Glycogen synthesis from pyruvate in the periportal and from glucose in the perivenous zone in perfused livers from fasted rats.

The isolated liver of 24 h fasted rats was perfused in a non-recirculating manner in the orthograde or retrograde direction with media containing glucose and/or gluconeogenic precursors. Glycogen formation was determined biochemically and demonstrated histochemically. With glucose as the only exogenous substrate glycogen was formed exclusively in the perivenous area during both orthograde and retrograde perfusion. With gluconeogenic precursors as the exogenous substrates glycogen was deposited in the periportal zone during orthograde perfusion and in the intermediate zone during retrograde perfusion. Supply of glucose and gluconeogenic substrates initiated glycogen synthesis only in the upstream region, i.e. in the periportal zone during orthograde and in the perivenous zone during retrograde perfusion. This localization of glycogen synthesis was probably due to an unavoidable, insufficient oxygen supply of the respective downstream area. In general, the results confirm the hypothesis that periportal and perivenous glycogen was synthesized from different substrates.