Changes in glucose utilization during development of the lamb

The perioperative care of lambs and ewes when the former undergo major experimental (scoliotic) surgery

The purpose of the study was to optimize postoperative comfort in lambs anaesthetized for the surgical creation of scoliosis while maintaining the ewe-lamb relationship to miminize rejection rates. The first management plan produced six scoliotic lambs but intraoperative hypoventilation and hypovolaemia followed by postoperative dyspnoea, pain, monitoring and nursing difficulties, hypothermia, hypoglycaemia and tympany were encountered. Three of eight lambs (38%) were rejected by their ewes. Perioperative management was amended which, combined with improved surgical technique, produced 16 scoliotic lambs. The lambs recovered more rapidly (mean time to standing after discontinuation of anaesthesia was reduced from 12 h to 70 min) and appeared to be more comfortable. No rejections occurred after the refinements were implemented.

Weaning marginally affects glucose transporter (GLUT4) expression in calf muscles and adipose tissues

The nutritional regulation of glucose transporter GLUT4 was studied in eight muscles and four adipose tissues from two groups of preruminant (PR) or ruminant (R) calves of similar age (170 d), empty body weight (194 kg) at slaughter, and level of net energy intake from birth onwards. Isocitrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.41) activity in muscles was not different between PR and R except in masseter muscle from the cheek (+71% in R; P < 0.003), which becomes almost constantly active at weaning for food chewing. Basal and maximally-insulin-stimulated glucose transport rate (GTR) per g tissue wet weight in rectus abdominis muscle were significantly higher in R calves (+31 and 41% respectively; P < 0.05). GLUT4 protein contents did not differ in muscles from PR and R except in masseter (+74% in R; P < 0.05) indicating that the increased GTR in rectus abdominis cannot be accounted for by an enhanced GLUT4 expression. GLUT4 mRNA levels did not differ between the two groups of animals in all muscles suggesting a regulation of GLUT4 at the protein level in masseter. GLUT4 number expressed on a per cell basis was lower in adipose tissue from R calves (-39%; P < 0.05) and higher in internal than in peripheral adipose tissues. In summary, the regulation of GLUT4 in calves at weaning differs markedly from that previously described in rodents (for review, see Girard et al. 1992). Furthermore, significant inter-individual variations were shown for metabolic activities in muscle and for biochemical variables in adipose tissue.

Changes of blood metabolites and hormones in breeding calves associated with weaning

Changes of blood metabolites and hormones were studied in female breeding calves before, during and after weaning from 4 to 18 weeks of age. Calves were initially fed increasing amounts of whole milk (up to 7 kg/day in week 8 of life). Milk intake was then gradually decreased up to the age of 16 weeks, when calves were completely weaned and only fed hay and concentrates. Average daily gain was 0.85 kg. Postprandial concentrations of glucose, insulin, insulin-like growth factor-I and 3.5.3'-triiodothyronine concentrations gradually decreased (P < 0.05) with age, while those of beta-hydroxybutyrate, protein, albumin, haemoglobin and iron increased (P < 0.05). Concentrations of cholesterol transiently increased, whereas those of urea reversibly decreased. Non-esterified fatty acids, triglycerides and growth hormone did not consistently change during the duration of the study. In conclusion, changes of glucose, beta-hydroxybutyrate, haemoglobin, iron, insulin, insulin-like growth factor-I and 3.5.3'-triiodothyronine were markedly different from those usually seen in veal calves of the same age.

CARBOHYDRATE METABOLISM IN LIVER FROM FOETAL AND NEONATAL SHEEP

1. During development of the sheep, the activities of UDP-glucose-alpha-glucan glucosyltransferase and UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase and the glycogen content are highest in the liver of lambs 2 weeks old and considerably lower in liver from adult sheep. 2. The activity of hexokinase and the rate of incorporation of [(14)C]-glucose into glycogen are much lower in liver from postnatal sheep than in rat liver. 3. The activities of hexose diphosphatase and glucose 6-phosphatase and the rates of incorporation of [(14)C]pyruvate and [(14)C]propionate into glycogen increase from low levels in the liver of foetal sheep to maxima a few weeks after birth. The activities in the liver of adult sheep are slightly lower. 4. The incorporation rate of [(14)C]pyruvate into glucose has been measured in liver slices from rats, sheep and chick embryos at several ages of these animals. This pathway is active in liver from foetal sheep, embryonic chicks and postnatal rats or sheep, but is absent from the liver from foetal rats. 5. Fructose metabolism, as measured by the rates of incorporation of [(14)C]fructose into glycogen and glucose in liver slices and by assays of liver ketohexokinase, is barely detectable in the liver of foetal sheep and appears soon after birth. 6. During development of the sheep, the incorporation rate of [(14)C]galactose into glycogen in liver slices is highest in foetal sheep and decreases with increasing age of the animal. 7. These findings are discussed with reference to the changing pattern of carbohydrate metabolism during neonatal development of liver in the sheep.

Changes in blood and red cell volume in the neonatal lamb and the effect of insulin-like growth factor I

1. Blood volume was measured weekly using [51Cr]-labelled red cells in 10 lambs from 3 to 10 weeks of age. Red cell and plasma volumes were calculated using the measured blood volume and haematocrit. Other parameters, including plasma erythropoietin, urea, creatinine and glucose, were measured twice weekly. The results were compared to a group of five lambs that received an infusion of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). 2. In control lambs, plasma volume increased linearly by 47 +/- 7 mL/week over the experimental period. Red cell volume only increased by 10 +/- 2 mL/week during weeks 3-7, but then increased by 25 +/- 2 mL/week over weeks 7-10. Haematocrit declined from 28.0 +/- 1.6 to 24.7 +/- 1.7% over weeks 3-7 and then increased to 30.7 +/- 1.1% by week 10. 3. In 10 control lambs infused for 8 days (starting at 22-26 days of age) with 10 mmol/L HCl, there was a decrease in plasma IGF-I concentrations, 3 days after the start of infusion. In five lambs infused for 8 days with IGF-I (6 microg/kg per h) plasma IGF-I concentration was maintained significantly (P <0.01) higher than that of the controls. 4. There was no significant difference in haematocrit, red cell or plasma volumes between the treatment groups and no reticulocytosis was observed. Plasma erythropoietin concentrations did not change over the infusion period in either group. 5. Serum urea decreased significantly in the IGF-I infused group but serum creatinine did not change in either group during the infusion period. In both the groups, there was a significant decrease in glucose, urea and creatinine over weeks 3-10 after birth. There was no difference in growth rates between the two groups. 6. Thus, it appears that the observed changes in haematocrit are due to a constant increase in plasma volume with varying rates of red cell volume increases. 7. IGF-I infused at a dose that maintains physiological concentrations and alters protein metabolism does not result in increased erythropoietin or erythropoiesis during the neonatal period of the lamb.

Effects of exogenous somatotropin on whole-body glycemic response to insulin in young preruminant and ruminant lambs

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of exogenous recombinant bovine somatotropin (bST) treatment on whole-body glycemic responsiveness and sensitivity to exogenous insulin in preruminant and ruminant lambs. Twelve milk-fed (MF) and 12 ruminating (RUM) wether lambs weighing 20 +/- 0.6 kg were assigned to one of four treatment groups: MF control, MF plus bST, RUM control, and RUM plus bST. Lambs received a daily subcutaneous injection of 160 micrograms of sometribove (recombinant methionyl bST) bST/kg live weight or the equivalent volume of sterile water (control) for 10 d. The MF lambs had higher plasma insulin and nonessential fatty acids and lower acetate concentrations than RUM lambs (all P < 0.05). Plasma insulin-like growth factor concentrations were similar in both. The administration of bST raised plasma insulin-like growth factor-1 (P < 0.001) and insulin (P < 0.05) in MF and RUM lambs, but with greater effect in MF lambs (P < 0.01 and P < 0.1, respectively). Six successive dose-incremented insulin challenges (50, 100, 200, 300, 500, and 700 mU/kg body weight) were performed two per day on Days 8, 9, and 10 of treatment. Dose-response curves for absolute decline in glucose concentration from preinjection baseline to nadir were used to characterize whole-body responsiveness and sensitivity (ED50) to insulin. Somatotropin treatment increased insulin ED50 values 64 and 70% (P < 0.07) in RUM and MF lambs, respectively, suggesting that sensitivity to insulin was reduced. Insulin ED50 values were 40% higher in MF than in RUM lambs (P < 0.05). Insulin clearance rates increased with each dose increment to 300 mU/kg body weight (P = 0.001) and were 50% lower in bST-treated MF lambs than in all other treatment groups (P < 0.05). Results suggest that somatotropin modulates the insulin control of glucose homeostasis similarly in preruminant and ruminant lambs by decreasing sensitivity but not maximum responsiveness.

Glucose and insulin metabolism in ruminating and veal calves fed high and low fat diets

Holstein male calves were maintained on conventional (milk to 6 wk of age, fed grain and hay after weaning) and veal (milk replacer only) diets to 16 wk of age. Within each of these 2 physiological states (ruminating or non-ruminating), calves were fed low or high fat diets (ruminating: 3 and 10%; veal: 10 and 18%). Glucose tolerance tests were undertaken at 8 and 16 wk of age in each group. Basal concentrations (4 hr postfeeding) and areas under the response curves for plasma glucose and insulin were higher in veal calves (P < .0001). Ruminating calves fed higher fat utilized glucose more readily (smaller areas under the curves for both glucose and insulin, P < .10) than those fed lower fat. Age did not influence basal glucose concentrations (P > .10), but older calves had higher basal insulin (P < .0001) and greater areas under the curves (P < .0005) for both glucose and insulin after a glucose challenge. Rate of clearance (k) was greater in ruminating calves (P < .001). Though rate of clearance in veal calves was slower, larger plasma pool size caused veal calves on average to utilize glucose at a 15% greater rate per kg body weight than ruminating calves. Whereas fat concentration in the diets did not influence glucose metabolism in veal calves, the high lactose content (> 50% of diet dry matter) of veal diets induced severe insulin resistance in these calves.

Blood flow to and the metabolism of glucose and lactate by the liver in vivo in fetal, newborn and adult sheep

1. The blood flow to the liver in fetuses near to term, in newborn and in adult sheep was measured in vivo by the Fick principle using radionuclide-labelled plastic microspheres and timed withdrawal of reference organ blood samples. 2. There is a rapid flow of blood, 410.1 +/- 41.8 ml min-1 (100 g liver)-1, mean +/- S.E.M., to the liver in the fetus. Immediately after birth the blood flow is significantly less (172.5 +/- 27.5 ml min-1 (100 g liver)-1), reflecting the loss of the umbilical venous return to the liver following delivery and separation from the placenta. Arterial blood flow to the liver per unit weight of liver was small in the fetus (9.5 +/- 1.2 ml min-1 (100 g liver)-1), significantly greater in the immediate newborn (27.9 +/- 7.9 ml min-1 (100 g)-1) but appeared to decline with age after birth to 12.2 +/- 6.6 ml min-1 (100 g)-1 in lambs at 16 weeks of age. Portal blood flow to the liver, on a weight basis, changed little with age being 126 +/- 20.9 ml min-1 (100 g liver)-1 in the fetus, 144.7 +/- 21.1 ml min-1 (100 g liver)-1 in the immediate newborn and 203.2 +/- 27.8 ml min-1 (100 g liver)-1 in the adult. 3. Oxygen consumption and glucose and lactate fluxes across the sheep liver were determined from 132 days of gestation into adulthood. 4. The oxygen consumption by the fetal liver was 0.11 +/- 0.02 mmol min-1 (100 g)-1 which represents about 6% of the total fetal oxygen metabolism. Immediately after birth there was an apparent increase in liver oxygen consumption but the wide variation in the values recorded means that the change is not statistically significant. There were no significant changes in liver oxygen consumption with age after delivery, oxygen consumption by the adult liver was 0.16 +/- 0.05 mmol min-1 (100 g)-1. 5. The liver at all ages studied consumed lactate. Lactate consumption was particularly high in the fetus (0.13 +/- 0.04 mmol min-1 (100 g)-1 and could account for three times the oxygen consumed by the fetal liver, but the fate of this lactate is not yet known. 6. In the fetus the liver is in approximately zero glucose balance; in contrast postnatal animals release glucose from the liver at rest.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Development changes of monosaccharide uptake into skeletal muscle of the lamb

Uptake of the nonmetabolizable model sugar 3-o-methylgucose (3-MG) into skeletal muscle (musculi cricothyreoidei) of the lamb decreases with advancing age. Forestomach development does not affect 3-MG uptake. The stimulating effect of insulin upon 3-MG uptake also declines with age. Forestomach development does not influence the insulin effect.

Metabolism of glucose, fructose and lactate in vivo in chronically cannulated foetuses and in suckling lambs

1. Chronically cannulated sheep foetuses and suckling lambs were injected with 14C-labelled glucose, fructose or lactate, and sequential blood samples taken under conditions of minimal stress and without anaesthesia. 2. Gluconeogenesis from lactate was not detectable in foetal sheep, but the pathway was active in suckling lambs. 3. Fructose utilization rates were low in foetal sheep, with no measurable conversion into glucose or lactate. 4. The high rates of irreversible loss of both glucose and lactate in the foetus were decreased in suckling lambs. Radioactivity from labelled glucose entered both the lactate and fructose pools in foetal sheep, and entered the lactate pool in suckling lambs. 5. A model is proposed in which carbon flow between glucose, fructose and lactate has been quantified in foetal sheep.

Gluconeogenesis in isolated intact lamb liver cells. Effects of glucagon and butyrate

1. Isolated lamb liver cells were prepared from 24-h-starved animals by venous perfusion of the excised caudate lobe with buffer containing collagenase. On the basis of Trypan-Blue exclusion, rate of O2 uptake, adenine nucleotide content and retention of constitutive enzymes, these cells were judged to be intact. 2. Isolated caudate-lobe liver cells showed rates of gluconeogenesis from 10 mM-propionate and 10 mM-lactate that compared favourably with rates determined in isolated median-lobe cells and with rates determined with the isolated perfused lamb liver. 3. The gluconeogenic potential of substrates tested depended on the lamb's age. Cells prepared from suckling lambs (up to 20 days of age and essentially non-ruminant) showed highest rates from galactose, serine and alanine; those prepared from post-weaned lambs (older than 30 days of age and ruminant) showed highest rates from propionate, lactate and fructose. 4. Gluconeogenic rates from endogeneous precursors, 10 mM-propionate and 10mM-galactose, were linear for 1 h and were both stimulated by 1 muM-glucagon. Provided the endogenous rate of gluconeogenesis remained unchanged after substrate addition, glucagon caused a net stimulation of gluconeogenesis from each of these substrates. 5. Gluconeogenic capacity and glucagon sensitivity were examined in cells maintained in substrate-free oxygenated buffer at 37 degrees, 22 degrees and * degrees C. Even under the best of the three conditions of storage that were tested (i.e. at 22 degrees C in gelatin-containing buffer) deterioration of the lamb cells proceeded rapidly, and loss of glucagon responsiveness preceeded the loss of ability to convert precursor into glucose. 6. n-Butyric acid, 2-methylpropanoic acid and 3-methylbutanoic acid at concentrations comparable with those found in lamb portal-vein blood each stimulated gluconeogenesis from 10mM-galactose or 10mM-propionate; gluconeogenesis from galactose was stimulated to the greater extent. 7. The regulatory effects of glucagon and sodium butyrate on lamb liver-cell gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis were compared. Glucagon (1 muM) and 2mM-butyrate accelerated the rate of glucose formation of liver cells of 24h-starved animals from lactate+pyruvate or fructose. Insulin (20nM) decreased both gluconeogenesis and the efficacy of 1 muM-glucagon. For lactate+pyruvate as substrate, the stimulatory effect of butyrate was additive to that of 1muM-glucagon and for both lactate+pyruvate and fructose the stimulatory effect of butyrate was not influenced by 20nM-insulin. In contrast with glucagon, which stimulated the rate of glycogenolysis in cells prepared from fed lambs, butyrate (0.1-20mM) had no effect. 8. It is concluded that glucagon and butyrate stimulate lamb liver-cell gluconeogenesis by different mechanisms.

Seasonal variations in glucose metabolism of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L.) estimated with (U- 14 C)glucose and (3- 3 H)glucose

1. The pool size, space and rate of irreversible loss of glucose were estimated with primed infusions of [U-14C]glucose in reindeer cows within 6 h of being taken from outdoor pens or from free grazing in the field.

2. In conjunction with primed infusions of [U-14C]glucose, single injections of [3-3H]glucose were also used to estimate pool size, space, transfer rate, and turnover time of glucose.

3. Except in a period of severe undernutrition, the concentration of glucose in plasma was higher (range 0·76–1·40 mg/ml) than that recorded for other ruminants.

4. The size of the glucose pool (range 8–35 g) varied in parallel with plasma glucose concentration and was generally distributed in a space in excess of the extracellular fluid volume.

5. The lowest rates of irreversible loss of glucose (approximately 1·7 mg/min per kg0·75) were measured when cows were in mid pregnancy and when available food was scarce; the highest rate (5·5 mg/min per kg0·75) was found in cows during mid summer.

6. Changes in irreversible loss and transfer rate of glucose are interpreted in relation to changes in body composition (estimated in a parallel study), subjective assessment of available food and factors known to control glucose metabolism in other ruminants.

7. The difference between glucose transfer rate and rate of irreversible loss of glucose was used as an index of the rate of resynthesis of glucose from products of glucose catabolism. The rates of glucose resynthesis were highest during a period of rapid growth (4·52 mg/min per kg0·75or 45% of the glucose transfer rate) and in mid and late pregnancy (respectively 4·14 and 4·28 mg/min per kg0·75or 71 and 59% of the transfer rate).