[Mechanism of glycogen depletion in the liver in endotoxin-treated rats]

Studied were the rate and mechanism of glycogen breakdown in rats treated with Salmonella abortus ovis endotoxin. It was found that tissue homogenates from treated animals showed higher glycogenolytic activity in vitro as compared with homogenates from untreated animals, which demonstrated the direct mechanism of endotoxin action. The higher lytic activity with treated animals seemed to be associated with the higher activity of glycogen-phosphorylase, which showed peak values at the third hour following treatment. The higher activity of glycogen-phosphorylase was, in turn, the result of the enzyme reactivation under the effect of the endotoxin, and was not linked with the synthesis or new enzyme molecules.