Acetoacetate turnover and oxidation rates in ovine pregnancy ketosis

¹ Department of Physiology, New York State Veterinary College, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

Labeled acetoacetic acid (AcAc) was administered as a tracer dose and as a continuous infusion to 24 twin-pregnant ewes with varying degrees of spontaneous or fasting hypoglycemic ketosis. The mean AcAc turnover rate of five normal twin-pregnant sheep (plasma AcAc < 1 mg/100 ml) was only 0.04 g/hr kg^3/4 or 1.0 g/sheep hr. During ketosis the turnover rate of AcAc was directly proportional to the plasma AcAc concentration until a maximal concentration of about 10 mg/100 ml was attained (total ketone bodies, expressed as acetone, would be about 20 mg/100 ml). At higher plasma concentrations, the AcAc turnover rates remained constant at nearly 0.4 g/hr kg^3/4 (9 g/sheep hr). About one-half of this AcAc was oxidized to CO₂ regardless of the actual amount utilized. The mean percentage of the total exhaled CO₂ derived from AcAc metabolism increased from 2% in normal ewes to a maximum of about 20% during pregnancy ketosis. Comparisons of these data to values obtained in previous experiments on artificially ketotic nonpregnant sheep indicate that an overproduction of ketone bodies, rather than an underutilization, is the major cause of ruminant ketosis.

Key Words: toxemia • ketone-body turnover and oxidation rates • hypoglycemia • ketosis • butyrate-betahydroxy, metabolism • metabolism during pregnancy • acetoacetate turnover in vivo

Submitted on July 1, 1963

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