title: Changes in hepatic metabolism through simulated weightlessness: decrease of glycogen and increase of lipids following prolonged immobilization in the rat.
abstract: The effect of simulated weightlessness on hepatic metabolisms of carbohydrates and lipids was investigated in rats that were chronically immobilized by means of a suspension harness. During the 10-day period of the suspension, the animals showed a substantial decrease in the hepatic glycogen content, whereas the content of hepatic total lipids was markedly elevated. Similar results were obtained when the "suspended" animals were provided with a regular amount of nutrients by a force-feeding procedure. In the suspended animals, hepatic parenchymal cells were filled with large fat droplets, and hepatic triglyceride contents were elevated. The prolonged immobilization led to a slight, but significant, increase in glucose-6-phosphatase activity in the liver, suggesting that an increased glycogen breakdown might have occurred in the suspended animals. However, it was unlikely that the increased amount of glucose produced by the glycogen breakdown was utilized as a substrate for the lipogenesis in the liver, because hepatic lipogenic enzyme activities were unaffected by the suspension. The results suggest that the hepatic lipids accumulate in animals exposed to a prolonged immobilization state, presumably due to a decreased lipolysis and/or a suppressed lipoprotein mobilization from the liver into the blood stream.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Goda
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takase
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yokogoshi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mita
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Isemura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hoshi
mesh_terms: D000311:Adrenal Glands / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001835:Body Weight; D005952:Glucose-6-Phosphatase / Q000378:metabolism; D007103:Immobilization; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008112:Liver Glycogen / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D014893:Weightlessness / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D008055:Lipids; D008112:Liver Glycogen; D005952:Glucose-6-Phosphatase