Activity of glycogen synthase and glycogen phosphorylase in normal and cirrhotic rat liver during glycogen synthesis from glucose or fructose.

Cirrhotic patients often demonstrate glucose intolerance, one of the possible causes being a decreased glycogen-synthesizing capacity of the liver. At the same time, information about the rates of glycogen synthesis in the cirrhotic liver is scanty and contradictory. We studied the dynamics of glycogen accumulation and the activity of glycogen synthase (GS) and glycogen phosphorylase (GP) in the course of 120min after per os administration of glucose or fructose to fasted rats with CCl4-cirrhosis or fasted normal rats.

Hepatocytes of cirrhotic rat liver accumulate glycogen more slowly than normal ones.

Purpose: To investigate the accumulation of glycogen in cirrhotic rat liver at several time intervals after per os administration of glucose to fasted animals.

Methods: Liver cirrhosis was produced by inhalation of the hepatotropic poison CCl4. Glycogen concentration in the liver was determined biochemically.

Effects of the 2-ethylthiobenzimidazole hydrobromide (bemithyl) on carbohydrate metabolism in cirrhotic rat liver.

The effect of the actoprotector bemithyl (2-ethylthiobenzimidazole hydrobromide) on the content of glycogen and activities of glycogen synthase, glycogen phosphorylase, and glucose-6-phosphatase was studied in the cirrhotic rat liver. The content of glycogen and its fraction was determined by a cytofluorimetric method (Kudryavtseva et al. 1974).