Patterns of energetic substrate modifications in response to feeding in boas, Boa constrictor (Serpentes, Boidae)

Autor(es)

da Mota Araujo, Helena Rachel ^[1] ; de Carvalho, Jose Eduardo ^[2] ; Klein, Wilfried ^[3] ; Vilela, Bruno ^[1] ; da Cruz, Andre Luis ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Fed Bahia, Inst Biol, Campus Ondina, Salvador, BA - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Inst Ciencias Ambientais Quim & Farmaceut, Campus Diadema, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Filosofia Ciencias & Letras Ribeirao Preto, Dept Biol, Campus Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY A-MOLECULAR & INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY; v. 263, JAN 2022.
• Citações Web of Science: 1

Resumo

Ambush-foraging snakes that ingest large meals might undergo several months without eating when they use the internal reserves to support the energetic costs of living. Then, morphological and physiological processes might be orchestrated during the transition from fasting to the postprandial period to rapidly use the energetic stores while the metabolic rate is elevated in response to food intake. To understand the patterns of substrates deposition after feeding, we accessed the morphological and biochemical response in Boa constrictor snakes after two months of fasting and six days after feeding. We followed the plasma levels of glucose, total proteins, and total lipids, and we performed the stereological ultrastructural analysis of the liver and the proximal region of the intestine to quantify glycogen granules and lipid droplets. In the same tissues and stomach, we measured the activity of the enzyme fructose-1,6-biphosphatase (FBPase1) involved in the gluconeogenic pathway, and we measured pyruvate kinase (PK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) enzymatic activities involved in the anaerobic pathway in the liver. Briefly, our results indicated an increase in boas' plasma glucose one day after meal intake compared to unfed snakes. The hepatic glycogen reserves were continuously restored within days after feeding. Also, the enzymes involved in the energetic pathways increased activity six days after feeding in the liver. These findings suggest a quick restoring pattern of energetic stores during the postprandial period. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 08/57712-4 - Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas em Fisiologia Comparada
• Beneficiário: Augusto Shinya Abe
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático