Glucose utilization and disposal in cardiothoracic and skeletal muscles during the starved-to-fed transition in the rat

Global determination of reaction rates and lipid turnover kinetics in Mus musculus

Metabolism is fundamental to life, but measuring metabolic reaction rates remains challenging. Here, we applied C13 fluxomics to monitor the metabolism of dietary glucose carbon in 12 tissues, 9 brain compartments, and over 1,000 metabolite isotopologues over a 4-day period. The rates of 85 reactions surrounding central carbon metabolism are determined with elementary metabolite unit (EMU) modeling. Lactate oxidation, not glycolysis, occurs at a comparable pace with the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA), supporting lactate as the primary fuel. We expand the EMU framework to track and quantify metabolite flows across tissues. Specifically, multi-organ EMU simulation of uridine metabolism shows that tissue-blood exchange, not synthesis, controls nucleotide homeostasis. In contrast, isotopologue fingerprinting and kinetic analyses reveal the brown adipose tissue (BAT) having the highest palmitate synthesis activity but no apparent contribution to circulation, suggesting a tissue-autonomous synthesis-to-burn mechanism. Together, this study demonstrates the utility of dietary fluxomics for kinetic mapping in vivo and provides a rich resource for elucidating inter-organ metabolic cross talk.

PPARalpha activation and increased dietary lipid oppose thyroid hormone signaling and rescue impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in hyperthyroidism

The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of hyperthyroidism on the characteristics of the islet insulin secretory response to glucose, particularly the consequences of competition between thyroid hormone and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)alpha in the regulation of islet adaptations to starvation and dietary lipid-induced insulin resistance. Rats maintained on standard (low-fat/high-carbohydrate) diet or high-fat/low-carbohydrate diet were rendered hyperthyroid (HT) by triiodothyronine (T(3)) administration (1 mg.kg body wt(-1).day(-1) sc, 3 days). The PPARalpha agonist WY14643 (50 mg/kg body wt ip) was administered 24 h before sampling. Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) was assessed during hyperglycemic clamps or after acute glucose bolus injection in vivo and with step-up and step-down islet perifusions. Hyperthyroidism decreased the glucose responsiveness of GSIS, precluding sufficient enhancement of insulin secretion for the degree of insulin resistance, in rats fed either standard diet or high-fat diet. Hyperthyroidism partially opposed the starvation-induced increase in the glucose threshold for GSIS and decrease in glucose responsiveness. WY14643 administration restored glucose tolerance by enhancing GSIS in fed HT rats and relieved the impact of hyperthyroidism to partially oppose islet starvation adaptations. Competition between thyroid hormone receptor (TR) and PPARalpha influences the characteristics of GSIS, such that hyperthyroidism impairs GSIS while PPARalpha activation (and increased dietary lipid) opposes TR signaling and restores GSIS in the fed hyperthyroid state. Increased islet PPARalpha signaling and decreased TR signaling during starvation facilitates appropriate modification of islet function.

Direct comparison of the acute in vivo effects of HIV protease inhibitors on peripheral glucose disposal

The clinical use of HIV protease inhibitors (PIs) is associated with the development of peripheral insulin resistance. The incidence and degree of impaired glucose tolerance observed in treated patients vary considerably between drugs, however. To compare the ability of HIV PIs to alter peripheral glucose disposal acutely in a genetically identical model system at therapeutically relevant drug levels, healthy lean male rats previously naive to PI exposure were given ritonavir, amprenavir, lopinavir/ritonavir (4:1), or atazanavir by continuous intravenous infusion to achieve steady state drug levels of 10 or 25 muM rapidly. Under euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp conditions, a dose-dependent reduction in the peripheral glucose disposal rate (Rd) was observed with all the PIs except atazanavir. The rank order of sensitivity was ritonavir, lopinavir, and then amprenavir. Changes in skeletal muscle and heart 2-deoxyglucose (2-DOG) uptake correlated with reductions in Rd. All 3 of these PIs also produced significant reductions in 2-DOG uptake into primary rat adipocytes in vitro. Atazanavir had no effect on glucose uptake in vitro or in vivo. The in vivo potency of PIs to impair peripheral glucose disposal acutely correlates with the degree of insulin resistance observed in HIV-infected patients receiving these drugs. Preclinical testing of novel candidate PIs in a rodent model system may be useful in identifying the future risk of altering glucose homeostasis.

Effect of impaired glucose uptake on postexercise glycogen repletion in skeletal muscles of insulin-treated streptozotocin-diabetic fasted rats

During recovery from intense exercise performed while fasting, the replenishment of muscle glycogen stores from glucose requires the activation of glucose transport. This study examines if insulin-treated streptozotocin (STZ) diabetes in rats impairs the rate of muscle glucose utilization and glycogen repletion when no food is ingested during recovery from high-intensity exercise. Rats fasted for 24 hours were injected with high doses of STZ (150 mg/kg) to cause severe diabetes, and their glycemia was normalized for 10 days with twice-daily insulin injections. High-intensity exercise in these rats resulted in a marked increase in plasma glucose, which remained higher than preexercise levels thereafter, whereas in control animals, the rise in glycemia was only of a short duration. During recovery, the rates of 2-deoxy-[(3)H]glucose utilization in muscles rich in fast twitch red fibers (red and mixed gastrocnemius muscles) were much lower in STZ-diabetic than in control rats, but were not affected by diabetes in muscles comprised mainly of fast twitch white fibers (white gastrocnemius muscle). Despite these effects on glucose utilization, STZ diabetes had no inhibitory effect on the rate and extent of glycogen deposition and fractional velocities of glycogen synthase across all muscles. In conclusion, although insulin-treated STZ diabetes in fasted rats inhibits glucose transport rates in fast twitch red muscle fibers post-intense exercise, this has no effect on muscle glycogen repletion either because glucose transport does not control the rate of glycogen synthesis or because of a compensatory increase in the activity of lactate glyconeogenesis in these muscles.

Glycogen resynthesis in the absence of food ingestion during recovery from moderate or high intensity physical activity: novel insights from rat and human studies

The finding that during recovery from high intensity exercise, rats have the capacity to replenish their muscle glycogen stores even in the absence of food intake has provided us with an experimental model of choice to explore further this process. Our objective here is to share those questions arising from research carried out by others and ourselves on rats and humans that are likely to be of interest to comparative biochemists/physiologists. On the basis of our findings and those of others, it is proposed that across vertebrate species: (1). the capacity of muscles to replenish their glycogen stores from endogenous carbon sources is dependent on the type of physical activity and animal species; (2). lactate and amino acids are the major endogenous carbon sources mobilized for the resynthesis of muscle glycogen during recovery from exercise, their relative contributions depending on the duration of recovery and type of exercise; (3). the relative contributions of lactate glyconeogenesis and hepatic/renal gluconeogenesis to muscle glycogen synthesis is species- and muscle fiber-dependent; and (4). glycogen synthase and phosphorylase play an important role in the control of the rate of glycogen synthesis post-exercise, with the role of glucose transport being species-dependent.

Heterogeneity of metabolic activity in the canine parasternal intercostals during breathing

In the dog, the inspiratory mechanical advantage of the parasternal intercostals shows a marked spatial heterogeneity, whereas the expiratory mechanical advantage of the triangularis sterni is relatively uniform. The contribution of a particular respiratory muscle to lung volume expansion during breathing, however, depends both on the mechanical advantage of the muscle and on its neural input. To evaluate the distribution of neural input across the canine parasternal intercostals and triangularis sterni, we have examined the distribution of metabolic activity among these muscles in seven spontaneously breathing animals by measuring the uptake of the glucose tracer analog [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). FDG uptake in any given parasternal intercostal was greatest in the medial bundles and decreased rapidly toward the costochondral junctions. In addition, FDG uptake in the medial parasternal bundles increased from the first to the second interspace, plateaued in the second through fifth interspaces, and then decreased progressively toward the eighth interspace. In contrast, uptake in the triangularis sterni showed no significant rostrocaudal gradient. These results overall strengthen the idea that the spatial distribution of neural input within a particular set of respiratory muscles is closely matched with the spatial distribution of mechanical advantage.

Caloric restriction leads to regional specialisation of adipocyte function in the rat

The study analysed the responses of three metabolic parameters in five distinct adipose tissue depots to caloric restriction (4 weeks) in the rat. The aims were to evaluate whether specific adipose tissue depots were recruited for triacylglycerol (TAG) storage and/or mobilisation, and to determine to what extent specific adipose tissue depots exhibited preferences for the source of fatty acid (FA) for TAG storage. Caloric restriction led to a general enhancement of the response of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), FA synthesis and glucose utilisation to a meal. Effects were particularly marked in the parametrial, perirenal and interscapular depots compared with mesenteric and subcutaneous depots. There was no evidence that individual depots selectively expressed a preference for the pathways concerned with the generation of FA for storage (the exogenous (LPL) and the endogenous (synthesis) pathway). However, the temporal sequence of activation of these pathways differed in a manner consistent with a switch from preponderant use of FA produced via de novo synthesis during the very early phase of feeding towards later use of FA derived from circulating TAG. The overall excursions in insulin levels observed in the calorie-restricted rats were comparable to those found in free-feeding rats, but the magnitude and the rapidity of the individual metabolic responses of the adipocyte were augmented. The data are consistent with a general enhancement of insulin sensitivity and responsiveness in adipose tissue of calorie-restricted rats, together with adaptive regional specialisation of adipocyte function. These adaptations would be predicted to facilitate the immediate conservation of dietary nutrients by promoting their storage as the FA or glycerol moieties of adipose tissue TAG and thereby to ensure the regulated release of FA and glycerol from adipose tissue in accordance with the requirement for glucose conservation and/or production.

Effect of extracellular palmitate on 2-deoxy-d-glucose uptake in muscle from Ad libitum fed and calorie restricted rats

We studied the effect of a high physiologic concentration of palmitate (1mM) on in vitro 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) uptake by flexor digitorum brevis (FDB) muscle from ad libitum fed rats (AL) and rats fed 60% of ad libitum intake (CR) for 20 days. CR did not alter muscle 2DG uptake in the absence of insulin, but relative to AL, CR significantly (p<0.01) increased 2DG uptake in the presence of 20,000 microU/ml insulin. This effect of CR persisted in the presence of 1mM palmitate. The presence of 1mM palmitate significantly (p<0.01) impaired 2DG glucose uptake, both in the presence and absence of insulin, to the same extent in AL and CR muscle, despite an 18% decrease in FABPpm expression with CR. Thus, although CR profoundly affects insulin-mediated muscle glucose uptake, it does not alter the ability of extracellular fatty acid to modulate glucose utilization by skeletal muscle.

Prolonged exposure to halothane and associated changes in carbohydrate metabolism in rat muscles in vivo

Halothane, an anesthetic presently used in animal experimentation, is reported to stimulate glycogen breakdown in isolated preparations of rat skeletal muscles, suggesting that it may not be a suitable anesthetic for the study of glycogen metabolism in rats in vivo. The purpose of this study was to establish whether prolonged exposure to halothane in rats in vivo is associated with accelerated glycogenolysis. Exposure of rats to halothane for up to 1 h was not accompanied by either any change in the levels of glycogen or increase in activity ratios of glycogen phosphorylase in muscles, irrespective of their fiber compositions. In marked contrast, the levels of lactate, inorganic phosphate, glucose 1-phosphate, glucose 6-phosphate, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, and fructose 2, 6-bisphosphate changed progressively during anesthesia. Accordingly, the interpretation of muscle metabolite levels must be performed with caution in experiments involving prolonged exposure to halothane. Overall, our findings indicate that the reported halothane-mediated stimulation of glycogen breakdown in vitro is likely to be an artifact and that halothane is a suitable anesthetic for experiments concerned with glycogen metabolism in rats.

Re-feeding after starvation involves a temporal shift in the control site of glycogen synthesis in rat muscle

The starved-to-fed transition is accompanied by rapid glycogen deposition in skeletal muscles. On the basis of recent findings [Bräu, Ferreira, Nikolovski, Raja, Palmer and Fournier (1997) Biochem. J. 322, 303-308] that during recovery from exercise there is a shift from a glucose 6-phosphate/phosphorylation-based control of glycogen synthesis to a phosphorylation-based control alone, this paper seeks to establish whether a similar shift occurs in muscle during re-feeding after starvation in the rat. Chow re-feeding after 48 h of starvation resulted in glycogen deposition in all muscles examined (white, red and mixed quadriceps, soleus and diaphragm) to levels higher than those in the fed state. Although the early phase of re-feeding was associated with increases in glucose 6-phosphate levels in all muscles, there was no accompanying increase in the fractional velocity of glycogen synthase except in the white quadriceps muscle. This finding, together with the observation that the fractional velocity of glycogen synthase in most muscles was already high in the starved state, suggests that in the initial phase of glycogen deposition the phosphorylation state of the enzyme may be adequate to support net glycogen synthesis. In the later phase of re-feeding, the progressive decrease in the fractional velocity of glycogen synthase in association with a decrease in the rate of glycogen deposition suggests that glycogen synthesis is controlled primarily by changes in the phosphorylation state of glycogen synthase. In conclusion, this study suggests that there is a temporal shift in the site of control of glycogen synthesis as glycogen deposition progresses during re-feeding after starvation.

pH is regulated differently by glucose in skeletal muscle from fed and starved rats: a study using 31P-NMR spectroscopy

The aim of this study was to determine whether exogenous glucose metabolism influences the pH in superfused EDL muscle from growing rats fed or starved for 48 h (body weight 55 and 45 g, respectively). Energy state and intracellular pH of muscle were repeatedly monitored by 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P-NMRS); glycogen and other energy metabolites were assayed enzymatically in muscle extracts at the end of the experiment. In EDL muscles from starved rats superfused with glucose for 4 h, intracellular pH was elevated (7-7.3), lactate concentration low, glycogen repletion very intense and citrate synthase activity high. We conclude that glucose was routed mainly toward both oxidative phosphorylation and glycogen synthesis in EDL muscles after food deprivation of rats. In contrast, the major pathway in muscles from fed rats may be glycolysis because the glycogen pool remained constant throughout the experiment. The additional and minor pH component (in the range of 6.5 to 6.8) seen in muscles from fed rats, even in the presence of exogenous glucose, might be due to impaired glucose utilization because this component appears also in muscles from starved rats superfused without glucose or with a nonmetabolizable analog of glucose. Consequently, direct pH measurement by 31P-NMR may be considered to be a precise criterion for evaluation of differences in metabolic potentialities of muscle studied ex vivo in relation to the nutritional state of rats.

Regional variations in metabolic responses of white adipose tissue to food restriction

The effects of food restriction (limited access to food for 2 h/day for 10 days) on lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activities and rates of fatty acid synthesis and glucose utilization in vivo in two superficial (interscapular and subcutaneous) and three deep abdominal white adipose tissue depots (parametrial, perirenal, and mesenteric) of adult female Wistar rats were examined before and at 2 h after a standard laboratory diet meal (5 g). Fasting LPL activities in perirenal (1.6-fold), mesenteric (5.9-fold), and subcutaneous (2.7-fold) adipose tissue, when expressed per unit of delipidated tissue, were increased in response to food restriction. This effect was retained (but not enhanced) after the meal. In contrast, muscle LPL activities were either unchanged or suppressed by food restriction. Stimulation of adipose tissue fatty acid synthesis and glucose utilization evoked by feeding in control rats was greatly enhanced by prior food restriction. There was no relationship between anatomical location and presence or absence of the response of adipose tissue LPL activity to food restriction, but the effect of food restriction to enhance the responses of fatty acid synthesis and glucose utilization to a meal was more marked in perirenal and parametrial adipose tissue than in the more superficial depots. The results thus demonstrate regional specificity in the response of adipose tissue functions to food restriction.

The role of the glucose/fatty acid cycle in the selective modulation of non-oxidative and oxidative glucose disposal by oxidative muscle in late pregnancy

Physiological insulin stimulation (induced by re-feeding) in late (19 to 20 days) pregnancy in the rat led to only partial reversal of starvation-induced increases in circulating fatty acid concentrations. The impaired suppression of adipose tissue lipolysis was associated with a clear attenuation of the activation of PDHa activity in oxidative skeletal muscles (diaphragm, soleus and adductor longus) in response to physiological insulin stimulation. In contrast, effects of late pregnancy to suppress glucose utilization were only modest in oxidative skeletal muscles, where a predominate fate of glucose under physiological insulin stimulation is glycogen formation. The ability of the pregnant rat to sustain glycogen repletion during physiological insulin stimulation was retained. Glucose utilization by the heart, which in virgin rats is particularly sensitive to increases in lipid-fuel supply and oxidation, bore a significant inverse relationship with the plasma fatty acid concentrations in late-pregnant rats. We conclude that an elevation in circulating fatty acid concentrations in late pregnancy provokes changes in glucose utilization by cardiac and skeletal muscle which are consistent with the operation of the glucose-fatty acid cycle. Importantly, these effects pertain under physiological hyperinsulinaemia. The relative insensitivity of glucose utilization by oxidative skeletal muscle to late pregnancy under conditions of physiological insulin stimulation presumably reflects the predominant use of glucose as a substrate for glycogen synthesis rather than as an energy substrate.

Physiological modulation of the uptake and fate of glucose in brown adipose tissue

Glucose utilization indices (GUI values) and rates of fatty acid synthesis in interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT) varied during the diurnal cycle in virgin and late-pregnant rats permitted unrestricted access to food. In virgin rats, peak GUI values and lipogenic rates were observed at the end of the dark (feeding) phase, but were not sustained during the light phase. Whereas peak GUI values were comparable with those observed during re-feeding after 24 h starvation, maximum rates of IBAT fatty acid synthesis in virgin rats during the diurnal cycle were only approx. 25% of those measured during re-feeding after 24 h starvation. Despite hyperphagia, GUI values during the diurnal cycle in late-pregnant rats fed ad libitum were generally lower than those of age-matched virgin controls. The percentage of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex present in the active form (PDHa) was also significantly decreased. Suppression of GUI and PDHa was not parallelled by suppression of fatty acid synthesis. IBAT GUI values in late-pregnant rats during chow re-feeding ad libitum after 24 h starvation were only 25% of those of corresponding virgin controls, and stimulation of fatty acid synthesis was also dramatically attenuated. The suppression of IBAT GUI values after re-feeding in pregnancy was not due to depletion of GLUT 4 protein. The results are discussed in relation to the importance of glucose as a precursor for fatty acid synthesis in IBAT.

Use of superfused rat skeletal muscle for metabolic studies: assessment of pH by 31P n.m.r

We developed a muscle superfusion system suitable for metabolic studies of small isolated rat muscle ex vivo in real time and in a non-destructive manner by n.m.r. spectroscopy. In order to determine biochemical stability of superfused extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle (from fasted 45 and 100 g rats), the energy state and the pH of muscle were continuously monitored by 31P n.m.r. spectroscopy. ATP and phosphocreatine remained stable during 2 h whatever the muscle size (20 or 45 mg). Neither metabolite was a sensitive probe of possible metabolic compartmentation within muscle under our experimental conditions. By contrast, the chemical shift of Pi by its sensitivity to pH was a discriminant factor in the assessment of muscle stability. Indeed, heterogeneity of pH was observed only in the 45 mg EDL muscle resulting from a core region with loss of glycogen. Together, these observations suggest deviations of energy metabolism to supply ATP. Consequently, pH may be considered as a new real-time criterion for monitoring a metabolic heterogeneity due to changes in energy metabolism of muscle preparations ex vivo.

Changes in rates of glucose utilization and regulation of glucose disposal by fast-twitch skeletal muscles in late pregnancy

Glucose utilization indices (GUI) were measured in vivo in conjunction with active pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDH(a) and glycogen synthase (GS) activities in fast-twitch skeletal muscles [extensor digitorum longus (EDL), tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius] of late-pregnant rats and age-matched virgin control rats in the fed state, after 24 h starvation and at 2 h after re-feeding with standard laboratory chow ad libitum after 24 h starvation. As demonstrated previously [Holness and Sugden (1990) Biochem. J 277, 429-433], GUI values of fast-twitch skeletal muscles of virgin rats were low in the fed ad libitum and the 24 h-starved states, but dramatically increased after subsequent chow re-feeding. GUI values of fast-twitch skeletal muscles of late-pregnant rats were also low in the fed and starved states and were increased by re-feeding, but the increase in GUI values elicited by re-feeding was greatly attenuated. PDHa activities in EDL, tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius in the fed state were unaffected by late pregnancy, and skeletal-muscle PDHa activities were decreased after 24 h of starvation in both groups. Whereas re-feeding of virgin rats with standard diet for 2 h restored PDHa activities in fast-twitch skeletal muscles to values for rats continuously fed ad libitum, PDHa activities in fast-twitch skeletal muscles of late-pregnant rats, although increased in response to re-feeding, remained considerably less than the corresponding fed ad libitum values after 2 h of re-feeding. In contrast, neither skeletal-muscle GS re-activation nor rates of skeletal-muscle glycogen deposition after re-feeding were markedly affected by late pregnancy. The results are discussed in relation to the specific targeting of individual pathways of glucose disposal in fast-twitch skeletal muscles during re-feeding in late pregnancy.

Changes in lipoprotein lipase activities in adipose tissue, heart and skeletal muscle during continuous or interrupted feeding

Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activities in parametrial and interscapular adipose tissue, soleus and adductor longus muscles and hearts of female rats were measured during progressive starvation, chow re-feeding after 24 h starvation and throughout dark and light phases in rats permitted unrestricted access to chow. Adipose-tissue LPL activities declined by 50% after 6 h starvation and continued to fall as the starvation period was extended to 24 h. Skeletal-muscle LPL activities dramatically increased between 9 and 12 h of starvation. Cardiac LPL activities increased 2.5-fold within 6 h of starvation, reaching a maximum after 12 h of starvation. Adipose-tissue LPL activities increased rapidly within 2 h of re-feeding chow ad libitum after 24 h starvation, achieving 'fed ad libitum' values after 6 h. Oxidative-skeletal-muscle LPL activities also increased after 2 h of refeeding and exceeded 'fed ad libitum' values throughout the 6 h re-feeding period. Cardiac LPL activities remained up-regulated for the 6 h of re-feeding. Adipose-tissue LPL activities exceeded those of cardiac or skeletal muscle throughout both light and dark phases. The lowest adipose-tissue LPL activities were observed at 9 h into the light phase. In contrast, cardiac LPL activity declined throughout the dark phase, with a minimum at 9 h into the dark phase. No such variation was observed for skeletal-muscle LPL activities. A diurnal nadir in plasma triacylglycerol (TG) concentrations coincided with the peak in cardiac LPL activities. The results demonstrate that, during unrestricted feeding and re-feeding after prolonged starvation, changes in skeletal-muscle and adipose-tissue LPL activities are neither reciprocal nor co-ordinate. Regulation of cardiac LPL activity during the diurnal cycle may be an important aspect of both of cardiac fuel selection and whole-body TG metabolism.

Mechanisms involved in the coordinate regulation of strategic enzymes of glucose metabolism

In this review, we evaluate the relative regulatory importance of specific strategic enzymes (in particular glycogen synthase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase [ACC] and the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex [PDH]) for carbohydrate utilization as an anabolic precursor and as an energy substrate during the nutritional transitions between the fed and fasted states. The involvement of the specific protein kinases contributing to the inactivation of these enzymes by phosphorylation [cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, AMP-activated protein kinase and PDH kinase] in achieving each regulatory response is also assessed. We demonstrate a striking temporal correlation between hepatic glycogen mobilization and PDH and ACC inactivation by phosphorylation during the immediate postabsorptive period; in contrast, rates of hepatic glycogen synthesis and PDH and ACC expressed activities do not change in parallel during refeeding. The results are consistent with shifting of the primary sites of control for overall hepatic carbon flux during the fed-to-starved and starved-to-fed nutritional transitions achieved, at least in part, by a complex pattern of regulation by protein phosphorylation and metabolites which is critically dependent on the precise nutritional status. Data are also presented that demonstrate asynchronous suppression of glucose uptake/phosphorylation and pyruvate oxidation in cardiac and skeletal muscle during progressive starvation. Analogous asynchrony is observed in the reactivation of these processes in cardiac and skeletal muscle during refeeding after starvation. We provide evidence in support of the concept that selective suppression of pyruvate oxidation in oxidative muscles during early starvation and during the initial phase of refeeding is achieved because of differential sensitivity of glucose uptake/phosphorylation and pyruvate oxidation to lipid-fuel utilization. We discuss the relative importance of regulatory events governing local fatty acid production and utilization (via lipoprotein lipase and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1, respectively) or overall fatty acid supply (dictated by events at the adipocyte) for fuel utilization by muscle during nutritional transitions. Finally, we assess the regulatory importance of glycogen synthesis in determining overall rates of glucose clearance by skeletal muscle during alimentary hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia.

Ethanol and glycogen synthesis in cardiothoracic and skeletal muscles following glucose re-feeding after starvation in the rat

The pattern of glycogen deposition in individual cardiothoracic and skeletal muscles in response to oral and intraperitoneal glucose administration was examined in 40 h-starved rats. Rates of glycogen synthesis were consistently higher in oxidative muscles than in non-oxidative muscles. Intragastric ethanol administration was associated with an impaired glycaemic response and the almost total abolition of glycogen deposition in oxidative muscles in response to oral or intraperitoneal glucose re-feeding. This effect was dose-dependent and differential, in that ethanol produced no equivalent impairment in glycogen deposition in non-oxidative muscles. Ethanol treatment also selectively promoted glycogenolysis in oxidative muscles in the starved state. There was positive correlation (P < 0.001) between the decrease in glycogen levels in soleus and diaphragm muscles in response to increasing ethanol doses and blood glucose and lactate concentrations after intraperitoneal glucose administration, implying that the basis for the impairment in glycogen synthesis may be diminished glucose availability. The mechanism whereby ethanol may differentially compromise carbohydrate metabolism in oxidative muscles is discussed.

Mechanisms regulating cardiac fuel selection in hyperthyroidism

Starvation (48 h) decreases fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (Fru-2,6-P2) concentrations and the ratio of free to acylated carnitine in hearts of euthyroid rats. These decreases, which are indicative of increased lipid fuel oxidation, are accompanied by decreased rates of glucose uptake and phosphorylation, assessed by using radioactive 2-deoxyglucose. Cardiac concentrations of acylated carnitines were increased at the expense of free carnitine even in the fed state in response to experimental hyperthyroidism, but neither Fru-2,6-P2 concentrations nor rates of glucose utilization were suppressed. Starvation (48 h) did not further increase the proportion of acylated carnitine in the heart in hyperthyroidism, and suppression of Fru-2,6-P2 concentrations and glucose utilization rates by starvation was attenuated. Although glucose utilization rates were decreased, starvation did not decrease immunoreactive GLUT 4 protein concentrations. Furthermore, although hyperthyroidism was associated with a statistically significant (30-40%) increase in relative abundance of GLUT 4 mRNA, the amount of GLUT 4 protein was not increased by hyperthyroidism in either the fed or the starved state. The results demonstrate a significant effect of hyperthyroidism to enhance cardiac glucose utilization in starvation by a mechanism which does not involve changes in GLUT 4 expression but may be secondary to changes in glucose-lipid interactions at the tissue level.

Glucose utilization and disposition by skeletal muscle during unrestricted feeding

We measured glucose utilization index (GUI) values in individual skeletal muscles of conscious rats during the light (quiescent) and dark (feeding/activity) phases. There was a 2-3-fold variation in muscle GUI values, with peak values observed at the end of the dark phase and minimum values observed at 6-9 h into the light phase. GUI values in working muscles (soleus and adductor longus) were consistently higher than in non-working muscles (tibialis anterior and extensor digitorum longus), indicating that working muscles make the major contribution of the total skeletal muscle mass to glucose disposal during unrestricted feeding. There was a clear overall increase in muscle glycogen deposition during the first 9 h of the dark phase; this was concomitant with an increase in food consumption. Peak glycogen concentrations were reached after 9 h of darkness, but subsequently declined. The pattern of changes in muscle GUI values during the light and dark phases is discussed in relation to the role of insulin in facilitating glucose clearance.

Variations in hepatic carbon flux during unrestricted feeding

Previous findings have established a pivotal role for hepatic pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDH) in regulating hepatic carbon flux during the starved-to-fed and fed-to-starved nutritional transitions [Holness, McLennan, Palmer & Sugden (1988) Biochem. J. 252, 325-330; Holness & Sugden (1990) Biochem. J. 268, 77-81]. We have therefore examined liver PDH activities during the light and dark phases of the feeding cycle in the adult rat in relation to hepatic glycogenesis, fatty acid synthesis and cholesterogenesis. There was significant synchronous suppression of lipogenesis and glycogenesis during the light phase; rates were restored asynchronously during the dark (feeding) phase. Glycogen concentrations declined during the light phase and increased during the dark phase. Despite quite dramatic changes in rates of glycogen and lipid synthesis and hepatic glycogen concentrations during the light and dark phases, hepatic PDHa (active form) activity remained relatively unchanged. Qualitative and quantitative differences in the pattern of change in rates of synthesis of fatty acid and cholesterol suggested regulation at pathway-specific sites distal to PDH.

Glucose transporter expression and glucose utilization in skeletal muscle and brown adipose tissue during starvation and re-feeding

Starvation (48 h) decreased the concentration of mRNA of the insulin-responsive glucose transporter isoform (GLUT 4) in interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT) (56%) and tibialis anterior (10%). Despite dramatic [7-fold (tibialis anterior) and 40-fold (IBAT)] increases in glucose utilization after 2 and 4 h of chow re-feeding, no significant changes in GLUT 4 mRNA concentration were observed in these tissues over this re-feeding period. The results exclude changes in GLUT 4 mRNA concentration in mediating the responses of glucose transport in these tissues to acute re-feeding after prolonged starvation.

The short-term regulation of hepatic acetyl-CoA carboxylase during starvation and re-feeding in the rat

Rapid inhibition of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) activity in rat liver in response to 6 h starvation and rapid re-activation in response to 2-6 h of re-feeding chow were shown to be due to changes in the expressed activity of existing enzyme. Decreases and increases in ACC concentration occurred at later stages of the transitions, i.e. 6-48 h starvation and 8-24 h re-feeding respectively. The decrease in expressed activity of ACC was due primarily to changes in its phosphorylation state, demonstrated by a significantly decreased Vmax. and significantly increased Ka for citrate of enzyme purified by avidin-Sepharose chromatography from 6 h- or 48 h-starved rats. These effects were totally reversed within 2-4 h of chow re-feeding. Changes in the activity of purified ACC closely correlated with reciprocal changes in the activity of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMP-PK) over the fed to starved to re-fed transition. Increases in the activity ratio of cyclic-AMP-dependent protein kinase in response to starvation lagged behind the increase in AMP-PK and the decrease in ACC activity. Changes in AMP-PK and ACC activities of rat liver closely correlated with changes in plasma insulin concentration in response to time courses of starvation and re-feeding.

Progressive suppression of muscle glucose utilization during pregnancy

Glucose utilization indices (GUIs) were measured in heart and a range of skeletal muscles in conscious, unrestrained, virgin or pregnant rats in the absorptive and post-absorptive phases. A clear effect of pregnancy to diminish muscle GUIs was identified, the magnitude of which was greatest in late gestation in the absorptive phase. Differences in the time courses and magnitudes of the response to pregnancy were observed between individual muscles. The effects of pregnancy are discussed in relation to an increased availability of lipid fuels and to decreased insulin and glucose concentrations.

Glucose disposal by skeletal muscle in response to re-feeding after progressive starvation

We investigated the extent to which increases in glucose utilization indices (GUIs) in individual skeletal muscles during chow re-feeding after 6 h, 24 h or 48 h starvation are related to the antecedent duration of starvation. Chow re-feeding after either acute or prolonged starvation led to an increase in glucose disposal by the muscle mass. Glucose intolerance after prolonged starvation was not associated with lower values of GUI in skeletal muscle. In both working and non-working muscles, the increment in GUI during the first 2 h of re-feeding was less after acute than after prolonged starvation. In non-working muscles the differential responses to re-feeding were due to higher GUI values after re-feeding rather than lower pre-prandial GUI values. Therefore the contribution of non-working muscles to glucose clearance is higher as the antecedent period of starvation is extended. Rates of glycogen deposition in non-working muscles after refeeding were similar to absolute values of GUI, and a strong relationship existed between measured GUI values and rates of glycogen deposition.

Glucose utilization by interscapular brown adipose tissue in vivo during nutritional transitions in the rat

Glucose utilization indices (GUI) of interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT) declined by 84% after 48 h starvation. Two-thirds of the overall response was observed within 6 h, correlating with decreased insulin concentrations. Re-feeding 48 h-starved rats restored insulin concentrations and evoked a rapid 15-fold increase in IBAT GUI. GUI values after re-feeding were markedly higher than those observed at equivalent insulin concentrations in control post-absorptive rats.