Metabolic antagonism between insulin action and activators of adenylate cyclase in rat fat cells.

1. Short-term effects of lipolytic agents in the absence or in the presence of insulin on fatty acid biosynthesis have been examined, in terms of the control rate of [1-14C]acetate incorporation into labeled fatty acids in the presence of glucose, as stimulator of lipogenesis by generating NADPH for the process. 2. The relationship between lipogenesis and lipolysis in the absence or in the presence of insulin was compared with a variety of adenylate cyclase activators. 3. The data obtained reveal that a reciprocal relationship exists between lipogenesis and lipolysis. 4. The changes in the activity of hexose monophosphate shunt produced by activation or inhibition of lipogenic process has been studied. 5. The regulation of the hexose monophosphate shunt activity mainly by the intracellular fatty acyl-CoA concentration and NADPH/NADP ratio is discussed.

Glycerogenic pathway in the rat mammary gland.

The conversions of the isotope from [1-14C]acetate, [1-14C]glucose and [6-14C]glucose to CO2 and fatty acids in acini isolated from the mammary gland at the peak of lactation were studied. The incorporation of [9,10-3H]oleate into triacylglycerol synthesis as single substrate or in combination with substrates that potentially may supply trioses-phosphate was also determined. The rate of fatty acid synthesis paralleled the activity of the hexose monophosphate shunt and the data obtained reveal that little carbon from triose stage enters the phosphohexose pool via reversal of glycolytic pathway. The results are interpreted in terms of the NADPH producing systems and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activities as well as the possible implications in lipogenic and glyceroneogenic pathways.