| Summary |
Increases in fatty acid mobilization and utilization result in significant glycogen sparing during exercise. Regulation of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) activity was investigated to determine if PDH regulates glycogen utilization. Muscle glycogen is utilized at a rate that is lower in red than in white muscle during exercise. Measurement of muscle glycogen and PDH in the red and white portions of the vastus lateralis of exercised rats showed less muscle glycogen depletion in red vastus, but no difference in PDH activity between the two muscle types. Training rats for one week resulted in an increase in the amount of PDH in the active form. Exercise following training resulted in no significant increase in PDH activation. Elevation of plasma free fatty acids by oil ingestion did not result in either glycogen sparing or a decrease in PDH activation in anesthetized rats. Fasted groups of exercised rats showed significant glycogen sparing and a decrease in PDH activation due to elevated plasma free fatty acids as compared to fed rats. Inhibition of beta-oxidation by sodium 2-tetradecylglycidic acid resulted in a significant increase in glycogen utilization during exercise, but no increase in PDH activation. These data show that PDH does not play a major regulatory role in glycogen utilization during exercise as originally hypothesized. |
| General note | "Presented to the faculty of the Department of Biology ... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science." |
| General note | Advisor: G. Lynis Dohm |
| Dissertation note | M.S. East Carolina University 1986 |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-66). |
| Genre/form | Academic theses. |
| Genre/form | Academic theses. |
| Genre/form | Thèses et écrits académiques. |
