Ketone body metabolism in normal and diabetic human skeletal muscle

1985 ◽  
Vol 249 (2) ◽  
pp. E131-E136 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Nosadini ◽  
A. Avogaro ◽  
L. Sacca ◽  
C. Vigorito ◽  
S. de Kreutzenberg ◽  
...  

Although the liver is considered the major source of ketone bodies (KB) in humans, these compounds may also be formed by nonhepatic tissues. To study this aspect further, 3-[14C]hydroxybutyrate (BOH) or [3-14C]acetoacetate (AcAc) were constantly infused after a priming dose and contemporaneous arterial and venous samples were taken at splanchnic, heart, kidney, and leg sites in eight normal subjects (N) undergoing diagnostic catheterization and at the forearm site in five normal and six ketotic diabetic (D) subjects. After 70 min of infusion, tracer and tracee levels of AcAc and BOH reached a steady state in the artery and vein in both normal and diabetic subjects. The venous-arterial (V-A) difference at the forearm step for cold KB was negligible both in normal and diabetic subjects, whereas for labeled KB it was approximately 10-fold higher in diabetic subjects (V-A AcAc, -31 +/- 7 and -270 +/- 34 dpm/ml in N and D, respectively; V-A BOH, -38 +/- 6 and -344 +/- 126 dpm/ml in N and D, respectively). We assumed that the V-A difference in tracer concentration was consistent with dilution of the tracer by newly synthesized tracee inside the muscle and calculated that the forearm muscle produces KB at a rate of 16.2 +/- 3.3 mumol/min in D and 0.9 +/- 0.9 mumol/min in N. These findings can be accounted for by the hypothesis that the disappearance flux of KB from circulation was replaced by an equivalent flux of KB entering the vein at the muscle step in D but not in N. Moreover, in N KB were not only produced but also utilized by the splanchnic area (39 +/- 9 mumol/min).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

1982 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 549-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. W. Pethick ◽  
D. B. Lindsay

1. A combination of isotope-dilution and arteriovenous-difference techniques was used to determine the significance of ketones to energy homoeostasis in fasted pregnant ewes.2. There was incomplete interconversion of D(−) 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) and acetoacetate (AcAc) and therefore neither entry rate nor oxidation of total ketone bodies could be estimated by assuming circulating ketone bodies represent a single metabolic compartment. Total ketone body metabolism was satisfactorily summarized using a three-compartment model. In fasted pregnant ewes the mean entry rate of total ketones was 1 mmol/h per kg body-weight and of the ketones entering the circulation 87% were promptly oxidized to carbon dioxide accounting for 30% of the total COa production.3. Ketone bodies are readily utilized by hind-limb skeletal muscle such that if completely oxidized, 18±4 and 48±3% of the oxygen utilized could be accounted for in fed and fasted pregnant ewes respectively. For both 3HB and AcAc there was a hyperbolic relationship between utilization and arterial concentration. The apparent Michaelis constant (Km) values were 0·55 and 1–42 mM respectively and the maximum velocity (Vmax) 2·9 and 5·6 mmol/h per kg muscle. The arterial concentration of AcAc is always below the Km value and this limits the utilization rate. The D(−) 3HB concentration, however, may surpass that required for maximum utilization and ketoacidosis may be a consequence of this.4. A two-compartment model was used to analyse ketone body metabolism by hind-limb skeletal muscle. The results suggested substantial intercon version and production of AcAc and 3HB.5. The pregnant uterus utilized 3HB which if completely oxidized accounted for 12±2 (fed) and 25±4 (fasted) % of its O2 consumption. At least 64% of the net 3HB utilized was oxidized. AcAc was not utilized in significant quantities.


1984 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Gohil ◽  
D. A. Jones ◽  
R. H. T. Edwards

1. Activities for the oxidation of palmitoyl-carnitine, of palmitoyl-CoA and of carnitine palmitoyltransferase were measured in mitochondria prepared from needle biopsy samples of human skeletal muscle. Results are presented for nine normal subjects and 18 patients in whom there was evidence of mitochondrial abnormality. 2. Palmitoylcarnitine and palmitoyl-CoA oxidation were measured spectrophotometrically by following the reduction of added cytochrome c in the presence of cyanide. 3. Because of large variations in the activities between subjects it was essential to express the three activities per unit of cytochrome c oxidase activity to demonstrate unambiguous specific alterations in the activities. 4. In most of the patients the order of the three activities was similar to that in the normal subjects. However, in five cases the activity for palmitoylcarnitine oxidation was less than 4% of the mean normal value. In two of these patients, the low activity could be accounted for by very low (<10% normal) activity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT). In another two patients the activity of CPT was normal but that of palmitoyl-CoA dehydrogenase (a measure of β-oxidation) was very low.


1984 ◽  
Vol 247 (6) ◽  
pp. E732-E739 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Keller ◽  
P. P. Gerber ◽  
W. Stauffacher

Elevation of plasma norepinephrine concentrations to stress levels (1,800 pg/ml) resulted in normal subjects in a significant increase in ketone body production by 155% (determined by use of [14C]acetoacetate infusions), in a decrease of the metabolic clearance rate by 38%, hyperketonemia, and in increased plasma free fatty acid (FFA) levels by 57% after 75 min. Norepinephrine infusion during somatostatin-induced insulin deficiency resulted in an augmented and sustained increase in ketone body concentrations due to increased production and decreased peripheral clearance of ketone bodies. Norepinephrine's stimulatory effect on lipolysis waned with time, and its effect on ketogenesis in normal subjects was greater than its influence on plasma FFA levels, and thus presumably on hepatic FFA uptake, suggesting a direct stimulatory effect on hepatic ketogenesis. The data demonstrate that in normal humans the hyperketonemic effect of elevated plasma norepinephrine concentrations results from a combination of three factors: increased ketone body production from augmented FFA supply to the liver; accelerated hepatic ketogenesis; and modestly decreased metabolic clearance of ketone bodies. Acute insulin deficiency augments all these effects and results in progressive ketosis.


1974 ◽  
Vol 138 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil B. Ruderman ◽  
Peter S. Ross ◽  
Michael Berger ◽  
Michael N. Goodman

1. The effects of starvation and diabetes on brain fuel metabolism were examined by measuring arteriovenous differences for glucose, lactate, acetoacetate and 3-hydroxybutyrate across the brains of anaesthetized fed, starved and diabetic rats. 2. In fed animals glucose represented the sole oxidative fuel of the brain. 3. After 48h of starvation, ketone-body concentrations were about 2mm and ketone-body uptake accounted for 25% of the calculated O2 consumption: the arteriovenous difference for glucose was not diminished, but lactate release was increased, suggesting inhibition of pyruvate oxidation. 4. In severe diabetic ketosis, induced by either streptozotocin or phlorrhizin (total blood ketone bodies >7mm), the uptake of ketone bodies was further increased and accounted for 45% of the brain 's oxidative metabolism, and the arteriovenous difference for glucose was decreased by one-third. The arteriovenous difference for lactate was increased significantly in the phlorrhizin-treated rats. 5. Infusion of 3-hydroxybutyrate into starved rats caused marked increases in the arteriovenous differences for lactate and both ketone bodies. 6. To study the mechanisms of these changes, steady-state concentrations of intermediates and co-factors of the glycolytic pathway were determined in freeze-blown brain. 7. Starved rats had increased concentrations of acetyl-CoA. 8. Rats with diabetic ketosis had increased concentrations of fructose 6-phosphate and decreased concentrations of fructose 1,6-diphosphate, indicating an inhibition of phosphofructokinase. 9. The concentrations of acetyl-CoA, glycogen and citrate, a potent inhibitor of phosphofructokinase, were increased in the streptozotocin-treated rats. 10. The data suggest that cerebral glucose uptake is decreased in diabetic ketoacidosis owing to inhibition of phosphofructokinase as a result of the increase in brain citrate. 11. The inhibition of brain pyruvate oxidation in starvation and diabetes can be related to the accelerated rate of ketone-body metabolism; however, we found no correlation between the decrease in glucose uptake in the diabetic state and the arteriovenous difference for ketone bodies. 12. The data also suggest that the rates of acetoacetate and 3-hydroxybutyrate utilization by brain are governed by their concentrations in plasma. 13. The finding of very low concentrations of acetoacetate and 3-hydroxybutyrate in brain compared with plasma suggests that diffusion across the blood –brain barrier may be the rate-limiting step in their metabolism.


2013 ◽  
Vol 304 (8) ◽  
pp. H1060-H1076 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Cotter ◽  
Rebecca C. Schugar ◽  
Peter A. Crawford

Ketone bodies are metabolized through evolutionarily conserved pathways that support bioenergetic homeostasis, particularly in brain, heart, and skeletal muscle when carbohydrates are in short supply. The metabolism of ketone bodies interfaces with the tricarboxylic acid cycle, β-oxidation of fatty acids, de novo lipogenesis, sterol biosynthesis, glucose metabolism, the mitochondrial electron transport chain, hormonal signaling, intracellular signal transduction pathways, and the microbiome. Here we review the mechanisms through which ketone bodies are metabolized and how their signals are transmitted. We focus on the roles this metabolic pathway may play in cardiovascular disease states, the bioenergetic benefits of myocardial ketone body oxidation, and prospective interactions among ketone body metabolism, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and atherosclerosis. Ketone body metabolism is noninvasively quantifiable in humans and is responsive to nutritional interventions. Therefore, further investigation of this pathway in disease models and in humans may ultimately yield tailored diagnostic strategies and therapies for specific pathological states.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen C. Kolwicz

Ketone bodies have been identified as an important, alternative fuel source in heart failure. In addition, the use of ketone bodies as a fuel source has been suggested to be a potential ergogenic aid for endurance exercise performance. These findings have certainly renewed interest in the use of ketogenic diets and exogenous supplementation in an effort to improve overall health and disease. However, given the prevalence of ischemic heart disease and myocardial infarctions, these strategies may not be ideal for individuals with coronary artery disease. Although research studies have clearly defined changes in fatty acid and glucose metabolism during ischemia and reperfusion, the role of ketone body metabolism in the ischemic and reperfused myocardium is less clear. This review will provide an overview of ketone body metabolism, including the induction of ketosis via physiological or nutritional strategies. In addition, the contribution of ketone body metabolism in healthy and diseased states, with a particular emphasis on ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) injury will be discussed.


1991 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Taylor ◽  
S. W. Coppack ◽  
T. A. D. Cadoux-Hudson ◽  
G. J. Kemp ◽  
G. K. Radda ◽  
...  

1. 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and the hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamp were used simultaneously to assess the effect of insulin on intracellular pH and the major phosphorus-containing metabolites of normal human skeletal muscle in vivo in four normal subjects. 2. Insulin and glucose were infused for 120 min. Plasma insulin increased approximately 10-fold over pre-clamp levels (5.6 ± 0.9 m-units/l pre-clamp and 54 ± 5 m-units/l over the last hour of infusion; mean ± sem, n = 4). Plasma glucose concentration did not change significantly (5.4 ± 0.2 mmol/l pre-clamp and 5.5 ± 0.1 mmol/l over the last hour of infusion). 3. Insulin and glucose infusion resulted in a decline in the intracellular pH of forearm muscle of 0.027 ± 0.007 unit/h (P < 0.01), whereas in control studies of the same subjects, pH rose by 0.046 ± 0.005 unit/h (P < 0.001). 4. In the clamp studies, intracellular inorganic phosphate concentration rose by 18%/h, whereas ATP, phosphocreatine and phosphomonoester concentrations did not change. In plasma, inorganic phosphate concentration was 1.16 ± 0.05 mmol/l before infusion, and this decreased by a mean rate of 0.14 mmol h−1 l−1. No change was observed in any of these intracellular metabolites in the control studies. 5. The results show that, under physiological conditions, insulin does not raise intracellular pH in human muscle, and thus cannot influence muscle metabolism by this mechanism. The results also suggest that insulin causes a primary increase in the next flux of inorganic phosphate across the muscle cell membrane.


1986 ◽  
Vol 250 (5) ◽  
pp. E495-E501 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Fery ◽  
E. O. Balasse

This study examines the effects of a 2-h exercise of moderate intensity (50% of VO2 max) on the tracer-determined turnover rate of ketone bodies (KB) in 21 normal subjects fasted for 16 h, 5 days, whose basal ketonemia ranged between 0.09 and 6.16 mM. The KB response observed at the end of exercise is a function of the initial degree of ketosis. When basal ketonemia is below 0.6 mM, exercise enhances ketogenesis (Ra), the amplitude of this process being positively correlated with KB level. There is a concomitant acceleration of the metabolic clearance rate (MCR) of KB attaining 40-50%. When ketonemia exceeds 2.5 mM, the stimulatory effects of exercise on Ra and on MCR become less marked as basal ketonemia rises and are completely abolished or even reversed when initial KB level is higher than 3-4 mM. The pattern of changes in the concentration and in the overall disposal rate of KB were similar to that of Ra. It is suggested that the parallel inhibition of the stimulatory effect of work on hepatic ketogenesis and on muscular extraction of ketones associated with increasing degrees of fasting hyperketonemia has two physiological implications: it maintains the preferential utilization of KB by nonmuscular tissues (presumably the brain) and prevents the development of uncontrolled hyperketonemia, despite the intense catabolic situation created by the combination of exercise and starvation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document