The Feed–Fast Cycle 24
The absorptive (well-fed) state is the 2-to 4-hour period after ingestion of a normal meal. During this interval, transient increases in plasma glucose, amino acids, and triacylglycerols (TAG) occur, the latter primarily as components of chylomicrons synthesized and secreted by the intestinal mucosal cells (see p. 228). Islet tissue of the pancreas responds to the elevated level of glucose with increased secretion of insulin and decreased secretion of glucagon. The elevated insulin/glucagon ratio and the ready availability of circulating substrates make the absorptive state an anabolic period characterized by increased synthesis of TAG and glycogen to replenish fuel stores as well as increased synthesis of protein. During this absorptive period, virtually all tissues use glucose as a fuel, and the metabolic response of the body is dominated by alterations in the metabolism of liver, adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, and brain. In this chapter, an “organ map” is introduced that traces the movement of metabolites between tissues. The goal is to create an expanded and clinically useful vision of whole-body metabolism.
II. REGULATORY MECHANISMS
The flow of intermediates through metabolic pathways is controlled by four mechanisms: 1) the availability of substrates, 2) allosteric regulation of enzymes, 3) covalent modification of enzymes, and 4) induction-repression of enzyme synthesis, primarily through regulation of transcription. Although this scheme may at first seem redundant, each mechanism operates on a different timescale (Fig. 24.1) and allows the body to adapt to a wide variety of physiologic situations. In the absorptive state, these regulatory mechanisms insure that available nutrients are captured as glycogen, TAG, and protein.
A. Allosteric effectors
Allosteric changes usually involve rate-determining reactions. For example, glycolysis in the liver is stimulated following a meal by an increase in fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, an allosteric activator of phosphofructokinase-1 ([PFK-1] see p. 99). In contrast, gluconeogenesis is decreased by fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, an allosteric inhibitor of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase (see p. 122).
B. Covalent modification
The activity of many enzymes is regulated by the addition (via kinases, such as cyclic adenosine monophosphate [cAMP ]–dependent protein kinase A [PKA] and adenosine monophosphate–activated protein kinase [AMPK]) or removal (via phosphatases) of phosphate groups from specific serine, threonine, or tyrosine residues of the protein. In the absorptive state, most of the covalently regulated enzymes are in the dephosphorylated form and are active (Fig. 24.2). Three exceptions are glycogen phosphorylase kinase (see p. 132), glycogen phosphorylase (see p. 132), and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) (see p. 189), which are inactive in their dephosphorylated form. [Note: In the liver, the phosphatase domain of bifunctional phosphofructokinase-2 (PFK-2) is inactive when the protein is dephosphorylated (see p. 100).]
C. Induction and repression of enzyme synthesis