Glucose transport and glycolytic enzyme activities in erythrocytes of two-year-old thoroughbreds undergoing training exercise.

D-Glucose transport and cytosolic enzyme activities were measured in erythrocytes from 2-year-old thoroughbreds under continuous training exercise (race horses) and compared with those from untrained horses of various ages (sires, mares and untrained 2-year-old thoroughbreds). The activities of the glucose transport and glycolytic enzymes, hexokinase and pyruvate kinase, in the race horses' erythrocytes were elevated to 2-3.5 times above those of untrained horses. There were no significant differences in plasma glucose, triglyceride or IRI concentrations between the horses in training and untrained horses. The increases in glucose transport and glycolytic enzyme activities in their erythrocytes are considered to reflect an increased metabolic activity in the race horses resulting from the training exercises.