Rat strain differences in cyclic-AMP levels in liver and epididymal fat pad tissue as influenced by glucagon

A glucagon-saline solution (0.1 ml, 10(7) mole/100 g body weight) was injected via the portal vein into nonfasted Wistar and carbohydrate-sensitive BHE rats. Levels of liver and epididymal fat pad cyclic-AMP were observed after 6 and 24 minutes. When compared to sham injected rats at 6 minutes, glucagon injected rats of both strains had twice the level of cyclie-AMP in liver and fat pad tissue. By 24 minutes, the cyclic-AMP levels of the Wistar rats had decreased to those observed in their sham injected counterparts, and the concentration of liver cyclic-AMP in both sham injected and glucagon injected BHE rats had decreased to levels significantly below those observed in the Wistar rats. This observation suggests that a lipolytic-lipogenic imbalance may reside in the livers of rats of the BHE strain.