CONTRIBUTION OF GLUCOSE TO ALANINE METABOLISM IN MAN

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  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 92  (5) , 803-812
Abstract
The interconversion of the C skeleton of alanine with that of glucose was studied by tracer technique. The data analysis is in terms of renewal theory rather than traditional compartmental analysis. This eliminates the need for estimation of compartment size, which is particularly difficult to determine in the case of alanine. In addition, the conversion rates between the 2 substances are found by considering the 2 components which are responsible for the determined radioactivity curves, namely, the 1st conversion of the labeled C and its subsequent movement in the product compound. The subjects of te study were for the most part underweight but had been hospitalized and eating a standard hospital diet for at least 3 days prior to the studies. The data indicate that nearly twice as much C from glucose is cycled to alanine as is recycled from alanine back to glucose after a 14 hr overnight fast. Small amounts of glucose suppress the alanine-glucose arm of the cycle but probably do not change the glucose-alanine conversion. The contribution of glucose C to alanine metabolism is significant and appears to be immediately influenced by the magnitude of glycolysis.