Effect of fasting and fasting and refeeding on hepatic and renal gluconeogenic enzymes in the chicken

The effect of fasting and fasting and refeeding on hepatic and renal gluconeogenic enzyme activities were studied in six-week-old chickens (Gallus domesticus: New Hampshire male x Columbian female). Hepatic pyruvate carboxylase appeared not to be affected by fasting, but the renal enzyme activity increased in four-day fasted chickens. The hepatic mitochondrial and cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinases were essentially not affected by fasting. The renal mitochondrial phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase showed a slight increase in activity only after a four-day fast, but the cytosolic enzyme activity increased markedly already after a two-day fast. Also the activities of the hepatic and renal fructose-1,6-diphosphatase and glucose-6-phosphatase increased markedly on fasting. Refeeding for four days after a four-day fast returned these enzyme activities to near control values.