Long-term control on renal carbohydrate metabolism--II. Effect of starve-feed cycles on renal tubule glycolysis.

1. The effects of different and alternative starve-feed cycles on glycolysis from isolated renal tubules as well as the glycolytic enzymes phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase have been studied. Adaptive responses of renal glycolysis under the nutritional conditions mentioned are reported. 2. Renal glucose utilization increased in a linear fashion during the feeding state of the nutritional cycles, becoming twice as much in both feeding and fasting cycles. Conversely, a decrease in this metabolic pathway took place during the starve periods of the cycles. During the feed-starve cycle the decrease reached 70% in 48 hr of fasting after being fed with a high carbohydrate diet. Whereas in the opposite cycle it was almost 35%. 3. The activities of renal glycolytic enzymes, phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase are parallel to the glycolytic capacity of renal tubules in different nutritional conditions. These changes only occur at cellular substrate concentration. 4. The behaviour of the kinetic parameters of these enzymes throughout these experimental conditions is reported. In general, variations in Km values without changes in Vmax values take place which reflect an increase in the catalytic efficiency of the glycolytic enzymes during the feeding state and conversely a decrease during the starvation state.