Using renal cortical slices from acidotic and normal dogs we show that fatty acids such as crotonate, octanoate, palmitate and oleate as well as ketone bodies (beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate) in concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 5.0 mM induce a 30 to 50% decrease in glutamine uptake and ammonia production when glutamine (1 mM) is used as the basic substrate. Glucose production also decreases by 20 to 30%. Glutamate release in the incubation medium is significantly augmented by fatty acids or ketones. When glutamate 5 mM is used as substrate instead of glutamine, glutamate uptake, ammoniagenesis and glucose production are significantly depressed by fatty acids and ketones. Increased glutamate release from glutamine, decreased glutamate uptake and decreased gluconeogenesis from glutamine or glutamate provide evidence that ketone bodies and fatty acids depress the net flux through the glutamate dehydrogenase reaction invovled in glutamine metabolism. This is further supported by the fact that addition of ketones to alpha-ketoglutarate and ammonia stimulates net glutamate synthesis by kidney tubules.