title: Computer simulation of metabolism in pyruvate-perfused rat heart. I. Model construction.
abstract: A computer model of energy metabolism was constructed for the pyruvate-perfused rat heart subjected to a sudden increase in work load. The model construction techniques are explained and justified. Hypotheses defining a plausible sequence of physiological events resulting in the observed behavior of the organ were arrived at from the measured metabolite time profiles. There is a lag in increasing pyruvate utilization following the work-jump. A transient increase in fatty acid oxidation is required to account for the observed respiration rate. The observed increase in lactate production of this preparation is due to a transient "burst" of glycogenolysis after which the remaining lactate is imported from the interstitium and oxidized, reversing lactate dehydrogenase and hence the alpha-ketoglutarate-malate portion of the malate-aspartate shuttle.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003201:Computers; D007773:Lactates / Q000378:metabolism*; D008433:Mathematics; D008954:Models, Biological; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism*; D011773:Pyruvates / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D007773:Lactates; D011773:Pyruvates