Ca. Chu et al., EFFECT OF A SELECTIVE RISE IN SINUSOIDAL NOREPINEPHRINE ON HGP IS DUETO AN INCREASE IN GLYCOGENOLYSIS, American journal of physiology: endocrinology and metabolism, 37(1), 1998, pp. 162-171
To determine the effect of a selective rise in liver sinusoidal norepi
nephrine (NE) on hepatic glucose production (HGP), norepinephrine (50
ng . kg(-1) . min(-1)) was infused intraportally (Po-NE) for 3 h into
five 18-h-fasted conscious dogs with a pancreatic clamp. In the contro
l protocol, NE (0.2 ng . kg(-1) . min(-1)) and glucose were infused pe
ripherally to match the arterial NE and blood glucose levels in the Po
-NE group. Hepatic sinusoidal NE levels rose similar to 30-fold in the
Po-NE group but did not change in the control group. The arterial NE
levels did not change significantly in either group. During the portal
NE infusion, HGP increased from 1.9 +/- 0.2 to 3.5 +/- 0.4 mg . kg(-1
) . min(-1) (15 min; P < 0.05) and then gradually fell to 2.4 +/- 0.4
mg . kg(-1) . min(-1) by 3 h. HGP in the control group did not change
(2.0 +/- 0.2 to 2.0 +/- 0.2 mg . kg(-1) . min(-1)) for 15 min but then
gradually fell to 1.1 +/- 0.2 mg . kg(-1) . min(-1) by the end of the
study. Because the fall in HGP from 15 min on was parallel in the two
groups, the effect of NE on HGP (the difference between HGP in the tw
o groups) did not decline over time. Gluconeogenesis did not change si
gnificantly in either group. In conclusion, elevation in hepatic sinus
oidal NE significantly increases HGP by selectively stimulating glycog
enolysis. Compared with the previously determined effects of epinephri
ne or glucagon on HGP, the effect of NE is, on a molar basis, less pot
ent but nore sustained over time.