Effect of glucagon on ethanol oxidation in isolated rat liver cells

Summary Addition of glucagon 5 min after ethanol was found to stimulate the rate of ethanol oxidation in hepatocytes isolated from starved rats. This stimulation is of the same order of magnitude as that mediated by asparagine. The glucagon effect is suppressed by antiproteolytic agents such as insulin or NH₄Cl. The stimulatingeffect of glucagon on ethanol oxidation is probably liked to enhanced proteolysis andan elevated glutamate level in the hepatocytes.Acknowledgments. this investigation was supported by grants from the Institut de la Santé de la Recherche Médicale, the Scientific Council of the Faculté de Médecine Paris-Ouest and the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (3rd section).