EFFECTS OF ADRENALINE ON CARBOHYDRATE METABOLISM IN THE ISOLATED DIAPHRAGM OF INTACT AND ADRENALECTOMIZED RATS AS INFLUENCED BY »NEMBUTAL« ANAESTHESIA

Abstract

ABSTRACT Hemidiaphragms of intact and adrenalectomized rats which had been killed by decapitation, were incubated for 1 hour at 37° C under aerobic conditions. Glucose uptake and glycogen deposition were determined. Addition of adrenaline in vitro (1 μg/ml) caused a substantial decrease in glucose uptake in both types of diaphragms, this decrease being equivalent to a simultaneous inhibition of glycogen deposition. »Nembutal« anaesthesia prior to decapitation was found to alter the response to adrenaline. This change was most clearly observed in diaphragms of adrenalectomized rats. Here, adrenaline mainly affected glycogen metabolism by way of glycogen degradation, whereas the overall magnitude of the response was not materially changed. However, glucose uptake appeared to be only slightly decreased by adrenaline under these conditions. The change in response to adrenaline was attributed to the higher initial glycogen content observed in diaphragms of nembutalized rats. It was suggested that prevention of an acute release of endogenous adrenergic substances, occurring after decapitation of unanaesthetized donor rats, may be the actual cause of this phenomenon. Attention was drawn to the significance of the initial glycogen content as an important factor in carbohydrate metabolism of the isolated rat diaphragm.