Pathway of gluconeogenesis from tagatose in rat hepatocytes

Hepatocytes from fasted rats were incubated with a combination of substrate levels of fructose plus tagatose, and either 3-¹⁴C]fructose or 3-¹⁴C]tagatose. The ¹⁴C distribution in the glucose formed was identical, suggesting that tagatose and fructose are metabolized by identical pathways. When these sugars were incubated separately, the rate of gluconeogenesis from tagatose was about half that from fructose.