Changes in glycerol kinetics after E. coli endotoxin administration in dogs.

The metabolic clearance rate (MCR) and maximal rate of glycerol removal (Rd max) were determined in anesthetized dogs at two time periods after the intravenous administration of either Escherichia coli endotoxin or saline. The nonisotopic method employed in these studies to determine the MCR of glycerol consisted of a constant infusion of glycerol at three different infusion rates. At each infusion rate a steady-state glycerol concentration was obtained. The reciprocal of the slope of the linear relationship between the glycerol infusion rate and the change in the steady-state arterial glycerol concentration was equal to the MCR of glycerol. Administration of endotoxin significantly decreased the MCR of glycerol, whereas the volume of distribution of glycerol was not altered significantly. The arterial glycerol turnover remained unaltered, whereas arterial glycerol concentration increased after endotoxin administration. The studies demonstrate that the elevated arterial glycerol concentration maintained the rate of glycerol turnover in the face of decreased efficiency of glycerol removal after endotoxin administration.