Interrelationship of FFA and glycerol turnovers in resting and exercising dogs

Dogs with indwelling arterial and venous catheters ran on a treadmill on a 10% or on a 15% slope at 100 m/min. Glycerol turnover ([2-3H]-glycerol) and FFA turnover ([1-14C]palmitate) were measured simultaneously. Both turnovers were greatly increased by exercise. Similar increases were produced in resting dogs by norepinephrine infusions (0.5 mug/kg-min). At rest, as well as during exercise, there was a straight-line correlation between the ratio of disappearance of each substrate and their respective plasma concentrations. Over a wide range there was a straight-line correlation between the rate of production of FFA (RaFFA) and that of glycerol (RaGLY) at rest as well as during exercise. At any given RaFFA, RaGLY was higher in the running than in the resting dog. At rest the ratio of RaFFA/RaGLY was found to give the theoretical value of 3.0 only when RaFFA was 10-15 mumol/kg-min, below this the ratio was lower and above this it was higher. During exercise the ratio was lower than at rest and at heavier load lower than at lighter work. The results suggest that in vivo a combination of partial and complete lipolysis as well as reesterification occurs. The glucose equivalent of the glycerol turnover (if 100% converted) represents (under the given experimental conditions) 14-18% of the hepatic glucose output on the 15% slope and 20-25% of it on the 10% slope.