The Regulation of Gluconeogenesis in Pouch Young of the Tammar Wallaby, Macropus eugenii (Desmarest)

Abstract

Parenchymal cells have been prepared from wallaby pouch-young liver by enzymic means. Such cells exclude Trypan blue, lose little lactate dehydrogenase into the incubation medium, have an adenylate energy charge of about 0'75 and increase production of glucose from endogenous sources in the presence of 1O-9M glucagon. We conclude that the cells are metabolically viable. Hepatocytes isolated from fed pouch young released glucose in the absence of added substrates'. The rate of glucose release was increased when L-Iactate, L-Iactate+ pyruvate, propionate or fructose were added. After 24 h without food, glucose release in the absence of substrate was greatly reduced but the effect of substrate addition was greater with all substrates other than fructose.