Skip to main content
PMC home page
Biochemical Journal logoLink to Biochemical Journal
. 1965 Mar;94(3):712–720. doi: 10.1042/bj0940712

Acceleration of renal gluconeogenesis by ketone bodies and fatty acids

H A Krebs 1, R N Speake 1, R Hems 1
PMCID: PMC1206607  PMID: 14340063

Abstract

1. Acetoacetate or short-chain fatty acids (acetate, butyrate, propionate, n-hexanoate, n-octanoate) accelerate the rate of glucose formation from lactate, fumarate and other precursors in slices of kidney cortex (rat, rabbit, sheep). The cause of this acceleration has been investigated. 2. There are two different mechanisms of acceleration. At low concentrations of glucogenic precursors the acceleration is mainly due to a `sparing' action. The substances which accelerate are oxidizable and serve as fuel of respiration in place of the glucogenic precursor. This is indicated by the fact that the ratio lactate used/glucose formed falls in the presence of the accelerators and approaches the value 2. 3. At high concentrations of lactate the acceleration appears to be mainly due to the activation of pyruvate carboxylase by acetyl-coenzyme A. The evidence in support of this is summarized. The results indicate that the activation of pyruvate carboxylase by acyl-coenzyme A discovered by Utter & Keech (1963) in purified enzyme preparations also occurs in crude tissue homogenates and can play a part in the control of oxaloacetate synthesis and gluconeogenesis.

Full text

PDF
712

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. KEECH D. B., UTTER M. F. PYRUVATE CARBOXYLASE. II. PROPERTIES. J Biol Chem. 1963 Aug;238:2609–2614. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. KREBS H. A., BENNETT D. A., DE GASQUET P., GASQUET P., GASCOYNE T., YOSHIDA T. Renal gluconeogenesis. The effect of diet on the gluconeogenic capacity of rat-kidney-cortex slices. Biochem J. 1963 Jan;86:22–27. doi: 10.1042/bj0860022. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. KREBS H. A., HEMS R., GASCOYNE T. RENAL GLUCONEOGENESIS. IV. GLUCONEOGENESIS FROM SUBSTRATE COMBINATIONS. Acta Biol Med Ger. 1963;11:607–615. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. KREBS H. THE CROONIAN LECTURE, 1963. GLUCONEOGENESIS. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1964 Mar 17;159:545–564. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1964.0019. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Krebs H. A., De Gasquet P. Inhibition of gluconeogenesis by alpha-oxo acids. Biochem J. 1964 Jan;90(1):149–154. doi: 10.1042/bj0900149. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. LAW J. H., SLEPECKY R. A. Assay of poly-beta-hydroxybutyric acid. J Bacteriol. 1961 Jul;82:33–36. doi: 10.1128/jb.82.1.33-36.1961. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. UTTER M. F., KEECH D. B. PYRUVATE CARBOXYLASE. I. NATURE OF THE REACTION. J Biol Chem. 1963 Aug;238:2603–2608. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. WIELAND O., WEISS L. Increase in liver acetyl-coenzyme A during ketosis. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1963 Feb 18;10:333–339. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(63)90534-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. WILLIAMSON D. H., MELLANBY J., KREBS H. A. Enzymic determination of D(-)-beta-hydroxybutyric acid and acetoacetic acid in blood. Biochem J. 1962 Jan;82:90–96. doi: 10.1042/bj0820090. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Biochemical Journal are provided here courtesy of The Biochemical Society

RESOURCES