Blockade of fatty acid oxidation mimics phase II-phase III transition in a fasting bird, the king penguin

Bernard et al test the hypothesis that the metabolic and endocrine shift characterizing the phase II-phase III transition during prolonged fasting is related to a decrease in fatty acid (FA) oxidation. Changes in plasma concentrations of various metabolites and hormones and in lipolytic fluxes, as determined by continuous infusion of [2-3H]glycerol and [1-14C]palmitate, were examined in vivo in spontaneously fasting kin penguins in the phase II status before, during, and after treatment with mercaptoacetate, an inhibitor of FA oxidation.