title: Glucose-fatty acid cycle to inhibit glucose utilization and oxidation is not operative in fatty acid-cultured islets.
abstract: The glucose-fatty acid cycle of Randle entails two elements: decreased pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) activity, which inhibits glucose oxidation, and inhibition of phosphofructokinase (PFK) by a rise in citrate so that glucose-6-phosphate (G-6-P) levels increase, thereby inhibiting hexokinase activity and hence glucose utilization. Chronic exposure of islets to long-chain fatty acids (FA) is reported to lower PDH activity, but the effect on glucose oxidation and glucose-induced insulin secretion is uncertain. We investigated rat islets that were cultured for 4 days with 0.25 mmol/l oleate/5.5 mmol/l glucose. Glucose oxidation was doubled at 2.8 mmol/l glucose and unchanged at 27.7 mmol/l glucose in the FA-cultured islets despite a 35% decrease in assayed PDH activity. Pyruvate content was increased 60%, which may well compensate for the decreased PDH activity and maintain flux through the citric acid cycle. However, a greater diversion of pyruvate metabolism through the pyruvate-malate shuttle is suggested by unchanged pyruvate carboxylase Vmax and a fourfold higher release of malate from isolated mitochondria. The FA-cultured islets also showed increased basal glucose usage and insulin secretion together with a lowered level of G-6-P and 50% reductions in citrate synthase Vmax and the citrate content. Thus, the effects of chronic FA exposure on islet glucose metabolism differ from the glucose-fatty acid interactions reported in some other tissues.
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, University of Vermont, Burlington 05405-0068, USA.
authors.forename: Y Q
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tornheim
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Leahy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000097:blood*; D005993:Glycerolphosphate Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D000078790:Insulin Secretion; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000378:metabolism*; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010732:Phosphofructokinase-1 / Q000378:metabolism; D011768:Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex / Q000378:metabolism; D019289:Pyruvic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D005227:Fatty Acids; D007328:Insulin; D011768:Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex; D019289:Pyruvic Acid; D005993:Glycerolphosphate Dehydrogenase; D010732:Phosphofructokinase-1