Decreased responsiveness of basal gluconeogenesis to insulin action in hepatocytes isolated from genetically obese (fa/fa) Zucker rats.

In vivo studies have demonstrated that hepatic glucose production is poorly responsive to insulin in genetically obese Zucker rats. In this work, we have investigated the modulation by insulin of basal gluconeogenesis, fructose 2,6-bisphosphate levels, and pyruvate kinase and 6-phosphofructo 2-kinase activities in hepatocytes isolated from fed obese (fa/fa) or lean (Fa/-) rats. Gluconeogenesis was estimated by the conversion of a mixture of [14C]lactate-pyruvate to [14C]glucose. Basal gluconeogenesis was significantly reduced in hepatocytes isolated from obese rats compared to that measured in hepatocytes from lean animals (0.63 +/- 0.09 vs. 1.47 +/- 0.05 mumol lactate converted to glucose/g cells.20 min; n = 3-4; P < 0.001). In hepatocytes isolated from lean rats, insulin, without affecting the cellular cAMP concentration, caused a dose-dependent inhibition of the rate of gluconeogenesis, which was accompanied by a significant increase in fructose 2,6-bisphosphate levels and activation of both pyruvate kinase and 6-phosphofructo 2-kinase. In contrast, in hepatocytes isolated from obese (fa/fa) rats, neither basal gluconeogenesis nor any of the other metabolic parameters mentioned were significantly modified by insulin, even when assayed at high hormonal concentrations (10 nM). These results demonstrate a lack of responsiveness of hepatic gluconeogenesis to short term insulin action in genetically obese (fa/fa) rats.