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Metabolic changes during the first 24 hours of starvation were studied in rats previously adapted for 3 weeks during the postweaning growth period to a low-protein diet using lactalbumin as a dietary protein source. Previous adaptation to a high-quality, low-protein diet reduced the effects of early starvation on the loss of body and liver weight. In rats fed a low-protein diet (6% lactalbumin, LP rats), free triiodothyronine (T3) concentration remained higher than in control rats (13% lactalbumin, C rats) throughout the experiment (+38%, 24 hours), and the plasma insulin concentration, which was lower than in C rats during the first 6 hours (-56%), was not different thereafter. Plasma insulin to glucagon molar ratio was lower (-54%) and liver cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) concentration was higher (+28%) in LP than in C rats in the fed state, but these were not different at 24 hours of starvation. Plasma glucose concentration was slightly lower in LP than in C rats (-15%) in the fed state, but it was not different in both groups during starvation. Whereas they were unchanged in the fed state, plasma lactate concentration was lower (-57%) and free fatty acid and total ketone body concentrations were higher (+38% and +183%, respectively) in LP than in C rats at 24 hours of starvation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Food intake, plasma glucose, insulin (I) and glucagon (G), hepatic glycogen and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (F-2, 6-P2) and liver glucokinase, glucose 6-phosphatase (G6-Pase), 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase (6-PF-2 kinase/F-2, 6-P2ase), pyruvate kinase (PK-L) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) activities were measured in 2 and 22-month-old rats before 3 d starvation and after 2, 4, 6, 24 and 48 h refeeding a high carbohydrate (HC, 74% w/w) diet. Expressed per 100 g of body weight, the food intake of old rats was 55% lower than that of young rats and the amount of carbohydrate absorbed hourly during the first 6 h of refeeding was 2.4-fold higher in young than in old rats. During the first 6 h of refeeding plasma glucose increased 2-fold and returned to normal values after 24 h in young rats, while plasma glucose did not change during refeeding in old rats. In young rats [I] fell by 85% after starvation and returned to normal values 2 h after refeeding. [I] was higher in old than in young rats; it decreased by 40% after starvation and returned to the basal value 4 h after refeeding. No marked changes were observed in plasma [G] in both groups. No difference was observed in hepatic glycogen in the two groups, while F-2, 6-P2 was higher in old than in young rats. In young rats, the opposite changes in liver glucokinase and G6-Pase activities occurring after starvation and during refeeding were

Food intake, plasma glucose, insulin (I) and triiodothyronine (T3) and liver glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6P-DH), malic enzyme (ME). ATP-citrate lyase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase (AcCoACx) and fatty acid synthase (FAS) activities were measured in 2 and 22 months old rats before, after 3 d starvation and 2,4,6. 24 and 48 h refeeding a high carbohydrate (74% w/w) diet. Expressed per 100 g of body weight, the carbohydrate intake of old rats was 55% lower than that of young rats. Plasma insulin was higher in old than in young rats and decreased (-40%) after starvation and returned to control values 4 h after refeeding. In young rats plasma insulin fell after starvation (-85%) and returned to normal values 2 h after refeeding. No significant differences were observed in plasma [T3] between the two groups. During the first 6 h of refeeding, plasma glucose increased 2-fold and returned to control values after 24 h in young rats. In old rats, plasma glucose returned to its control value after 2 h. Compared to the starved level, 48 h after refeeding, G6P-DH, ME, ATP-citrate lyase, AcCoACx and FAS activities increased 5- to 6-fold in young rats, while in old rats the increase was much smaller and represented 35% of that observed in young rats. These results suggest, that the age-related reduction in inducibility of hepatic lipogenic enzymes of rats refed a high carbohydrate diet after starvation may be due to a spontaneous decrease in the carbohydrate intake and to a decrease effectiveness of insulin (insulin resistance).

Gluconeogenesis from dihydroxyacetone (DHA), glycerol, lactate, pyruvate or alanine was studied in the absence or in the presence of glucagon in hepatocytes isolated from starved rats or from rats fed a high protein diet for 2-48 h. In both groups, gluconeogenesis from DHA, glycerol, lactate and pyruvate exhibited similar changes over 48 h; the rates of glucose production increased progressively until 24 h and then plateaued. During the early phase (2-11 h), gluconeogenesis from DHA and glycerol were higher than gluconeogenesis from lactate and pyruvate. During the first 24 h of the experiment, gluconeogenesis from alanine displays a kinetic similar to that from lactate or pyruvate. After feeding a high protein diet for 24 to 48 h, gluconeogenesis from alanine was slightly higher than that in starved rats and paralleled the increase in alanine aminotransferase activity. Glucagon stimulated gluconeogenesis from DHA up to 48 h, but with glycerol this effect occurred only during the early phase (2-11 h). Glucagon stimulated gluconeogenesis from lactate, pyruvate or alanine by 1.35-fold throughout the experimental period. These findings suggest that the development of gluconeogenesis during starvation or after feeding a high protein diet displays different kinetics, depending on the substrate used and on the level of entry in the gluconeogenic pathway: triose phosphates or pyruvate.

Changes in hepatic levels of lactate, pyruvate, phosphoenolpyruvate, alpha-ketoglutarate, malate, oxaloacetate, adenine nucleotides, inorganic phosphate, ketone bodies, alanine, serine, glycine, aspartate, glutamate, valine and urea were examined in adult rats during the first 24 h of either starvation or consumption of a high protein (HP) diet. No differences were found between these two conditions in the concentration of metabolites studied or the cytosolic redox state. Under both conditions, the cytosolic phosphorylation state decreased to a low 15 h into the experiment but the changes were more pronounced on the HP diet. Hepatic ketone bodies rose sharply after 12 h, with the increase 2.5 times greater for starved rats. In starvation, hepatic aspartate, valine, and urea were low and glycine was high, whereas the opposite was seen for the HP diet. In both groups, alanine fell within 9 h and remained low thereafter. These findings suggest that, in the first 24 h of starvation, the energy necessary for gluconeogenesis is obtained from fatty acid oxidation, while during HP feeding the energy for both gluconeogenesis and ureagenesis are derived from fatty acid oxidation and amino acid oxidation.

Plasma insulin (I), glucagon (G) and glucose, hepatic glycogen, fructose 2, 6-bisphosphate (F2, 6-P2), fructose 1, 6-bisphosphate, phosphoenolpyruvate, and some liver key enzymes involved in glycolysis (6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2, 6-bisphosphatase (6-PF-2kinase/F-2,6-P2ase), activity ratio (velocity at suboptimal substrate concentration/maximum velocity) of pyruvate kinase (PK-L] and in gluconeogenesis (phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activity) have been compared in young (2 months) and old (16 months) rats upon starvation or transition to a high protein (HP) diet. In the 10 and 24 hours after the dietary switch, plasma glucose decreased less and hepatic glycogen was less depleted in the old rats. The ratios of plasma I/G and of hepatic 6-PF-2kinase/F-2,6-P2ase were higher in the old rats and their decrease delayed at both time points, as was the concentration of hepatic F-2,6-P2 and the activity ratio of PK-L (before and after removal of endogenous noncovalent factors). The consistency of these differences indicate that the mechanisms for control of glycolysis/gluconeogenesis are similar in young and old rats, but it appears that in old rats starved or fed HP diet, the switch from glycolysis to gluconeogenesis is delayed. This suggests that as a result of the slowness of the hormonal changes the process of phosphorylation/dephosphorylation, which is so important in the short-term regulation of the glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathway, may be impaired with age.