Plasma concentrations of glucose, corticosterone, glucagon and insulin and liver content of metabolic substrates and enzymes during starvation and additional hypoxia in the rat.

The plasma levels of corticosterone, insulin and glucagon, and the concomitant changes in the levels of several liver enzymes and metabolites were measured in intact rats in the basal state during 24 hours and under conditions of food deprivation and hypoxia. The levels of the following enzymes and metabolites were examined: phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, glucose-6-phosphatase, pyruvate kinase, phosphofructokinase, glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase, glutamic-pyruvic transaminase, glucose, glucose-6-phosphate, glycogen, fructose-6-phosphate, hexokinase, tyrosine amino-transferase and tryptophan oxygenase. During food deprivation, the increased gluconeogenesis is possibly a result of glucagon activity. In contrast, however, during hypoxia the increase in gluconeogenesis seems to be a result of the higher plasma level of corticosterone. During starvation, the insulin concentration dropped steadily and came close to zero.