Diabetes, Vol 43, Issue 2 256-262, Copyright © 1994 by American Diabetes Association
Suppression of gluconeogenesis after a 3-day fast does not deplete liver glycogen in patients with NIDDM
JN Clore and WG Blackard
Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond 23298-0111.
To determine the effect of inhibition of gluconeogenesis on liver glycogen
stores in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM)
after a 3-day fast, 10% ethanol (EtOH) was administered intravenously to
nine obese patients with NIDDM and six obese nondiabetic subjects. Rates of
glucose appearance (3-[3H]glucose) and [U-14C]alanine incorporation into
glucose (alanine gluconeogenesis [Ala-GNG]) were determined before and
during EtOH administration, and residual glycogen stores were assessed by
the incremental glucose response to glucagon (glucoseAUC). Hepatic glucose
output (HGO) was closely correlated with plasma glucose levels (r = 0.71, P
< 0.001) after the 3-day fast and was significantly greater in the
diabetic compared with the nondiabetic subjects (13.8 +/- 1.4 vs. 7.6 +/-
0.6 mumol.kg-1 FFM.min-1, P < 0.01). During the 120-min EtOH infusion,
Ala-GNG fell by more than 50% in both groups and did not increase after
intravenous glucagon administration. HGO fell modestly in both the diabetic
and nondiabetic subjects during the first 30 min of EtOH infusion and
stabilized thereafter. In contrast to Ala-GNG, HGO increased significantly
after intravenous glucagon administration in both the diabetic and
nondiabetic subjects, but the increase was significantly greater in the
patients with NIDDM (P < 0.01). The glucose area under the curve in
response to glucagon (glucoseAUC) was lower in the presence of EtOH than in
its absence (14.9 +/- 7 vs. 68 +/- 15.6 mM/min, P < 0.01) in the obese
nondiabetic subjects, which suggests a decrease in liver glycogen
stores.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)