Effect of Glucagon on Liver Glycolysis

SEVERAL of the known metabolic effects of glucagon are consistent with the possibility that it exerts an inhibitory effect on the Embden–Meyerhof pathway. For example, glucagon promotes ketogenesis 1 , inhibits the synthesis of fatty acids 1 , and lowers the concentration of pyruvate in the blood 2 . We now wish to report that glucagon influences the glycolytic process in rat liver slices. This effect is probably mediated by 3′,5′-adenosine monophosphate (3′,5′-AMP), the cyclic nucleotide which mediates the glycogenolytic action of glucagon and epinephrine, since both hormones, and the nucleotide itself, exhibit the same effect on pyruvate formation.