The metabolism of glucose by the rabbit lens in the presence and absence of oxygen

Abstract

The effect of the absence of oxygen on the metabolism of [U-14C]glucose by the rabbit lens was examined. Protein-free extracts of incubated lens were subjected to electrophoresis followed by chromatography on paper; radioautographs showed 10 compounds substantially labelled. In the absence of oxygen, less radioactivity appeared in glucose, sorbitol, fructose, alanine, glutamic acid, glutathione and nucleotides, and more in lactic acid, [alpha]-glycero-phosphate and glycerol. The radioactivity of lens protein was about two to four times greater after aerobic than after anaerobic incubation. The radioactivity of carbon dioxide was 2- to 4-fold greater after aerobic incubation than after anaerobic incubation. After aerobic incubation of the lens, the radioactivity of all the labelled compounds was higher in the outer part (cortex) than in the inner part (nucleus). Free glycerol has been found to be present in the lens. Its concentration, and that of [alpha]-glycerophosphate, has been measured in the lens of several species of animal.