Correlations between components of the glycolytic pathway

1. The contents of dihydroxyacetone phosphate, fructose diphosphate, pyruvate and lactate and the activities of aldolase and lactate dehydrogenase in the liver, kidney, testis, skeletal muscle, blood cells, sarcoma and hepatoma of rats were measured. 2. Correlations were established between components of the glycolytic pathway as follows: activities of aldolase and lactate dehydrogenase; contents of fructose diphosphate and pyruvate; activity of aldolase and content of fructose diphosphate; activity of lactate dehydrogenase and contents of fructose diphosphate and of pyruvate.     

Production of racemic lactic acid in Pediococcus cerevisiae cultures by two lactate dehydrogenases.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)-dependent d(minus)-and l(plus)-lactate dehydrogenases have been partially purified 89- and 70-fold simultaneously from cell-free extracts of Pediococcus cerevisiae. Native molecular weights, as estimated from molecular sieve chromatography and electrophoresis in nondenaturing polyacrylamide gels, are 71,000 to 73,000 for d(minus)-lactate dehydrogenase and 136,000 to 139,000 for l(plus)-lactate dehydrogenase. Electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate-containing gels reveals subunits with approximate molecular weights of 37,000 to 39,000 for both enzymes. By lowering the pyruvate concentration from 5.0 to 0.5 mM, the pH optimum for pyruvate reduction by d(minus)-lactate dehydrogenase decreases from pH 8.0 to 3.6. However, l(plus)-lactate dehydrogenase displays an optimum for pyruvate reduction between pH 4.5 and 6.0 regardless of the pyruvate concentration. The enzymes obey Michaelis-Menten kinetics for both pyruvate and reduced NAD at pH 5.4 and 7.4, with increased affinity for both substrates at the acid pH. alpha-Ketobutyrate can be used as a reducible substrate, whereas oxamate has no inhibitory effect on lactate oxidation by either enzyme. Adenosine triphosphate causes inhibition of both enzymes by competition with reduced NAD. Adenosine diphosphate is also inhibitory under the same conditions, whereas NAD acts as a product inhibitor. These results are discussed with relation to the lactate isomer production during the growth cycle of P. cerevisiae.     

Mechanism responsible for the hypoglycemic actions of dichloroacetate and 2-chloropropionate

Dichloroacetate, an activator of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, is known to lower blood glucose, lactate, pyruvate, and alanine when given to diabetic and 24 h fasted rats. Under certain conditions, especially when pyruvate carboxylase is made rate limiting for want of bicarbonate, dichloroacetate effectively inhibits glucose synthesis from lactate by isolated hepatocytes. 2-Chloropropionate also activates the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, lowers blood glucose, lactate, and pyruvate in 24 h fasted rats, but stimulates gluconeogenesis from lactate or alanine by isolated hepatocytes. Dichloroacetate is catabolized to glyoxylate and thence to oxalate by liver cells, whereas 2-chloropropionate cannot be catabolized to these products. Glyoxylate and oxalate are potent inhibitors of glucose synthesis from lactate, pyruvate, and alanine, but not from dihydroxyacetone. Inhibition is much more pronounced in a bicarbonate-deficient medium, in which pyruvate carboxylase is probably rate limiting for gluconeogenesis. It seems likely, therefore, that the inhibition of lactate gluconeogenesis by dichloroacetate is actually caused by oxalate, which inhibits pyruvate carboxylation. Nevertheless, the major effect of dichloroacetate, and probably the sole effect of 2-chloropropionate, on blood glucose concentration is to limit substrate availability in the blood for hepatic gluconeogenesis. Since oxalic acid stone formation and renal dysfunction may prove to be side effects of any therapeutic application of dichloroacetate, we suggest that further studies on the treatment of hyperglycemia and lactic acidosis with pyruvate dehydrogenase activators be carried out with 2-chloropropionate rather than dichloroacetate.     

Inhibition of lactate glucogneogenesis in rat kidney by dichloroacetate.

1. Sodium dichloroacetate (1mM) inhibited glucose production from L-lactate in kidney-cortex slices from fed, starved or alloxan-diabetic rates. In general gluconeogenesis from other substrates was no inhibited. 2. Sodium dichloracetate inhibited glucose production from L-lactate but no from pyruvate in perfused isolated kidneys from normal or alloxan-diabetic rats. 3. Sodium dichloroacetate is an inhibitor of the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase reaction and it effected conversion of pyruvate dehydrogenase into its its active (dephosphorylated) form in kidney in vivo. In general, pyruvate dehydrogenase was mainly in the active form in kidneys perfused or incubated with L-lactate and the inhibitory effect of dichloroacetate on glucose production was not dependent on activation of pyruvate dehydrogenase. 4. Balance data from kidney slices showed that dichloroacetate inhibits lactate uptake, glucose and pyruvate production from lactate, but no oxidation of lactate. 5. The mechanism of this effect of dichloroactetate on glucose production from lactate has not been fully defined, but evidence suggests that it may involve a fall in tissue pyruvate concentration and inhibition of pyruvate carboxylation.     

An optimum regimen for the use of malate dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase during chemical regeneration of the cofactor

The steady-state kinetics of malate oxidation by malate dehydrogenase was being studied without coupling reagents under the conditions of chemical regeneration of the cofactor by the following pairs: phenazine methosulphate (PMS)--dichlorphenolindophenol (DCPIP) and PMS--tetranitrotetrazolium blue (TNTB). The comparative kinetic study was carried out of the steady-state oxidation of lactate and the reduction of pyruvate by lactate rehydrogenase, as well as of the dehydrogenation of lactate, coupled with the cofactor regeneration by the pair PMS-DCPIP. Optimum reagent concentrations, optimum pH and activation energies were determined for six systems. Malate dehydrogenation coupled with regeneration of the cofactor by the pair PMS-TNTB is the most promising reaction for enzyme immunoassay.     

Fructose 1,6-diphosphate-activated L-lactate dehydrogenase from Streptococcus lactis: kinetic properties and factors affecting activation.

The L-(+)-lactate dehydrogenase (L-lactate:NAD+ oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.27) of Streptococcus lactis C10, like that of other streptococci, was activated by fructose 1,6-diphosphate (FDP). The enzyme showed some activity in the absence of FDP, with a pH optimum of 8.2; FDP decreased the Km for both pyruvate and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and shifted the pH optimum to 6.9. Enzyme activity showed a hyperbolic response to both NADH and pyruvate in all the buffers tried except phosphate buffer, in which the response to increasing NADH was sigmoidal. The FDP concentration required for half-maximal velocity (FDP0.5V) was markedly influenced by the nature of the assay buffer used. Thus the FDP0.5V was 0.002 mM in 90 mM triethanolamine buffer, 0.2 mM in 90 mM tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethanemaleate buffer, and 4.4 mM in 90 mM phosphate buffer. Phosphate inhibition of FDP binding is not a general property of streptococcal lactate dehydrogenase, since the FDP0.5V value for S. faecalis 8043 lactate dehydrogenase was not increased by phosphate. The S. faecalis and S. lactis lactate dehydrogenases also differed in that Mn2+ enhanced FDP binding in S. faecalis but had no effect on the S. lactis dehydrogenase. The FDP concentration (12 to 15 mM) found in S. lactis cells during logarithmic growth on a high-carbohydrate (3% lactose) medium would be adequate to give almost complete activation of the lactate dehydrogenase even if the high FDP0.5V value found in 90 mM phosphate were similar to the FDP requirement in vivo.     

Involvement of pyruvate dehydrogenase in product formation in pyruvate-limited anaerobic chemostat cultures of Enterococcus faecalis NCTC 775

Enterococcus faecalis NCTC 775 was grown anaerobically in chemostat culture with pyruvate as the energy source. At low culture pH values, high in vivo and in vitro activities were found for both pyruvate dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase. At high culture pH values the carbon flux was shifted towards pyruvate formate lyase. Some mechanisms possibly involved in this metabolic switch are discussed. In particular attention is paid to the NADH/NAD ratio (redox potential) and the fructose-1,6-bisphosphate-dependent lactate dehydrogenase activity as possible regulatory factors.Abbreviations PDH pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (EC 1.2.2.2) - PFL pyruvate formate lyase (EC 2.3.1.54) - LDH lactate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27) - FBP fructose-1,6-bisphosphate - MTT 3-(4,5-dimethyl-thiazoyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide - TPP thiamine pyrophosphate     

Lactate dehydrogenase from gastrocnemius muscle of turtle

Five bands of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isoenzymes were seen by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in gastrocnemius muscle of the turtle (Kachuga smithi). The major band was of M2H2 type and was partially purified by gel filtration and affinity chromatography. The specific activity of the enzyme was 2.6 units/mg protein. The half-life of the enzyme at 4 degrees C, was about 7 days. The optimum temperature for enzyme activity was 30 degrees C and the enzyme was irreversibly inactivated at 40 degrees C. The optimum pH for the forward reaction (pyruvate to lactate) was 5.5, while for reverse reaction it was between 8.0 to 9.5. The apparent Km values for pyruvate, NADH, lactate and NAD+ were 0.20, 0.013, 25 and 0.333 mM, respectively. Oxalate was found to be the inhibitor of LDH with Ki of about 4.2 mM.     

Stimulation of flux through hepatic pyruvate dehydrogenase by 3-mercaptopicolinate

Isolated hepatocytes from 24-h-starved rats were used to assess the possible effect of Ahe hypoglycaemic agent 3-mercaptopicolinate on flux through the hepatic pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. Increasing the extraceIIular pyruvate concentration from 1 mM to 2 mM or 5 mM resulted in an increase in flux through pyruvate dehydrogenase and the tricarboxylic acid cycle as measured by¹⁴CO₂ evolution from [1-¹⁴C]pyruvate and [3-¹⁴C]pyruvate. Gluconeogenesis was inhibited by 3-mercaptopicolinate from both 1 mM and 2 mM pyruvate, but significant increases in malate and citrate concentrations only occurred in cells incubated with 1 mM pyruvate. Flux through pyruvate dehydrogenase was stimulated by 3-mercaptopicolinate with 1 mM pyruvate but was unaltered with 2 mM pyruvate. Dichloroacetate stimulated flux through pyruvate dehydrogenase with no effect on gluconeogenesis in the presence of I mM pyruvate. There was no effect of 3-mercaptopicolinate, administered in vivo, to 24-h-starved rats on the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase in freeze-clamped heart or liver tissue, although the drug did decrease blood glucose concentration and increase the blood concentrations of lactate and alanine. Dichloroacetate, administered in vivo to 24-h-starved rats, increased the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase in freeze-clamped heart and liver, and caused decreases in the blood concentrations of glucose, lactate , and alanine. The results suggest that 3-mercaptopicolinate increases flux through hepatocyte pyruvate dehydrogenase by an indirect mechanism.     

Anaerobic metabolism of the common cockle, Cardium edule. II. Partial purification and properties of lactate dehydrogenase and octopine dehydrogenase. A comparative study.

1. Octopine dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase were purified 190-fold and 10-fold respectively from the adductor muscle of the marine bivalve Cardium edule by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 and chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50. 2. Lactate dehydrogenase was capable to convert D- and L-lactate, had a molecular weight of about 70 000 and 280 000 daltons, exhibits no distinct pH optimum and was not inhibited by lactate. The enzyme showed apparent Km values of 0.16 mM for pyruvate and 16 mM and 48 mM for D- and L-lactate respectively. 3. In comparison to the purified enzymes from other species, octopine dehydrogenase from Cardium edule showed similar biochemical properties : pH optima of 6.8 and 8.7 respectively, Km values of 0.9 mM (for pyruvate) and 2.0 mM (for arginine), a molecular weight of 37 000 daltons and inhibition by octopine. Electrophoretic studies on standard polyacrylamide gels showed five isoenzymes. 4. The biochemical properties of both dehydrogenases are compared to the conditions in vivo of these animals and the biological role of the octopine dehydrogenase is discussed.     

Effect of dichloroacetate on lactate concentration in exercising humans

The precise mechanism responsible for the increase in plasma lactate concentration during exercise in humans is not known. We have used dichloroacetate to test the hypothesis that a limitation in pyruvate dehydrogenase activity is responsible for the rise in plasma lactate. Dichloroacetate stimulates the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase, which is normally the regulatory enzyme in the oxidation of glucose when tissue oxygenation is adequate. Six subjects were studied twice according to a randomized, crossover protocol, involving one test with saline infusion and another with dichloroacetate infusion. Exercise load on a bicycle ergometer was increased progressively until exhaustion. Blood samples were drawn each minute throughout exercise and periodically throughout 120 min of recovery. Dichloroacetate significantly lowered the lactate concentration during exercise performed at less than 80% of the average maximal O2 consumption. The peak concentration of lactate at exhaustion was not affected by dichloroacetate treatment, but dichloroacetate did lower lactate concentration throughout recovery. These results suggest that a limitation in pyruvate dehydrogenase activity contributes to the increase in plasma lactate during submaximal exercise and recovery.     

Cytophotometric analysis of reaction rates of succinate and lactate dehydrogenase activity in rat liver, heart muscle and tracheal epithelium

Reaction rates of succinate and lactate dehydrogenase activity in cryostat sections of rat liver, tracheal epithelium and heart muscle were monitored by continuous measurement of formazan formation by cytophotometry at room temperature. Incubation media contained polyvinyl alcohol as tissue protectant and Tetranitro BT as final electron acceptor. Control media lacked either substrate or substrate and coenzyme. Controls were also performed by adding malonate (a competitive inhibitor of succinate dehydrogenase), pyruvate (a non-competitive inhibitor of lactate dehydrogenase), oxalate (a competitive inhibitor of lactate dehydrogenase) or N-ethylmaleimide (a blocker of SH groups). A specific malonate-sensitive linear test minus control response for succinate dehydrogenase activity was obtained in liver (1.6 mumol H2cm-3 min-1) and tracheal epithelium (0.8 mumol H2cm-3 min-1) but not in heart muscle. All variations in the incubation conditions tested did not result in a linear test minus control response in the latter tissue. Because the reaction was sensitive to malonate, it was concluded that the initial reaction rate was the specific rate of succinate dehydrogenase activity in heart muscle (9.1 mumol H2 cm-3 min-1). Test minus control reactions for lactate dehydrogenase activity were distinctly non-linear for all tissues tested. This appeared to be due to product inhibition by pyruvate generated during the reaction and therefore it was concluded that the appropriate control reaction was the test reaction in the presence of 20 mM pyruvate. The initial rate of the test minus this control was the true rate of lactate dehydrogenase activity. The lactate dehydrogenase activity thus found in liver parenchyma was 5.0 mumol of H2 generated per cm3 liver tissue per min.     

Comparative study of free and bound glycolytic enzymes from sea scorpion brain.

Free and bound forms of hexokinase, pyruvate kinase, and lactate dehydrogenase were prepared from the brain of the sea scorpion (Scorpaena porcus) in a low ionic strength medium. Properties of the free and bound forms were compared to determine whether binding to particulate matter could influence enzyme function or stability in vivo. Changes in pH differently affected the activity of the free and bound forms of all three enzymes. Furthermore, bound forms of hexokinase and pyruvate kinase were more stable than the free enzymes to heating at 45 degrees C. Bound hexokinase showed higher affinity for substrates (ATP, glucose) than the free form and bound lactate dehydrogenase had greater affinity for pyruvate and NADH. Although the affinities of the two forms of pyruvate kinase for substrates were similar, Hill coefficients for phosphoenolpyruvate as well as inhibition by ATP differed between the two enzyme forms. Free and bound lactate dehydrogenase also showed differences in Hill coefficients and bound lactate dehydrogenase was less sensitive to substrate inhibition by high pyruvate concentrations. The possible physiological role of the binding of these glycolytic enzymes to subcellular structures is discussed.     

Characterization of lactate dehydrogenase enzyme in seminal plasma of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

Lactate dehydrogenase enzyme present in quail seminal plasma has been characterized. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and subsequently with LDH specific staining of seminal plasma revealed a single isozyme in quail semen. Studies on substrate inhibition, pH for optimum activity and inhibitor (urea) indicated the isozyme present in the quail semen has catalytic properties like LDH-1 viz. H-type. Furthermore, unlike other mammalian species, electrophoretic and kinetic investigations did not support the existence of semen specific LDH-X isozyme in quail semen. The effect of exogenous lactate and pyruvate on sperm metabolic activity was also studied. The addition of 1 mM lactate or pyruvate to quail semen increased sperm metabolic activity. Our results suggested that both pyruvate and lactate could be used by quail spermatozoa to maintain their basic functions. Since the H-type isozyme is important for conversion of lactate to pyruvate under anaerobic conditions it was postulated that exogenous lactate being converted into pyruvate via LDH present in semen may be used by sperm mitochondria to generate ATP. During conversion of lactate to pyruvate NADH is being generated that may be useful for maintaining sperm mitochondrial membrane potential.     

Substrate-induced conformational changes in lactate dehydrogenase. Proteolysis of the immobilized enzyme in the presence of specific substrates.

We report here a new approach to the study of the conformation of enzymes in the presence of specific substrates. Rabbit muscle lactate dehydrogenase was attached to CL-Sepharose via a cleavable spacer arm (-NH-(CH2)6NHCO(CH2)2SS(CH2)2CO-). The bound lactate dehydrogenase was digested with subtilisin BPN' in the presence of substrates of lactate dehydrogenase. The use of a flow system permits the maintenance of saturating levels of substrates. Proteolysis was followed by loss of activity of the enzyme column. The time course of proteolysis in the presence of either NADH, NAD+, or pyruvate alone did not differ from the control. However, when NADH and pyruvate were present simultaneously, the enzyme became more susceptible to proteolysis. The initial rate of proteolysis was increased by 40%. The abortive ternary complex (lactate dehydrogenase - NAD+ - pyruvate) also showed an increase in susceptibility to proteolysis. These findings clearly show that the productive ternary complex (lactate dehydrogenase - NADH - pyruvate) is conformationally different from the apoenzyme and binary complexes under optimal catalytic conditions.     

The effects of feed and intracellular pyruvate levels on the redistribution of metabolic fluxes in Escherichia coli

In a previous study, an Escherichia coli strain lacking the key enzymes (acetate kinase and phosphotransacetylase, ACK-PTA) of the major acetate synthesis pathways reduced acetate accumulation. The ackA-pta mutant strain also exhibits an increased lactate synthesis rate. Metabolic flux analysis suggested that the majority of excessive carbon flux was redirected through the lactate formation pathway rather than the ethanol synthesis pathway. This result indicated that lactate dehydrogenase may be competitive at the pyruvate node. However, a 10-fold overexpression of the fermentative lactate dehydrogenase (ldhA) gene in the wild-type parent GJT001 was not able to divert carbon flux from acetate. The carbon flux through pyruvate and all its end products increases at the expense of flux through biosynthesis and succinate. Intracellular pyruvate measurements showed that strains overexpressing lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) depleted the pyruvate pool. This observation along with the observed excretion of pyruvate in the ackA-pta strain indicates the significance of intracellular pyruvate pools. In the current study, we focus on the role of the intracellular pyruvate pool in the redirection of metabolic fluxes at this important node. An increasing level of extracellular pyruvate leads to an increase in the intracellular pyruvate pool. This increase in intracellular pyruvate affects carbon flux distribution at the pyruvate node. Partitioning of the carbon flux to acetate at the expense of ethanol occurs at the acetyl-CoA node while partitioning at the pyruvate node favors lactate formation. The increased competitiveness of the lactate pathway may be due to the allosteric activation of LDH as a result of increased pyruvate levels. The interaction between the reactions catalyzed by the enzymes PFL (pyruvate formate lyase) and LDH was examined.     

Substrate specificity of the lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme C4 from human spermatozoa and a possible selective assay.

The activity of lactate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27) in normal human sperm lysates and in human heart and liver homogenates was determined by using a variety of 2-oxoacids as substrates. Sperm preparations were active with pyruvate, 2-oxobutanoate, 2-oxopentanoate and 2-oxohexanoate, while heart and liver extracts utilized only pyruvate and 2-oxobutanoate. Selective staining after gel electrophoresis indicated that the fraction corresponding to lactate dehydrogenase C4, the sperm-specific isoenzyme, was responsible for the utilization of substrates with a linear chain of 3 to 6 carbon atoms. The use of 5 mM 2-oxohexanoate allowed the selective determination of isoenzyme C4 in preparations containing different lactate dehydrogenase molecular forms.     

A mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase bypass in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Spheroplasts of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae oxidize pyruvate at a high respiratory rate, whereas isolated mitochondria do not unless malate is added. We show that a cytosolic factor, pyruvate decarboxylase, is required for the non-malate-dependent oxidation of pyruvate by mitochondria. In pyruvate decarboxylase-negative mutants, the oxidation of pyruvate by permeabilized spheroplasts was abolished. In contrast, deletion of the gene (PDA1) encoding the E1alpha subunit of the pyruvate dehydrogenase did not affect the spheroplast respiratory rate on pyruvate but abolished the malate-dependent respiration of isolated mitochondria. Mutants disrupted for the mitochondrial acetaldehyde dehydrogenase gene (ALD7) did not oxidize pyruvate unless malate was added. We therefore propose the existence of a mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase bypass different from the cytosolic one, where pyruvate is decarboxylated to acetaldehyde in the cytosol by pyruvate decarboxylase and then oxidized by mitochondrial acetaldehyde dehydrogenase. This pathway can compensate PDA1 gene deletion for lactate or respiratory glucose growth. However, the codisruption of PDA1 and ALD7 genes prevented the growth on lactate, indicating that each of these pathways contributes to the oxidative metabolism of pyruvate.     

A hypothetical model of the influence of inorganic phosphate on the kinetics of pyruvate kinase

This paper presents a simple solution to the problem of approximating the calculated curve of reaction progress to the measured curve which is usually disturbed by initial oscillation of auxiliary lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) reaction. The experiments leading to the determination of the apparent Km for phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) and Vm were performed. For precise estimation of kinetic parameters (Km and Vm) of the M1 isozyme of pyruvate kinase (PK), measured by coupling it to LDH reaction, the sequence of Michaelis-Menten for pyruvate kinase and second-order kinetics for lactate dehydrogenase reaction as well as a non-zero initial concentration of lactate was assumed. The functions of apparent Km and Vm of pyruvate kinase with respect to phosphate concentration, computed by an analysis of the total reaction progress curves, indicate that the reaction mixture contains an uncompetitive inhibitor of pyruvate kinase, and that the phosphate binds this inhibitor. The proposed simple mathematical model of pyruvate kinase Km and Vm increase by inorganic phosphate assumes that the pyridine nucleotides (NAD-derivatives) are kinase inhibitors. An approximate dissociation constant for pyridine nucleotides-phosphate complex and true Km of pyruvate kinase for PEP were estimated. The proposed model fits exactly the entire measured reaction process.     

The mechanism of the hyperglycaemic action of synthetic peptides related to the C-terminal sequence of human growth hormone

Synthetic part sequences of human pituitary growth hormone (hGH 176–191 and hGH 177–191) corresponding to residues 176–191 or 177–191 of the hormone have been tested for their effects on glycogen and pyruvate metabolism in the rat, both in vivo and in vitro. When injected, the peptides caused transient increases in blood glucose and lactate, while decreasing the activity ratio of glycogen synthase in muscle, adipose tissue and liver and of pyruvate dehydrogenase in muscle and adipose tissue, but not in liver. These decreases were associated with the conversion of the enzymes from their active to their inactive forms, since the peptides did not affect the total amount of either the synthase or the dehydrogenase. The time course of the effect on the enzymes was similar to that for the effect on blood metabolites, and responses for synthase were produced over the range 0.07–7 nmols hGH 177–191/kg body weight. Phosphorylase activity was not affected by the peptides, nor was the capacity to dispose of injected L-lactate. Experiments with adipocytes and hepatocytes showed that the peptides also affected glycogen synthase and pyruvate dehydrogenase activities in vitro. The peptides had no effect on the overall rate of gluconeogenesis from lactate by hepatocytes. However, at times corresponding to those at which glycogen synthase was inactivated, the peptides caused increased incorporation of lactate into free glucose and decreased incorporation into glycogen. It was concluded that the peptides acted directly on their target tissues, and that the observed hyperlactataemia was the result of the inactivation of pyruvate dehydrogenase. The addition lactate increased the flux through the gluconeogenic pathway, and appeared as glucose because the peptide also inactivated glycogen synthase. Thus, the hyperglycaemia produced by hGH 177–199 and related peptides is explicable in terms of a modified Cori Cycle.