J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 261, Issue 15, 6860-6867, 05, 1986
Implications of distinct inhibitory effects of N-acetylglucosamine on glucose uptake by an isolated perfusion system incorporating erythrocytes with livers from fed and 48-hour fasted rats
KA Sukalski and RC Nordlie
Net glucose uptake in a perfusion system including erythrocytes and
isolated livers from fed rats was inhibited by N-acetylglucosamine
(GlcNAc), a competitive inhibitor of glucokinase. Net glucose uptake also
occurred in the system incorporating livers from 48-h fasted rats, but its
inhibition by GlcNAc did not. This distinction could not be explained on
the basis of a different sensitivity of glucokinase from fasted compared
with fed rats to inhibition by GlcNAc. Nor could it be rationalized based
on several other hepatic enzymes possibly involved in glucose utilization
or production. Because erythrocytes were included in our system, other
explanations were sought related to the total enzymic environment. The
involvement of an indirect pathway including glycolysis of glucose to
lactate in erythrocytes followed by conversion of this lactate to
glucose-6-P and then glycogen in liver was considered. This pathway
contributed no more than 17% to total net glucose uptake in the system
incorporating livers from fed rats. This per cent contribution increased
when hepatic glucokinase was reduced by fasting or through inhibition by
GlcNAc. However, it was too small to explain observed overall rates of net
glucose uptake. We propose that the presence of erythrocytes may also
promote a greater net glucose uptake by the direct hepatic pathway. An
enhanced inhibition of hepatic glucose-6-P hydrolysis by some intermediate
metabolite generated in the presence of lactate infusion from erythrocytes
may promote net glucose uptake independently of the mechanism of residual
hepatic glucose phosphorylation. This may explain why we and others who
have employed liver perfusion systems including erythrocytes have seen
greater net glucose uptake than have workers using systems devoid of
erythrocytes.