Modulation of the sympathetic nerve action on carbohydrate and ketone body metabolism by fatty acids, glucagon und insulin in perfused rat liver

Rat liver was perfused in situ via the portal vein without recirculation: 1) Nerve stimulation (20 Hz, 2 ms, 20 V) increased glucose output and shifted lactate uptake to output; the alterations were diminished by oleate but not octanoate. 2) Glucagon (1nM) stimulated glucose output maximally also in the presence of the fatty acids, so that nerve stimulation could not increase it further. The hormone also enhanced lactate uptake and nerve stimulation counteracted this effect. The counteraction was diminished by oleate but not octanoate. 3) Insulin (100nM) slightly lowered glucose output and had no effect on lactate balance. It antagonized the increase of glucose output by nerve stimulation, but left the shift of lactate uptake to release unaffected. These events were not influenced by the fatty acids. 4) Nerve stimulation decreased ketone body production from oleate and octanoate. 5) Glucagon increased ketogenesis from oleate, but not octanoate. In the presence of glucagon nerve stimulation also lowered ketogenesis. This decrease was diminished in the presence of oleate. 6) Insulin lowered ketogenesis from oleate but not octanoate. In the presence of insulin nerve stimulation decreased ketogenesis; the relative change was independent of the fatty acids. The complex interactions between fatty acids, glucagon and insulin in the modulation of sympathetic nerve actions can be summarized as follows: Oleate, which enters the mitochondria via the carnitine system, but not octanoate, which enters independently from this system, as well as insulin but not glucagon effectively modulated the nerve actions on carbohydrate metabolism. Glucagon but not insulin modulated the nerve effects on ketogenesis from oleate but not octanoate. The regulatory interactions between substrates, hormones and nerves can best be explained on the basis of the model of metabolic zonation.     

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.     

Effect of a brewer's yeast extract on growth and glucose metabolism of cells in culture.

Brewer's yeast preparations influence glucose metabolism in vivo and in isolated tissues. We have studied the effect of a brewer's yeast extract on glucose metabolism and grwoth of rat hepatoma and human embryonic cells. Growth of the rat hepatoma cells was very much stimulated by the extract in a concentration-dependent manner. Glucose uptake was, on the other hand, appreciably inhibited, and lactate uptake completely abolished by the extract. Insulin stimulated cell growth and inhibited lactate uptake but did not affect the glucose level. Insulin and the extract had additive effects on growth and lactate uptake of the hepatoma cells. The inhibition by the brewer's yeast extract of glucose uptake was, however, antagonized by insulin. Niacin or Cr³⁺, which are suggested to be components of a “glucose tolerance factor” of brewer's yeast, did not affect growth or glucose and lactate uptake. The glucose uptake of the human embryonic cells was strongly inhibited by the brewer's yeast extract. Cell growth and lactate production were not influenced by the extract or by insulin; however, when both insulin and extract were present simultaneously, a slight stimulation of growth and inhibition of lactate production was observed. The results indicate that brewer's yeast can have appreciable direct effects on cells and that not all of these effects are “insulin-like”.     

Reversal of myocardial dysfunction in endotoxin shock with insulin.

Recent data reported from this laboratory have documented myocardial functional depression in endotoxin shock. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of insulin on the dysfunctioning canine myocardium subjected to lethal endotoxin shock. Experiments were conducted on isolated working left ventricular preparations in which LD90-100 endotoxin was administered prior to, or following, isolation of the heart. Determinations of myocardial performance were conducted under the conditions of controlled mean aortic pressure and cardiac output. Myocardial dysfunction occurred between 2 and 6 h postendotoxin, as evidenced by significantly increased left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, decreased power, and depressed negative dP/dt, although blood glucose concentrations were maintained at control values. Intraatrial infusions of insulin at rates of 6 U/min reversed all signs of myocardial dysfunction. During insulin infusion, heart rates decreased (p less than 0.02) and myocardial lactate uptake increased (p less than 0.02), while oxygen uptake and coronary blood flow were insignificantly altered.     

Differential role of insulin receptor autophosphorylation sites 1162 and 1163 in the long-term insulin stimulation of glucose transport, glycogenesis, and protein synthesis.

The long-term regulatory effect of insulin on glucose transport activity and glucose transporter expression was examined in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) transfectants that overexpress either human insulin receptors of the wild type (CHO-R cells) or human insulin receptors mutated at two major autophosphorylation sites, Tyr1162 and Tyr1163 (CHO-Y2 cells). Previous studies showed that, when acutely stimulated by insulin, CHO-Y2 cells exhibit decreased receptor kinase activity along with decreased signaling of several pathways, including that for glucose transport, as compared with CHO-R cells. We now report the following. (i) When treated for 24 h with insulin (10(-10) to 10(-6) M), CHO-R and CHO-Y2 cells displayed closely similar concentration-dependent increases in 2-deoxyglucose uptake. In both transfectants, the maximal insulin-induced increase (approximately 3.5-fold) in uptake was cycloheximide-sensitive and was paralleled by equivalent increases in the levels of GLUT-1 immunoreactive protein and mRNA. (ii) By contrast, under similar conditions, CHO-Y2 cells exhibited a marked decrease in their response to insulin for [U-14C]glucose incorporation into glycogen (decreased sensitivity and maximal responsiveness) and for [U-14C]leucine incorporation into protein (decreased sensitivity) as compared with CHO-R cells. (iii) After a 24-h treatment with 10(-7) M insulin, CHO-R (but not CHO-Y2) cells showed a decreased ability to respond to a subsequent acute insulin stimulation of either receptor exogenous kinase activity or 2-deoxyglucose uptake as compared with respective untreated controls. These results indicate that (i) insulin receptors mutated at Tyr1162 and Tyr1163 retain normal signaling of the long-term stimulatory effect of insulin on glucose transport activity and GLUT-1 expression, but not on glycogenesis and overall protein synthesis; (ii) these three insulin signaling pathways may be triggered by distinct domains of the insulin receptor beta-subunit; and (iii) wild-type (but not twin-tyrosine mutant) receptors undergo negative regulation by chronic insulin treatment for subsequent signaling of acute biological actions of insulin.     

Mechanical factors affecting protein turnover in isolated rat hearts

Induction of cardiac work increased protein synthesis in hearts supplied glucose or a mixture simulating normal plasma levels of glucose, insulin, glucagon, lactate, and beta-hydroxybutyrate. During 2 h of perfusion, cardiac work did not accelerate protein synthesis in hearts supplied a mixture of glucose, lactate, and higher concentrations of insulin. Protein degradation was decreased by work in hearts supplied glucose. Nitrogen balance was negative in Langendorff-perfused hearts provided glucose, but was less so in working preparations. Nitrogen balance was zero or positive in working hearts provided the mixture simulating plasma or the mixture of glucose, lactate, and insulin. In Langendorff preparations, increased aortic pressure accelerated protein synthesis during the second hour of perfusion in hearts supplied glucose, glucose plus insulin, or pyruvate. When ventricular pressure development was prevented by ventricular draining or when drained hearts were arrested with tetrodotoxin, protein synthesis still increased as perfusion pressure was raised from 60 to 120 mm Hg. Oxygen consumption increased as aortic pressure was increased in drained, beating hearts, but was unaffected in arrested, drained hearts. These studies indicated that increased aortic pressure and its attendant stretch of the ventricular wall were the mechanical parameter most closely associated with faster rates of protein synthesis.     

Effects of insulin and prior exercise on prostaglandin release from perfused rat muscle. Evidence that prostaglandins do not mediate changes in glucose uptake.

Prostaglandin generation and its inter-relation to the metabolic effects of insulin and prior exercise were examined in perfused muscle of fed rats. During a 60 min perfusion of the rat hindquarter, a substantial release of the prostaglandins PGF2 alpha, PGE2 and 6-oxoPGF1 alpha was observed. Blood cells present in the perfusate released these substances in negligible amounts indicating the prostaglandins were produced by the hindquarter. Addition of insulin to the perfusate increased both glucose uptake and the generation of PGE2 and 6-oxoPGF1 alpha. At 30 min after intense treadmill exercise, glucose and alpha-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB) uptake by the hindquarter were increased in the absence of added insulin, but prostaglandin release was not increased. Insulin further increased glucose and AIB uptake; however, in contrast with its effects in non-exercised rats, insulin no longer stimulated prostaglandin generation. Indomethacin (10 microM) added to the perfusate inhibited the release of PGF2 alpha and PGE2 by 90% and the release of 6-oxoPGF1 alpha by 54%. It had no effect on the stimulation of glucose uptake by either insulin or prior exercise. The data indicate that insulin increases prostaglandin synthesis by perfused rat muscle, and that prior exercise blocks this effect. They suggest that under the conditions studied prostaglandins do not mediate the effects of insulin or prior exercise on glucose uptake.     

Increased glucose transporter (GLUT4) protein expression in hyperthyroidism

We have studied skeletal muscle glucose uptake by perfused hindquarter preparations from rats treated with thyroxine. Basal glucose uptake (in the absence of insulin) was approximately 2 fold higher in muscle of hyperthyroid rats compared to controls. Insulin (10(-7) M) stimulated glucose uptake 4.0 and 6.8 fold in the 10 day and 30 day controls rats, respectively. Maximal glucose uptake (10(-7) M insulin) was not different in control and hyperthyroid rats and thus insulin responsiveness in the hyperthyroid animals was reduced to 2.5 fold stimulation. The abundance of the insulin-sensitive glucose transporter protein (muscle/fat, GLUT-4), measured by Western blot analysis using polyclonal antisera, was higher in skeletal muscle from both groups of hyperthyroid rats. These studies indicate that thyroid hormones increase basal glucose uptake in skeletal muscle and this is due, at least in part, to an increment of GLUT-4 isoform. Increased expression of muscle glucose transporter proteins may be responsible for the increased peripheral glucose utilization seen in hyperthyroidism.     

Effect of acetoacetate on glucose metabolism in the soleus and extensor digitorum longus muscles of the rat.

1. The effect of acetoacetate on glucose metabolism was compared in the soleus, a slow-twitch red muscle, and the extensor digitorum longus, a muscle composed of 50% fast-twitch red and 50% white fibres. 2. When incubated for 2h in a medium containing 5 mM-glucose and 0.1 unit of insulin/ml, rates of glucose uptake, lactate release and glucose oxidation in the soleus were 19.6, 18.6 and 1.47 micronmol/h per g respectively. Acetoacetate (1.7 mM) diminished all three rates by 25-50%; however, it increased glucose conversion into glycogen. In addition, it caused increases in tissue glucose, glucose 6-phosphate and fructose 6-phosphate, suggesting inhibition of phosphofructokinase. The concentrations of citrate, an inhibitor of phosphofructokinase, and of malate were also increased. 3. Rates of glucose uptake and lactate release in the extensor digitorum longus were 50-80% of those in the soleus. Acetoacetate caused moderate increases in tissue glucose 6-phosphate and possibly citrate, but it did not decrease glucose uptake or lactate release. 4. The rate of glycolysis in the soleus was approximately five times that previously observed in the perfused rat hindquarter, a muscle preparation in which acetoacetate inhibits glucose oxidation, but does not alter glucose uptake or glycolysis. A similar rate of glycolysis was observed when the soleus was incubated with a glucose-free medium. Under these conditions, tissue malate and the lactate/pyruvate ratio in the medium were decreased, and acetoacetate did not decrease lactate release or increase tissue citrate or glucose 6-phosphate. An intermediate rate of glycolysis, which was not decreased by acetoacetate, was observed when the soleus was incubated with glucose, but not insulin. 5. The data suggest that acetoacetate glucose inhibits uptake and glycolysis in red muscle under conditions that resemble mild to moderate exercise. They also suggest that the accumulation of citrate in these circumstances is linked to the rate of glycolysis, possibly through the generation of cytosolic NADH and malate formation.     

Insulin controls key steps of carbohydrate metabolism in cultured HT29 colon cancer cells.

Effects of insulin on key steps of carbohydrate metabolism were investigated in cultured HT29 colon cancer cells by two different approaches, i.e. incubation of the cells either in the absence or in the presence of glucose in the medium. In glucose-deprived cells, insulin decreased glycogen breakdown, but did not affect polysaccharide levels when glucose was present. Glycogen synthase became activated after insulin treatment in both conditions, even though the activation was more evident when glucose was omitted. No effect on glycogen phosphorylase activity was evident under our experimental conditions. In cells incubated with glucose, the hormone stimulated in a dose-dependent manner the rates of glucose uptake and lactate release. Concomitantly with the increase in glycolytic rate, insulin caused a strong increase in fructose 2,6-bisphosphate. This effect was not observed in the absence of glucose. It is concluded that the carbohydrate metabolism of cultured HT29 cells responds to insulin, making this biological model suitable for investigations in vitro on the mechanism of insulin action.     

Insulin and nitric oxide stimulates glucose transport in human placenta

The present work examines whether insulin and NO can act as regulators of glucose transport in placenta. Glucose uptake (2-deoxy D-[(3)H]glucose) was measured in the absence (control or basal values) and in the presence of insulin (1200 microU/ml) or SNP (20 microM) in isolated perfused cotyledons and tissue slices preparations of human placenta. Both insulin and NO significantly increased glucose uptake by 20 and 27 per cent, respectively. Insulin decreased the Km of glucose transport from 42.5 +/- 2.69 to 35.1 +/- 2.58 mM. The stimulatory effect of SNP was mimicked by 8-CPT-cGMP and was completely blocked by the guanylate cyclase inhibitor, ODQ (10 microM). ODQ and the NOS inhibitor, L-NAME (100 microM), decreased basal glucose uptake but did not affect insulin-stimulated glucose transport. Taken together, these findings indicate that insulin and NO stimulate glucose uptake in human placenta and suggest that both potential regulators of glucose transport use different signaling pathways.     

Glucose transport and metabolism in the perfused hindquarters of lean and obese-hyperglycemic (db/db) mice. Effects of insulin and electrical stimulation

Changes in glucose transport and metabolism in skeletal muscles of the obese-diabetic mice (db/db) was characterized using the perfused mouse hindquarter preparation. Metabolism of [5-3H]glucose, uptake of 3-O-[methyl-3H]glucose (methylglucose) and [2-14C]deoxyglucose (deoxyglucose) was studied under resting, electrically stimulated contracting, and insulin-stimulated conditions. Basal rate of methylglucose uptake was 255 +/- 18 and 180 +/- 9 microliter/15 min per ml intracellular fluid space for lean and db/db mice, respectively. The V- of methylglucose transport was decreased with no change in Km in the db/db mice. Both electrical stimulation and insulin (1/mU/ml) increased methylglucose uptake rate 2-fold in both lean and obese mice. We observed no significant change in insulin sensitivity in the db/db mice in stimulating methylglucose uptake which was subnormal under all conditions. Similar results were obtained using deoxyglucose. Likewise, uptake of glucose and 3H2O production from [5-3H]glucose were significantly reduced, both at rest and during electrically stimulated contraction in the db/db mouse. However, lactate production in the electrically stimulated db/db mouse preparations was not significantly different from that in the lean mice. These data suggest a major contribution from an impaired glucose transport activity to the reduction in glucose metabolism in the db/db mouse skeletal muscle.     

Insulin receptor tyrosine residues 1162 and 1163 control insulin stimulation of myristoyl-diacylglycerol generation and subsequent activation of glucose transport

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) transfectants expressing human insulin receptors that were mutated at tyrosines 1162 and 1163 (CHO-Y2 cells) exhibit decreased insulin stimulation of both receptor tyrosine kinase and 2-deoxyglucose uptake compared with transfectants expressing wild-type human insulin receptors (CHO-R cells). We now provide evidence that insulin stimulation of myristoyl-diacylglycerol (DAG) production is also markedly impaired in CHO-Y2 cells; this is manifested as a decreased responsiveness and sensitivity to insulin as compared with CHO-R and parental CHO cells. Further, we report that (i) the concentration-response curves of insulin-stimulated myristoyl-DAG production and 2-deoxyglucose uptake were superimposable within each of the three cell lines. (ii) The insulin-induced increase in myristoyl-DAG production preceded that in 2-deoxyglucose uptake, and the time course was altered for both responses in CHO-Y2 cells. (iii) Insulin also increased the phosphorylation of a 40-kDa protein known to be a substrate for protein kinase C, but to a much lesser extent in CHO-Y2 cells than in CHO-R cells. (iv) Exogenously added 1,2-dimyristoyl-glycerol and 4 beta-phorbol 12 beta-myristate 13 alpha-acetate (PMA) again stimulated both the phosphorylation of the 40-kDa protein and 2-deoxyglucose uptake, but in contrast to insulin, they elicited the same level of response in both CHO-R and CHO-Y2 cells. (v) Finally, in protein kinase C-depleted CHO-R cells, insulin and PMA stimulation of 40-kDa protein phosphorylation as well as PMA stimulation of 2-deoxyglucose uptake were completely abolished whereas insulin-stimulated 2-deoxyglucose uptake was only partially decreased. Taken together, these results suggest that insulin stimulation of 2-deoxyglucose uptake involves myristoyl-DAG production and, at least in part, protein kinase C activation, all three of these processes being controlled by receptor tyrosines 1162 and 1163.     

Insulin action in human thighs after one-legged immobilization

Insulin action was assessed in thighs of five healthy young males who had one knee immobilized for 7 days by a splint. The splint was not worn in bed. Subjects also used crutches to prevent weight bearing of the immobilized leg. Immobilization decreased the activity of citrate synthase and 3-OH-acyl-CoA-dehydrogenase in the vastus lateralis muscle by 9 and 14%, respectively, and thigh volume by 5%. After 7 days of immobilization, a two-step euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp procedure combined with arterial and bilateral femoral venous catheterization was performed. Insulin action on glucose uptake and tyrosine release of the thighs at mean plasma insulin concentrations of 67 (clamp step I) and 447 microU/ml (clamp step II) was decreased by immobilization, whereas immobilization did not affect insulin action on thigh exchange of free fatty acids, glycerol, O2, or potassium. Before and during the clamp step I, lactate release was significantly higher in the immobilized than in the control thigh. Seven days of one-legged immobilization causes local decreased insulin action on thigh glucose uptake and net protein degradation.     

Insulin activation of lipogenesis in isolated mammary acini from lactating rats fed on a high-fat diet. Evidence that acetyl-CoA carboxylase is a site of action.

Feeding lactating rats on high-fat cheese crackers in addition to laboratory chow increased the dietary intake of fat from 2 to 20% of the total weight of food eaten and decreased mammary-gland lipogenesis in vivo by approx. 50%. This lipogenic inhibition was also observed in isolated mammary acini, where it was accompanied by decreased glucose uptake. These inhibitions were completely reversed by incubation with insulin. Insulin had no effect on the rate of glucose transport into acini, nor on pyruvate dehydrogenase activity as estimated by the accumulation of pyruvate and lactate, suggesting that these are not the sites of lipogenic inhibition. Insulin stimulated the incorporation of [1-14C]acetate into lipid in acini from high-fat-fed rats. In the presence of alpha-cyanohydroxycinnamate, a potent inhibitor of mitochondrial pyruvate transport, and with glucose as the sole substrate, neither [1-14C]glucose incorporation into lipid nor glucose uptake were stimulated by insulin. Insulin did stimulate the incorporation of [1-14C]acetate into lipid in the presence of alpha-cyanohydroxycinnamate, and this was accompanied by an increase in glucose uptake by the acini. This indicated that increased glucose uptake was secondary to the stimulation of lipogenesis by insulin, which therefore must occur via activation of a step in the pathway distal to mitochondrial pyruvate transport. Insulin stimulated acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity measured in crude extracts of acini from high-fat-fed rats, restoring it to values close to those of chow-fed controls. The effects of insulin on acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity and lipogenesis were not antagonized by adrenaline or dibutyryl cyclic AMP.     

Effect of insulin and lack of effect of workload and hypoxia on protein degradation in the perfused working rat heart.

1. Protein degradation was studied in the glucose (5 mM)-perfused working rat heart preparation of Taegtmeyer, Hems & Krebs [(1980) Biochem. J. 186. 701-711]. 2. The effects of cardiac workload were investigated in three different preparations: (a) control (low workload), (b) increased pressure workload (simulating conditions of aortic pressure in vivo) and (c) increased volume workload. There was no effect of increased workload on protein degradation in preparation (b) or (c) when compared with preparation (a). Insulin inhibited protein degradation in all three preparations. Significantly greater inhibition by insulin was observed in the increased-pressure-workload preparation (b). 3. Hypoxia was induced by the partial replacement of O2 in the gaseous phase by N2. Hearts maintained their cardiac output when O2 content was decreased from 95% to 55% by volume, but the stability of the preparation was less at 50% O2. Lactate output was significantly increased at O2 contents of 65% or less. The rate of protein degradation was not different from control values (95% O2) in perfusions with 65, 55 or 50% O2. 4. We conclude that acutely increased workload or acute hypoxia does not affect protein degradation in the perfused working rat heart when cardiac output is relatively stable.     

Insulin stimulation of glucose uptake fails to decrease palmitate oxidation in muscle if AMPK is activated.

Fatty acid oxidation in muscle has been reported to be diminished when insulin and glucose levels are elevated. This study was designed to determine whether activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) will prevent inhibitory effects of insulin and glucose on the rate of fatty acid oxidation. Rat hindlimbs were perfused with medium containing 0, 0.3, or 60 nM insulin with or without 2 mM 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-beta-D-ribofuranoside (AICAR). Glucose uptake was stimulated four- to fivefold by inclusion of insulin in the medium. Insulin attenuated the increase in AMPK caused by AICAR both in perfused hindlimbs and in isolated epitrochlearis muscles. The activation constant for citrate activation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) was significantly increased in response to AICAR, and the increase was slightly attenuated if insulin was present in the perfusion medium. Insulin stimulated an increase in malonyl-CoA content of the muscles in the absence of AICAR. Malonyl-CoA was decreased to approximately the same value in AICAR-perfused muscle, regardless of insulin concentration. Muscle glucose 6-phosphate and citrate were significantly increased in response to AICAR and insulin. The rate of palmitate oxidation tended to decrease in response to insulin and in the absence of AICAR. AICAR increased palmitate oxidation to approximately the same level regardless of the insulin concentration or the rate of glucose uptake into the muscle. The rate of palmitate oxidation showed a curvilinear relationship as a function of muscle malonyl-CoA content, with half-maximal inhibition at approximately 0.6 nmol/g. We conclude that AMPK activation can prevent high rates of glucose uptake and glycolytic flux from inhibiting palmitate oxidation in predominantly fast-twitch muscle under these conditions.     

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.     

The influence of insulin on glucose and fatty acid metabolism in the isolated perfused rat hind quarter.

Glucose and fatty acid metabolism of resting skeletal muscle were studied by perfusion of the isolated rat hind leg with a hemoglobin-free medium. Tissue integrity was demonstrated by normal ATP, ADP and creatine phosphate levels, by a sufficient oxygen supply, and by a normal appearance of perfused muscle specimens under the electron microscope. The rates of glucose and fatty acid uptake, and of lactate, alanine, glycerol and fatty acid release were constant over a perfusion period of 60 min. Insulin (1 unit/l) caused a more than threefold increase in glucose uptake, a stimulation of lactate production, and a 20% increase in the muscular glycogen levels. Fatty acids and alanine release were significantly diminished by insulin, but glycerol release did not change. The uptake of oleate by the rat hind leg was dependent on the medium concentration in a range of 0.7-1.9mM oleate, and was stimulated by insulin. Glucose uptake was not influenced by oleate, whether sodium was present or not. When the leg was perfused with [1-14C]oleate, 75% of the incorporated fatty acids were found in muscle lipids, 10% were oxidized to CO2, and 5% were recovered in bone lipids. The absolute amount of oleate oxidation was not altered by insulin. In all experiments with and without glucose in the medium, 70-80% of the 14C label incorporated into muscle lipids was found in the triglyceride fraction. In the presence of glucose, insulin significantly increased the incorporation of [1-14C]oleate into muscle triglycerides, whereas no insulin effect, either on fatty acid uptake or on triglyceride formation, could be observed when glucose was omitted from the perfusate. The present results indicate that a "glucose-fatty acid cycle" as found in rat heart muscle does not operate in resting peripheral skeletal muscle tissue. They also demonstrate that the stimulating effect of insulin on muscular fatty acid uptake and triglyceride synthesis is dependent on glucose supply. This finding can be intrepreted as a stimulation of fatty acid esterification by sn-glycerol 3-phosphate derived from an increased glucose turnover, which is in turn due to insulin.     

Lactogenic and somatogenic binding sites in intact and detergent-solubilized membrane preparations of female rat liver.

1. Lactation results in decreased glucose and acetate utilization and increased lactate output by sheep adipose tissue. 2. The ability of insulin to stimulate acetate uptake was lost in adipose tissue from lactating sheep, whereas both the response and the sensitivity (ED50) for insulin for stimulation of glucose conversion into products other than lactate were decreased. These impairments were partly restored by prolonged incubation of adipose tissue for 48 h. 3. The ability of insulin to stimulate lactate output was not altered by lactation. 4. Dexamethasone inhibited glucose uptake, lactate output and glycerol output in adipose tissue from both non-lactating and lactating sheep, with an ED50 of about 1 nM. Dexamethasone inhibited acetate uptake by adipose tissue from non-lactating sheep, but this effect was not observed with adipose tissue from lactating sheep. 5. Dexamethasone inhibited the stimulation of glucose uptake at all concentrations of insulin used; the effect varied with insulin concentration and resulted in an accentuation of the insulin dose-response curve. The insulin dose-response curve in the presence of dexamethasone was muted during lactation. 6. The overall effect of these adaptations is to ensure that glucose and acetate utilization by adipose tissue after an insulin surge is diminished during lactation.