered while no changes are detected in either the cytosolic NADP+/NADPH ratio or the mitochondrial NAD+/NADH ratio. These hepatic changes are accompanied by marked increases in the circulating concentrations of lactate, non-esterified fatty acids, and triacylglycerols. The activities of both liver hexokinase and phosphofructokinase are also significantly elevated in the tumor-bearing rats. The changes observed both in the redox state and phosphorylation potential are in agreement with the energy imbalance associated with tumor burden.     

Ethanol stimulates glycogenolysis in livers from fed rats.

To determine the reason for the lack of a hypoglycemic effect of ethanol in the fed state, the effect of ethanol on glucose turnover, liver glycogenolysis, and glucose metabolites was determined. Chronically catheterized awake and freely moving fed rats received either ethanol (blood ethanol, 37 +/- 10 mmol/liter, n = 11) or saline (n = 13) intravenously for 4 hr. Glucose turnover was determined using a primed continuous infusion of [3-3H]glucose. The liver was freeze clamped at 4 hr for glycogen and metabolite measurements. Plasma glucose (5.8 +/- 0.3 mmol/liter vs 6.3 +/- 0.2 mmol/liter at 4 hr, ethanol versus saline) and the rate of glucose turnover (61 +/- 9 vs 58 +/- 8 moles/kg.min) were similar during the ethanol and saline infusions. Plasma lactate was significantly higher in the ethanol (1.32 +/- 0.05 mmol/liter) than in the saline (0.86 +/- 0.06 mmol/liter, P less than 0.001) study. Concentrations of gluconeogenic intermediates in the liver (glucose 6-phosphate, fructose 6-phosphate, glucose 1-phosphate, and pyruvate) were all significantly and -30% lower in ethanol-infused than in saline-infused rats. The liver citrate content was similar in ethanol-infused than in saline-infused rats. The liver citrate content was similar in ethanol (0.38 +/- 0.03 mmol/liter) and saline (0.37 +/- 0.04 mmol/liter) studies. Liver glycogen was 75% lower in the ethanol-infused (61 +/- 9 mmol/kg dry wt) than the saline (242 +/- 27 mmol/kg dry wt, P less than 0.001)-infused rats. These data demonstrate that in fed rats given ethanol, glucose turnover is maintained constant by accelerated glycogenolysis. Thus, inhibition of gluconeogenesis by ethanol does not lower hepatic glucose production unless compensatory glycogenolysis can be prevented.     

Ethanol administration and the relationship of malonyl-coenzyme A concentrations to the rate of fatty acid synthesis in rat liver

1. The effect of ethanol on liver fatty acid synthesis was studied in vivo in 24h-starved and ;meal-fed' rats (i.e. fed for 3h per day and not ad libitum). 2. In the fed animal (3)H(2)O was incorporated into fat at a rate of 0.46mumol of C(2) units/min per g wet wt. of liver. Administration of either ethanol (3.2g/kg) or equicaloric amounts of glucose had no effect on the rate of (3)H(2)O incorporation into lipid. 3. In the 24h-starved animal, administration of the same dose of ethanol produced an increase in the rate of (3)H(2)O incorporation from 0.06 to 0.12mumol of C(2) units/min per g fresh wt. after 3h whereas [malonyl-CoA] increased from 0.006 to 0.009mumol/g. Glucose given in amounts equicaloric to ethanol was significantly more lipogenic, increasing both the (3)H(2)O incorporation from 0.06 to 0.20mumol of C(2) units/min per g and the malonyl-CoA content from 0.006 to 0.013 mumol/g wet wt. at 3h. 4. The decrease in the redox state of free cytoplasm NAD or NADP couples or the changes in content of citrate, glucose 6-phosphate and pyruvate of liver after ethanol administration had no measurable effect on the rate of fatty acid synthesis in vivo. 5. Under the conditions of the experiments there was no significant difference, among any of the groups, in the activity of liver fatty acid synthetase measured in vitro. A double-reciprocal plot of the rate of (3)H(2)O incorporation and the total tissue malonyl-CoA concentrations showed a striking relationship. It has been concluded that the rate of fatty acid synthesis in vivo is determined principally by the V(max.) of fatty acid synthetase and the concentration of free malonyl-CoA. 6. It has also been concluded that under the conditions of the present study, the synthesis of fatty acids de novo is unlikely to be an important factor in the increased liver lipid content associated with ethanol administration.     

Acute effects of ethanol on the perfused rat liver. Studies on lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, substrate cycling and perfusate amino acids

1. Livers from fed rats were perfused in situ with whole rat blood containing glucose labelled uniformly with (14)C and specifically with (3)H at positions 2, 3 or 6. 2. When ethanol was infused at a concentration of 24mumol/ml of blood the rate of utilization was 2.8mumol/min per g of liver. 3. Ethanol infusion raised perfusate glucose concentrations and caused a 2.5-fold increase in hepatic glucose output. 4. Final blood lactate concentrations were decreased in ethanol-infused livers, but the mean uptake of lactate from erythrocyte glycolysis was unaffected. 5. Production of ketone bodies (3-hydroxybutyrate+3-oxobutyrate) and the ratio [3-hydroxybutyrate]/[3-oxobutyrate] were raised by ethanol. 6. Formation of (3)H(2)O from specifically (3)H-labelled glucoses increased in the order [6-(3)H]<[3-(3)H]<[2-(3)H]. Production of (3)H(2)O from [2-(3)H]glucose was significantly greater than that from [3-(3)H]glucose in both control and ethanol-infused livers. Ethanol significantly decreased (3)H(2)O formation from all [(3)H]glucoses. 7. Liver glycogen content was unaffected by ethanol infusion. 8. Production of very-low-density lipoprotein triacylglycerols was inhibited by ethanol and there was a small increase in liver triacylglycerols. Very-low-density-lipoprotein secretion was negatively correlated with the ratio [3-hydroxybutyrate]/[3-oxobutyrate]. Perfusate fatty acid concentrations and molar composition were unaffected by perfusion with ethanol. 9. Ethanol decreased the incorporation of [U-(14)C]glucose into fatty acids and cholesterol. 10. The concentration of total plasma amino acids was unchanged by ethanol, but the concentrations of alanine and glycine were decreased and ([glutamate]+[glutamine]) was raised. 11. It is proposed that the observed effects of ethanol on carbohydrate metabolism are due to an increased conversion of lactate into glucose, possibly by inhibition of pyruvate dehydrogenase. The increase in gluconeogenesis is accompanied by diminished substrate cycling at glucose-glucose 6-phosphate and at fructose 6-phosphate-fructose 1,6-bisphosphate.     

Lactate production in the perfused rat liver

1. In aerobic conditions the isolated perfused liver from well-fed rats rapidly formed lactate from endogenous glycogen until the lactate concentration in the perfusion medium reached about 2mm (i.e. the concentration of lactate in blood in vivo) and then production ceased. Pyruvate was formed in proportion to the lactate, the [lactate]/[pyruvate] ratio remaining between 8 and 15. 2. The addition of 5mm- or 10mm-glucose did not affect lactate production, but 20mm- and 40mm-glucose greatly increased lactate production. This effect of high glucose concentration can be accounted for by the activity of glucokinase. 3. The perfused liver released glucose into the medium until the concentration was about 6mm. When 5mm- or 10mm-glucose was added to the medium much less glucose was released. 4. At high glucose concentrations (40mm) more glucose was taken up than lactate and pyruvate were produced; the excess of glucose was probably converted into glycogen. 5. In anaerobic conditions, livers of well-fed rats produced lactate at relatively high rates (2.5mumol/min per g wet wt.). Glucose was also rapidly released, at an initial rate of 3.2mumol/min per g wet wt. Both lactate and glucose production ceased when the liver glycogen was depleted. 6. Addition of 20mm-glucose increased the rate of anaerobic production of lactate. 7. d-Fructose also increased anaerobic production of lactate. In the presence of 20mm-fructose some glucose was formed anaerobically from fructose. 8. In the perfused liver from starved rats the rate of lactate formation was very low and the increase after addition of glucose and fructose was slight. 9. The glycolytic capacity of the liver from well-fed rats is equivalent to its capacity for fatty acid synthesis and it is pointed out that hepatic glycolysis (producing acetyl-CoA in aerobic conditions) is not primarily an energy-providing process but part of the mechanism converting carbohydrate into fat.     

Gluconeogenesis by isolated guinea-pig liver parenchymal cells

1. Guinea-pig hepatocytes were prepared by collagenase digestion of the perfused liver. 2. The highest rates of gluconeogenesis were obtained from fructose, followed by pyruvate, xylitol and lactate, glycerol and propionate in that order. Maximum rates of gluconeogenesis were attained at 6-10mm substrate. 3. An initial 15-min lag period occurred during gluconeogenesis from lactate. This lag was abolished by preincubating the cells or by preincubation plus the addition of NH(4)Cl or lysine. 4. The lactate/pyruvate and 3-hydroxybutyrate/acetoacetate ratios were increased during the lag and adjusted to values favouring rapid gluconeogenesis from lactate after 15min. 5. The data suggest that the low glucose synthesis during the lag resulted from a limitation of the glutamate-aspartate shuttle and from the unusual redox state of the NAD(+) couple prevailing during this period. 6. At 0.1mm, amino-oxyacetate, a transaminase inhibitor, decreased gluconeogenesis from lactate by 80%, but had a negligible effect on glucose production from pyruvate. Gluconeogenesis from lactate was also inhibited (20%) by 10mm-dl-3-hydroxybutyrate.     

Control of the redox state of the nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide couple in rat liver cytoplasm

1. A study has been made of the ability of rat liver in vivo to maintain equilibrium in the combined glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, 3-phosphoglycerate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase reactions, i.e. in the system: [Formula: see text] Attempts were made to upset equilibrium. The [lactate]/[pyruvate] ratio was rapidly changed by injection of ethanol or crotyl alcohol, and the value of [ATP]/[ADP][HPO(4) (2-)] was rapidly changed by injection of ethionine or carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxy-phenylhydrazone. 2. The concentrations of the metabolites occurring in the above equation were measured in freeze-clamped liver. 3. Although the injected agents caused large changes in the concentrations of the individual components, near-equilibrium in the system was maintained, as indicated by the fact that the value of [ATP]/[ADP][HPO(4) (2-)], referred to as the phosphorylation state of the adenine nucleotides, measured directly agreed with the value calculated for equilibrium conditions from the above equation. 4. The results are discussed and taken to confirm that the order of magnitude of the value of the redox state of the cytoplasmic NAD couple in rat liver is controlled by the phosphorylation state of the adenine nucleotide system.     

Carbohydrate metabolism in the isolated perfused rat kidney

1. Anaerobic formation of lactate from glucose by isolated perfused rat kidney (411mumol/h per g dry wt.) was three times as fast as in aerobic conditions (138mumol/h per g). 2. In aerobic or in anaerobic conditions, the ratio of lactate production to glucose utilization was about 2. 3. Starvation or acidosis caused a decline of about 30% in the rate of aerobic glycolysis. 4. The rate of formation of glucose from lactate by perfused kidney from a well-fed rat, in the presence of 5mm-acetoacetate (83mumol/h per g dry wt.), was of the same order as the rate of aerobic glycolysis. 5. During perfusion with physiological concentrations of glucose (5mm) and lactate (2mm) there were negligible changes in the concentration of either substrate. 6. Comparison of kidneys perfused with lactate, from well-fed or starved rats, showed no major differences in contents of intermediates of gluconeogenesis. 7. The tissue concentrations of hexose monophosphates and C(3) phosphorylated glycolytic intermediates (except triose phosphate) were decreased in anaerobic conditions. 8. Aerobic metabolism of fructose by perfused kidney was rapid: the rate of glucose formation was 726mumol/h per g dry wt. and of lactate formation 168mumol/h per g (dry wt.). Glycerol and d-glyceraldehyde were also released into the medium. 9. Aerobically, fructose generated high concentrations of glycolytic intermediates. 10. Anaerobic production of lactate from fructose (74mumol/h per g dry wt.) was slower than the aerobic rate. 11. In both anaerobic and aerobic conditions the ratio [lactate]/[pyruvate] in kidney or medium was lower during perfusion with fructose than with glucose. 12. These results are discussed in terms of the regulation of renal carbohydrate metabolism.     

Effect of alloxan-diabetes on gluconeogenesis and ureogenesis in isolated rabbit liver cells.

1. Neither alloxan-diabetes nor starvation affected the rate of glucose production in hepatocytes incubated with lactate, pyruvate, propionate or fructose as substrates. In contrast, glucose synthesis with either alanine or glutamine was increased nearly 3- and 12-fold respectively, in comparison with that in fed rabbits. 2. The addition of amino-oxyacetate resulted in about a 50% decrease in glucose formation from lactate in hepatocytes isolated from fed, alloxan-diabetic and starved rats, suggesting that both mitochondrial and cytosolic forms of rabbit phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase function actively during gluconeogenesis. 3. Alloxan-diabetes resulted in about 2-3-fold stimulation of urea production from either amino acid studied or NH4Cl as NH3 donor, whereas starvation caused a significant increase in the rate of ureogenesis only in the presence of alanine as the source of NH3. 4. As concluded from changes in the [3-hydroxybutyrate]/[acetoacetate] ratio, in hepatocytes from diabetic animals the mitochondrial redox state was shifted toward oxidation in comparison with that observed in liver cells isolated from fed rabbits.