Effect of cAMP of glycolysis and glycogenolysis in the liver and adrenals of white rats

The rates of glycolysis and glycogenolysis an the rate of lactate formation from glucoso-6-phosphate (G-6-Ph) in the liver were reduced during stress (starvation). On the contrary, these activities in the adrenals were increased. The rates of lactate formation from fructose diphosphate remained unchanged in both organs. The results obtained attest to the inhibition in the liver and activation in the adrenals of phosphorylase, hexokinase and phosphofructokinase. The degree of hexokinase inhibition in the liver depended on the presence of cAMP, ATP and MgCl2 in the incubation medium and was a consequence of enzymatic phosphorylation. Unlike 2', 3'-AMP, the inhibitory effect of CAMP was highly specific. The protein inhibitor of protein kinase completely reversed the inhibitory effect of cAMP on hexokinase. In the adrenals, cAMP slightly increased the rates of glycolysis and lactate formation from G-6-Ph because of allosteric effects of cAMP. The activation rather than inhibition of glycolysis in the adrenals during stress is probably caused by the absence in this tissue of cAMP-dependent protein kinase which phosphorylates hexokinase.     

Platelet-activating factor-mediated vasoconstriction and glycogenolysis in the perfused rat liver

Infusion of platelet-activating factor (alkyl acetylglycerophosphocholine (AGEPC] into isolated perfused rat livers caused a dose-dependent, transient increase in portal vein pressure, indicative of constriction of the hepatic vasculature. A close correlation was observed between the changes in portal pressure and concomitant transient increases in hepatic glucose output. The two processes displayed similar dose dependence and were attenuated to a similar extent by reducing the perfusate calcium concentration. Reducing the perfusate free calcium concentration to 1 nM by co-infusion of EGTA did not abolish completely the hepatic responses to AGEPC. Verapamil inhibited both the hemodynamic and glycogenolytic responses to AGEPC in a dose-dependent fashion; the IC50 was approximately 10 microM at an AGEPC concentration of 6.6 X 10(-11) M. Also, both responses displayed similar degrees of tachyphylaxis in response to repeated short infusions of AGEPC. Measurement of glycogen phosphorylase a in extracts from freeze-clamped livers demonstrated a rapid increase in phosphorylase a in response to infusion of AGEPC. A small but significant increase in whole tissue ADP was found in response to AGEPC (2 X 10(-8) M); cAMP levels were not changed by AGEPC infusion. It is concluded that glycogenolysis in the perfused liver in response to AGEPC may be a result of the hemodynamic effects of AGEPC, rather than a direct effect of the phospholipid mediator on the hepatocyte.     

Nicotinamide coenzyme content in the normal and regenerating liver of rats

The content of NADH and NADPH was measured in the intact and regenerating rat liver. In the intact rat liver, the content of NAD+, NADH, NADP+ and NADPH was 235 +/- 6.4, 66.6 +/- 4.3, 73.3 +/- 2.5 and 148.0 +/- 4.6 micrograms/g crude liver weight, respectively. Seasonal alterations in the rat liver content of coenzymes were established. No changes were found in the content of nicotinamide coenzymes in the regenerating liver 4 and 18 h after operation. Twenty-four hours after operation, a 25.6% increase in the content of NAD+ and a 57.8% reduction in the NADH content were recorded in the liver of hepatectomized animals. At the same time the total content of NAD+ plus NADH changed but insignificantly (14.7%). The total content of NADP+ plus NADPH dropped by 29.8% (within the above period). Thirty-two hours after operation the content of all the nicotinamide coenzymes returned to the initial level.     

Effect of verapamil on glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis in the perfused rat liver

In perfused livers from fed rats, rates of glucose production (glycogenolysis) were 133 +/- 12 mumol/g/hr. Infusion of 2 microM verapamil into these livers decreased the rates of glucose production significantly to 97 +/- 15 mumol/g/hr within 10 min. Conversely, rates of production of lactate plus pyruvate (glycolysis) of 64 +/- 6 mumol/g/hr were not significantly altered by verapamil (60 +/- 3 mumol/g/hr). When 50 microM verapamil was infused, however, rates of both glycogenolysis and glycolysis were diminished to 56 +/- 11 and 43 +/- 5 mumol/g/hr, respectively. In perfused livers from fasted rats, infusion of 20 mM fructose increased the rates of production of glucose (gluconeogenesis) significantly from 11 +/- 7 to 121 +/- 17 mumol/g/hr. These rates reached 138 +/- 7 mumol/g/hr upon the simultaneous infusion of verapamil (2 microM). In these livers, fructose also increased rates of production of lactate from 6 +/- 2 to 132 +/- 11 mumol/g/hr, which were further increased to 143 +/- 8 mumol/g/hr when 2 microM verapamil was infused. The results show that calcium-dependent processes involved in hepatic carbohydrate metabolism respond differently to the calcium channel blocker verapamil. Low concentrations of verapamil inhibited glycogenolysis significantly while having no effect on either glycolysis or gluconeogenesis. These data suggest that these two processes have different sensitivities to changes in intracellular calcium concentrations and/or different sources of regulatory calcium.