[Hepatic glycolytic intermediates and glucoregulatory enzymes in septic shock due to peritonitis: experimental study...

The hypoglycemia in septic shock due to peritonitis indicates deranged carbohydrate metabolism. To determine if this metabolic failure could be attributed to changes of glucoregulatory enzymes and glycolytic intermediates, activities and changes of these substances in septic shock have been studied in rats. Liver tissue was sampled 5 hours after induction of peritonitis by cecal incision in fasted male rats. Hepatic glycolytic intermediates were assayed by UV-spectrophotometry. Peritonitis caused 33% decrease in glucose-6-phosphate (G6P), a 2.5 fold increase in fructose-1,6-diphosphate (FDP) and a 3.5 fold increase in lactate. Phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) levels did not show a significant increase in peritonitis. We investigated activities of glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase), fructose-1,6-diphosphatase (FDPase), phosphofructokinase ( PFKase ) and pyruvate kinase ( PKase ) in mitochondria-free supernatants from rat liver homogenates. Tissue was sampled 5 hours after induction of peritonitis by cecal incision. Assays were conducted at optimal substrate levels at pH 7.4; NADH charges produced by coupled reactions were determined by UV-spectrophotometry. A significant increase of PFKase and PKase specific activity was observed. These changes were consistent with stimulated glycolysis. For gluconeogenesis to achieve maximum efficiency it would be necessary to inhibit PFKase and PKase completely.