Oxidation to C¹⁴O₂ and conversion to fatty acids of C¹⁴-glucose in livers of normal, fasted and x-irradiated rats

¹ Department of Biochemistry and Radiology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee
² Departments of Biochemistry and Radiology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee

Oxidation of glucose-1-C¹⁴ and of glucose-6-C¹⁴ to C¹⁴O₂ was greater in slices and homogenates of livers of rats given 1000 r total-body x-irradiation and fasted 24–48 hours than in their nonirradiated fasted controls. The ratio: C¹⁴O₂ from glucose-6-C¹⁴/C¹⁴O₂ from glucose-1-C¹⁴ was not altered in homogenates either by fasting or by x-irradiation. In liver slices, the ratio was increased by fasting, per se, but was not affected by x-irradiation. In rats weighing 350–400 gm, hepatic conversion of glucose-1-C¹⁴ and of glucose-6-C¹⁴ to fatty acids was greater in the irradiated fasted animals than in nonirradiated fasted controls although the ratio: C¹⁴-fatty acids from glucose-6-C¹⁴/C¹⁴-fatty acids from glucose-1-C¹⁴ was not affected by irradiation. In rats weighing 160–200 gm, no difference in lipogenesis from either glucose-1-C¹⁴ or glucose-6-C¹⁴ was apparent between irradiated and control rats.