Theophylline stimulation of gluconeogenesis from alanine in normal and sympathectomized rats

The influence of theophylline ethylenediamine (100 mg/kg i.p.) on gluconeogenesis was studied in normal and in adrenodemedullated and reserpinized rats after overnight fasting by measuring the time-course of Alanine-14C incorporation into Glucose-14C. In the normal rat, theophylline produced a moderate hyperglycemia associated with an increased conversion of alanine to glucose at all time intervals. In addition, a marked rise of plasma levels of insulin and glucagon was observed. In sympathetctomized rats, plasma glucose and gluconeogenesis were again enhanced by theophylline, but the pattern of these modifications differed from that of normal rats since the peak values occurred earlier. Subsequently, both parameters rapidly declined reaching values lower than controls at the end of the experiment. Insulin response to theophylline was higher in sympathectomized animals in comparison to normal rats, while glucagon response was approximately of the same magnitude in the two groups. From these findings it was concluded that theophylline is able to stimulate gluconeogenesis from alanine both in the normal and sympathectomized rat. The different pattern of alanine conversion to glucose seems to depend on the different participation of insulin and catecholamines in the two groups.