Effects of age and hypertension on utilization of glucose by rat aorta

Aortic intima-media was isolated from three groups of rats varying in age from 6.5 to 72 wk and from 16-wk-old rats with renal hypertension and sham-operated controls. Tissues were incubated with [U-14C]glucose for 3 h, and the incorporation of glucose into lactate, carbon dioxide, and total lipids was measured. The amounts of glucose converted to each product, per microgram of aortic DNA, increased with advancing age of donor rats over the entire range of age studied. Effects of hypertension on aortic glucose utilization were in the same direction as the effects of age, but more pronounced. Effects of age and hypertension were greatest on the conversion of glucose to carbon dioxide and least on its conversion to lipids. Significant although less marked increases in aortic glucose utilization with age and hypertension were also revealed when results were calculated on the basis of tissue weight.