Biphasic effects of glucagon and cyclic AMP on the synthesis and secretion of lipids by rat hepatocytes.

Cultured rat hepatocytes were preincubated with glucagon or a cyclic AMP analogue for up to 24 h and lipid synthesis and secretion were determined during the next 2 h. Glucagon or cyclic AMP did not change the incorporation of choline or glycerol into phosphatidylcholine, or choline into sphingomyelin, in the cells after 0-12 h of preincubation. After 12 h these incorporations were increased. Incorporations into hepatic lysophosphatidylcholine were decreased after preincubation with glucagon or cyclic AMP for 0-12 h, but by 24 h they increased. There was no change in the lysophosphatidylcholine in the medium after preincubation with glucagon or cyclic AMP for up to 6 h, but increases occurred after preincubation from 12 to 24 h. The secretion of triacylglycerol was decreased after preincubation for 0-1 h, but it returned to control values after 4 h. After preincubation for 18-24 h the incorporation of glycerol into secreted triacylglycerol was increased. The results are discussed in relation to the control of lipid metabolism in starvation and diabetes.