title: alpha-Ketobutyrate metabolism in perfused rat liver: regulation of alpha-ketobutyrate decarboxylation and effects of alpha-ketobutyrate on pyruvate dehydrogenase.
abstract: The oxidative decarboxylation and subsequent production of glucose from alpha-ketobutyrate were studied using perfused livers from fasted rats. The production of 14CO2 from alpha-keto-[1-14C]butyrate increased monotonically while the production of glucose from alpha-ketobutyrate was biphasic as the perfusate concentration of alpha-ketobutyrate was increased. The biphasic gluconeogenic response using alpha-ketobutyrate as the gluconeogenic precursor was similar to that observed with propionate. The decarboxylation of alpha-ketobutyrate was found to be exquisitely sensitive to the effects of the monocarboxylate transport inhibitor, alpha-cyanocinnamate. Infusion of beta-hydroxybutyrate caused a substantial inhibition of alpha-ketobutyrate decarboxylation while dichloroacetate, a pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase inhibitor, did not stimulate the metabolism of alpha-ketobutyrate but was inhibitory. The effects of alpha-ketobutyrate infusion on pyruvate decarboxylation were tested and it was found that at low perfusate pyruvate concentrations (ca. 0.25 mM) increasing alpha-ketobutyrate led to increasing inhibition of pyruvate decarboxylation, while at high perfusate pyruvate concentrations (ca. 2.5 mM) an initial inhibition was apparent which did not increase substantially with increasing alpha-ketobutyrate concentrations. The results obtained indicate that the regulation of alpha-ketobutyrate metabolism by oxidative decarboxylation differs significantly from that of pyruvate. In addition, while the rate of gluconeogenesis using alpha-ketobutyrate as a precursor was remarkably similar to that using propionate as a gluconeogenic precursor, the effects of alpha-ketobutyrate on the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate were qualitatively different from the effects of propionate on pyruvate metabolism.
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000378:metabolism; D019342:Acetic Acid; D000818:Animals; D002087:Butyrates / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D002331:Carnitine / Q000494:pharmacology; D007700:Kinetics; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D010477:Perfusion; D011768:Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D002087:Butyrates; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D011768:Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex; C005087:alpha-ketobutyric acid; D019342:Acetic Acid; D002331:Carnitine