Chronic ethanol ingestion and glycogen metabolism in male and female rats

Chronic ethanol ingestion decreased liver glycogen levels in both male and female rats; however plasma glucose was decreased only in males. The decreased levels of liver glycogen were related to increases of 42% and 122% in glycogen phosphorylase in males and females, respectively. Both a and b forms of phosphorylase were increased, but the b form was increased more than the a form. Phosphorylase phosphatase was found to be increased 75% and 267% in males and females, respectively. Studies using positive and negative phosphorylase effector molecules indicated that ethanol ingestion may have altered the structure of phosphorylase a and that the degree of alteration was sex related.