Acute uremia following dietary potassium depletion. II. Effect on tissue carbohydrate composition.

In order to evaluate the potential role of hyperkalemia and metabolic acidosis on the disturbances of carbohydrate metabolism normally seen in uremia, a specific model of acute uremia devoid of hyperkalemia and severe metabolic acidosis was chosen. Therefore, rats were deprived of potassium prior to induction of acute uremia. Potassium depletion caused a significant decrease of muscle and liver glycogen due to activation of phosphorylase kinase, whereas glycogen concentration in heart muscle was unchanged and elevated in the kidney of sham-operated and ureter-ligated animals. In contrast, glucose concentrations were enhanced in the liver and the kidney, unchanged in heart muscle and decreased in skeletal muscle. We conclude that carbohydrate abnormalities occur in acute uremia despite normokalemia and mild metabolic acidosis. Furthermore, acute uremia accompanied by prior potassium depletion results in no net effect on cardiac glycogen metabolism but stimulates glycogenolysis in both skeletal muscle and the liver.