Glucose analog effects on glucose oxidation in the ventromedial hypothalamus

The effect of the glucose analogs 2-deoxyglucose (2DG), glucosamine (GLA), mannoheptulose (MAN), and gold thioglucose (GTG) on glucose utilization in the mouse ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) was assessed by using an in vitro incubation system. The amount of 14C-CO2 generated from uniformly labelled 14C-glucose was measured in VMH tissue cubes. MAN and GTG did not alter glucose oxidation at any of the concentrations compared with controls. GLA inhibited glucose utilization but only when the amount of GLA was 3 times that of glucose in the medium. However, this difference was not significant. The 2DG inhibited glucose oxidation significantly (50%; P less than 0.005), but only when 2DG was used in a quantity three-fold greater than glucose. These results imply that the VMH, a reputed central area for controlling feeding behavior, may possess a high affinity for glucose, which is not effectively altered by competitive inhibitors.