Body glucose as fuel for thermogenesis in the white rat exposed to cold

Abstract

Various parameters of glucose metabolism were measured with C14-glucose in unanesthetized warm- and cold-acclimated rats at 30° and 6°C. Exposure of warm-acclimated rats to cold was associated with a decrease in turnover time of plasma glucose, no change in glucose pool size and space, an increase in rates of turnover and oxidation of body glucose, an increase in the ratio of the oxidation rate to the turnover rate, no change in percentage of respiratory CO2 derived from glucose oxidation, and a decrease in liver glycogen content. Approximately reversed changes were observed in cold-acclimated rats transferred from a cold to a warm environment except in the values of turnover time of plasma glucose and terminal liver glycogen content which underwent smaller changes. It is concluded that cold-induced thermogenesis in white rats, whether acclimated to warm or cold environments, is associated with an increase in carbohydrate catabolism proportionate to the increase in energy metabolism.