RESUMO
An approach to explain the early metabolic disturbances induced by a moderate ischaemia on the basis of comparative biochemical investigations concerning the oxidative metabolism in the skeletal muscles, is the object of the present paper. These investigations have revealed the following findings: (i) during a slight ischaemia the skeletal muscle maintains its ability to oxidize in vitro lactate and exhibits an increased activity in oxidizing pyruvate, succinate and L-glutamate, and (ii) the stores of adenosine and ATP are depleted and an important accumulation of inorganic phosphate, accompanied by a remarkable activation of phosphatases, occurs in the ischaemic muscle, while no significant changes in the ATPase and creatine phosphokinase activities and in the amount of AMP, ADP and creatine phosphate are detectable in this muscle.
