A 30-year-old woman comes to the emergency department due to vomiting, and fever. Her symptoms began 24 hours ago, and she has been unable to eat or drink anything since. She has a 2-year-old daughter who had similar symptoms 2 days earlier but is now fine. Laboratory studies show a blood glucose level of 72 mg/dL despite her 24-hour fast. Maintenance of this patient's blood glucose levels is facilitated by hepatic conversion of pyruvate into glucose. Which of the following substances directly stimulates the first enzyme involved in this process?

Question

A 30-year-old woman comes to the emergency department due to vomiting, and fever.  Her symptoms began 24 hours ago, and she has been unable to eat or drink anything since.  She has a 2-year-old daughter who had similar symptoms 2 days earlier but is now fine.  Laboratory studies show a blood glucose level of 72 mg/dL despite her 24-hour fast.  Maintenance of this patient's blood glucose levels is facilitated by hepatic conversion of pyruvate into glucose.  Which of the following substances directly stimulates the first enzyme involved in this process?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Eductional Objective: Acetyl-CoA stimulates gluconeogenesis by increasing the activity of pyruvate carboxylase when acetyl-CoA is abundant.  This regulatory step allows pyruvate to be shunted toward acetyl-CoA production when acetyl-CoA levels are low, preventing the cell from becoming depleted of energy.

A 30-Year-Old Woman Comes to the Emergency Department Due to Vomiting