Reversal of Glycogenetic to Glycogenolytic Action of Desoxycorticosterone in Rats

IT was shown in a series of papers from this Laboratory that desoxycorticosterone has in vitro , in the concentration of 1–5 mgm. per cent, an inhibitory effect on glycogen formation 1– 4 of the isolated muscle, which has since been explained as a glycogenolytic action 5 . This was the more unexpected since it seems certain that this adrenal cortical steroid has in the intact animal a distinct glyco-genetic action 6–8 . We therefore tried whether it might be possible to reverse also the glycogenetic activity of desoxycorticosterone in the intact animal by increasing the dose to an inhibitory or glycogenolytic one.