Biomaterial Database

Glucose metabolism in shorn and unshorn pregnant sheep. 1988

M E Symonds, and M J Bryant, and D A Shepherd, and M A Lomax

Department of Physiology & Biochemistry, University of Reading, Whiteknights.

1. Whole-body, hind-limb and uterine tissue metabolism of glucose was studied using a combination of isotopic and arterio-venous difference techniques in shorn and unshorn pregnant sheep over the final 4 weeks of pregnancy. This was combined with the measurement of the concentrations of oxygen and carbon dioxide in arterial blood and plasma concentrations of lactate, acetate, non-esterified fatty acids, 3-hydroxybutyrate, glycerol, growth hormone (GH), insulin, glucagon, cortisol, thyroxine and 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3). 2. Glucose entry rate was 28% higher in shorn ewes compared with unshorn controls, even though there was no difference in the arterial plasma concentration of glucose. This effect may have been caused by a decrease in the molar rate, insulin: glucagon (I:G), which was 40% lower in shorn ewes as a result of a significant decrease in the plasma concentration of insulin. There was no difference in the plasma concentration of cortisol or GH. 3. Blood flow across the hind-limb or uterine tissues was not significantly different between shorn and unshorn groups, neither were the net glucose uptake, glucose oxidation rate or contribution of glucose to O2 consumption across these tissues. 4. Insulin-tolerance tests performed on a separate group of shorn and unshorn ewes showed an increased sensitivity to the hypoglycaemic effects of insulin in the shorn group. 5. There was no significant difference between shorn and unshorn animals in the contribution of glucose to CO2 output or in the proportion of glucose entry rate oxidized. CO2 entry rate was 18% higher in shorn ewes compared with unshorn controls which resulted in a 26% higher estimated value for heat production. There was a 47% increase in glucose oxidation rate in shorn ewes but there was no significant difference in the proportion of total heat production which was derived from glucose. The arterial concentrations of O2 and CO2 were significantly higher in shorn ewes, which may be an indication of the higher metabolic rate in these animals. This effect may be mediated via a significant rise in plasma T3 concentration in the shorn group. 6. It is concluded that as a result of long-term cold exposure there is a significant increase in whole-body glucose entry and oxidation rates in the shorn pregnant ewe. The increase in insulin sensitivity at the same time as a decrease in plasma insulin concentration may represent a mechanism to ensure continued glucose supply to insulin-sensitive tissues while the concomitant decrease in plasma I:G stimulates hepatic gluconeogenesis.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007328	Insulin	A 51-amino acid pancreatic hormone that plays a major role in the regulation of glucose metabolism, directly by suppressing endogenous glucose production (GLYCOGENOLYSIS; GLUCONEOGENESIS) and indirectly by suppressing GLUCAGON secretion and LIPOLYSIS. Native insulin is a globular protein comprised of a zinc-coordinated hexamer. Each insulin monomer containing two chains, A (21 residues) and B (30 residues), linked by two disulfide bonds. Insulin is used as a drug to control insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (DIABETES MELLITUS, TYPE 1).	Iletin,Insulin A Chain,Insulin B Chain,Insulin, Regular,Novolin,Sodium Insulin,Soluble Insulin,Chain, Insulin B,Insulin, Sodium,Insulin, Soluble,Regular Insulin
D010101	Oxygen Consumption	The rate at which oxygen is used by a tissue; microliters of oxygen STPD used per milligram of tissue per hour; the rate at which oxygen enters the blood from alveolar gas, equal in the steady state to the consumption of oxygen by tissue metabolism throughout the body. (Stedman, 25th ed, p346)	Consumption, Oxygen,Consumptions, Oxygen,Oxygen Consumptions
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D011270	Pregnancy, Animal	The process of bearing developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero in non-human mammals, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Animal Pregnancies,Animal Pregnancy,Pregnancies, Animal
D001724	Birth Weight	The mass or quantity of heaviness of an individual at BIRTH. It is expressed by units of pounds or kilograms.	Birthweight,Birth Weights,Birthweights,Weight, Birth,Weights, Birth
D001833	Body Temperature Regulation	The processes of heating and cooling that an organism uses to control its temperature.	Heat Loss,Thermoregulation,Regulation, Body Temperature,Temperature Regulation, Body,Body Temperature Regulations,Heat Losses,Loss, Heat,Losses, Heat,Regulations, Body Temperature,Temperature Regulations, Body,Thermoregulations
D002245	Carbon Dioxide	A colorless, odorless gas that can be formed by the body and is necessary for the respiration cycle of plants and animals.	Carbonic Anhydride,Anhydride, Carbonic,Dioxide, Carbon
D003080	Cold Temperature	An absence of warmth or heat or a temperature notably below an accustomed norm.	Cold,Cold Temperatures,Temperature, Cold,Temperatures, Cold
D005260	Female		Females
D005934	Glucagon	A 29-amino acid pancreatic peptide derived from proglucagon which is also the precursor of intestinal GLUCAGON-LIKE PEPTIDES. Glucagon is secreted by PANCREATIC ALPHA CELLS and plays an important role in regulation of BLOOD GLUCOSE concentration, ketone metabolism, and several other biochemical and physiological processes. (From Gilman et al., Goodman and Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 9th ed, p1511)	Glucagon (1-29),Glukagon,HG-Factor,Hyperglycemic-Glycogenolytic Factor,Proglucagon (33-61),HG Factor,Hyperglycemic Glycogenolytic Factor