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Glycerol production and utilization measured using stable isotopes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2007

Bernard R. Landau
Bernard R. Landau*
Affiliation:
Departments of Medicine, Biochemistry, and Nutrition, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106–4951, USA
*
Corresponding Author: Professor B. R. Landau, fax +1 216 368 4927, email epc2@po.cwru.edu
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Abstract

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The rate of appearance of glycerol in the systemic circulation is determined from the enrichment of arterial blood glycerol when labelled glycerol is infused intravenously. This value provides a good measure of whole-body lipolysis during fasting, except that arterial infusion and venous sampling, if feasible, would probably give a higher more-accurate value. Lipolysis occurs primarily in adipose tissue, although other tissues contribute, notably muscle. Measurement is based on the difference in the enrichment of the glycerol entering and leaving the tissue. Lipolysis is underestimated by the extent to which glycerol released by lipolysis does not enter the systemic circulation, as occurs when lipolysis takes place in the non-hepatic tissue of the splanchnic bed. Glycerol released into the systemic circulation is utilized mainly by liver, although kidney and muscle are also major users of glycerol. Measurement of glycerol utilization is based on the amount of labelled glycerol taken up by the tissues. Other tissues probably utilize glycerol to a smaller extent, but in total this represents a significant amount. Most glycerol taken up by liver is converted to glucose. Glucose is probably the major source of glycerol-3-phosphate used in the esterification of fatty acids by adipose tissue.

Keywords

GlycerolLipolysisStable isotopes
Type
Meeting Report
Information
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society , Volume 58 , Issue 4 , November 1999 , pp. 973 - 978
Copyright
The Nutrition Society

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