Effect of hydrazine sulfate on glucose-regulating enzymes in the normal and cancerous rat

Glucokinase, hexokinase, fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase specific activities were monitored in liver cytosol from rats that had been made cancerous with 1,2-dimethylhydrazine and then treated with hydrazine sulfate. The presence of intestinal cancer, specifically, was confirmed by laparotomy and by histological analysis. Sustained changes in hexokinase and glucokinase specific activities were first evident during the latter weeks that the carcinogen was being administered. Upon subsequent treatment with hydrazine sulfate, glucokinase activity further decreased, and liver cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activity increased. Liver cytosolic hexokinase and fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase specific activities were not appreciably affected by the hydrazine sulfate treatment. These results indicate that hydrazine sulfate may influence carbohydrate metabolism at the level of selected liver enzymes not only with respect to gluconeogenesis, but also in terms of glucose uptake.