The effect of sex steroids on the liver glycogen in intact and adrenalectomized rats.

Abstract

It appears that the sex hormones and corticosteroids interact in the final outcome of gluconeogenesis. The female rats pre-treated with estradiol lose their liver glycogen on fasting at a lower rate than the rats pre-treated with testosterone or olive oil. Upon injection of cortisol to fasting rats it was shown that estradiol pre-treatment enables rats to accumulate liver glycogen at a faster rate than the pre-treatment with testosterone propionate. Large doses of estradiol but not of testosterone provoke an increased accumulation of liver glycogen in fasting intact but not in fasting adrenalectomized rats.