COMPARISON OF GLUCOKINASE ACTIVITIES IN THE PERIPHERAL LEUKOCYTES BETWEEN DOGS AND CATS

Activities of hexokinase (HK), glucokinase (GK) and pyruvate kinase (P K), were measured. The expression of GK mRNA was investigated using re verse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in leukocytes ( WBC) of dogs and cats. No significant differences between dogs and cat s were found in concentrations of blood glucose and plasma insulin. Do g WBC showed GK activities and the specific fragment with predicted si ze of 574 bp containing conserved region including glucose- and ATP-bi nding domains of GK as determined with RT-PCR. However, in cat WBC, th e activities and specific fragment of GK were absent. After fasting, t he activities and gene expression of GK decreased greatly in the dog W BC. The cat WBC had significantly higher activities of HK and PK than dog WBC. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.