Maintenance of liver glycogen during long-term fasting preserves energy state in mice

Glycogen shortage during fasting coincides with dramatic changes in hepatic adenine nucleotide levels. The aim of this work was to study the relevance of liver glycogen in the regulation of the hepatic energy state during food deprivation. To this end, we examined the response of mice with sustained increased liver glycogen content to prolonged fasting. In order to increase hepatic glycogen content, we generated mice that overexpress protein targeting to glycogen (PTG) in the liver (PTG^OE mice). Control and PTG^OE mice were fed ad libitum or fasted for 36 h. Upon fasting, PTG^OE mice retained significant hepatic glycogen stores and maintained hepatic energy status. Furthermore, we show that liver glycogen controls insulin sensitivity, gluconeogenesis, lipid metabolism, and ketogenesis upon nutrient deprivation.