Some metabolic and hormonal alterations in adipocytes isolated from septic dogs

Glucose oxidation and catecholamine-stimulated lipolysis were studied in omental adipocytes isolated from overnight-fasted (control), septic (43 hours after appendiceal ligation), and 60-hour-fasted, nonoperated dogs. Plasma glucose, insulin, and free fatty acids (FFA) were also measured. Both basal and insulin-stimulated glucose oxidation and norepinephrine-stimulated lipolysis were significantly elevated, and insulin sensitivity (ie, percentage stimulation above basal values) was reduced in septic adipocytes as compared with their own controls. Cells of sham-operated dogs exhibited the same pattern of metabolic changes and alterations in hormonal responsiveness as cells of septic animals. Plasma glucose and FFA remained unchanged in septic and sham-operated animals; plasma insulin levels increased significantly in septic dogs. Results of this study emphasize the important contribution of surgical trauma alone to some of the metabolic and endocrine alterations in the canine septic model.