The regulation of lipogenesis in vivo in the lactating mammary gland of the rat during the starved-refed transition. Studies wtih acarbose, a glucosidase inhibitor.

Depression of carbohydrate digestion by oral administration of acarbose, a glucosidase inhibitor, led to a 75% inhibition of the re-activation of lipogenesis in vivo in the mammary gland of 18 h-starved lactating rats refed with 5 g of chow diet. Rates of [1-14C]glucose incorporation in vitro into lipid and CO2 in mammary-gland acini isolated from refed animals were elevated compared with acini from starved rats, but acarbose treatment completely prevented this stimulation. Gastric intubation of glucose led to a large stimulation of lipogenesis in the mammary gland of starved lactating rats, similar to that induced by refeeding with chow diet; this was dependent on the amount of glucose given and the time elapsed between glucose administration and injection of 3H2O for the measurement of lipogenesis. The switch-on of lipogenesis in the mammary gland of starved lactating rats, by refeeding or by intubation of glucose, was associated with a decrease in the ratio of [glucose 6-phosphate]/[fructose 1,6-bisphosphate] in the gland, indicative of an increase in phosphofructokinase activity. A time-course study revealed that the ratio decreased rapidly over the first 30 min of chow refeeding, after which a large surge in lipogenesis was seen. Acarbose, given 25 min after the onset of refeeding, led to a stepwise increase in the ratio, in parallel with the observed decrease in lipogenic activity. It is concluded that the control of lipogenesis in the mammary gland is closely linked to the availability of dietary carbohydrate. An important site of regulation of lipogenesis in the gland appears to be at the level of phosphofructokinase. A possible role of insulin in the regulation of phosphofructokinase activity, and the acute modulation of insulin-sensitivity in the gland during the starved-refed transition, are discussed.