Glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity in rat muscle: changes during 3-96 weeks of age.

It has been demonstrated that aging diminishes the rate of glucose utilization by rat skeletal muscle. To determine the basis for this occurrence as well as its temporal sequence, glucose utilization was examined in isolated hindquarters of 3-, 5-, 8-, 16-, 24-, 48-, and 96-wk-old male Sprague-Dawley rats. Glucose utilization diminished progressively during early development (3-5 wk) and adolescence (5-16 wk) in hindquarters perfused in the absence of added insulin.

Adaptation to prolonged starvation in the rat: curtailment of skeletal muscle proteolysis.

Previous studies have established that 16-wk-old nonobese and obese rats conserve body protein during prolonged starvation. To determine the basis for this, protein synthesis and degradation in skeletal muscle were evaluated in the isolated perfused hindquarters of these rats, in the fed state and when starved for 2, 5, 10, and 11 days. Rats aged 4 and 8 wk were used as a comparison.

The isolation of a low molecular weight serum factor which enhances the viability of SV3T3 cells.

A serum factor which enhances the growth/viability of SV40 transformed 3T3 mouse fibroblasts, but not untransformed 3T3 cells in tissue culture has been partially purified from calf serum. The purification, which involves acidification to pH 2, chromatography on Sephadex G-100 at pH 2 followed by either Sephadex G-25 or BioGel P-2, results in material exhibiting two ninhydrin positive spots on thin layer chromatography and five to six dansylatable bands on SDS gels. This substance, termed Peak III or Serum Factor III, has been found in every serum examined thus far (including calf, rat, mouse, goat, lamb, rabbit, pig, horse, and chicken) and appears to be a low molecular weight, heat-insensitive molecule.