Regulation of glucose metabolism

Quantifying the contribution of different metabolic pathways to glucose production or disposal is critical to understanding the regulation of whole-body glucose homeostasis, and how it becomes dysfunctional in diabetic states. We are collaborating with several investigators in Vanderbilt’s Diabetes Research Center to develop novel techniques to quantify rates of glucose metabolism both in animal models and cultured cells. Currently, we are focusing on methods to simultaneously quantify in vivo rates of gluconeogenesis, glycogenolysis, TCA cycling, and anaplerosis in rodent models. We are also developing stable isotope approaches to quantify glucose cycling in cultured pancreatic islets.

Funding support: NIH R01 (O'Brien PI), NIH R37 (Wasserman PI)
Key collaborators: Richard O’Brien (MP&B), David Wasserman (MP&B), Owen McGuinness (MP&B)