Glucose lactate interrelations in sheep.

The constant-infusion, isotope-dilution method was used to investigate the interrelationships between the glucose and lactate pools of six trained sheep deprived of food overnight. Arterial plasma lactate concentration was a linear function of the net lactate entry rate as was the net production of glucose from lactate, which suggests that the net rate of formation of glucose from lactate is dependent on the availability of lactate. Similarly the arterial plasma glucose concentration was correlated with the net entry rate of glucose as was the net production rate of lactate from glucose, suggesting that the net rate of lactate production from glucose is a function of arterial plasma glucose concentration. The demonstration of these two interrelations between glucose and lactate in normal sheep suggests that, in the absence of external factors producing hormonal or other changes that could cause perturbations of carbohydrate homeostasis, the net rates of conversion of glucose to lactate and of lactate to glucose may be largely determined by the arterial concentrations of glucose and lactate, respectively.