BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Enhanced release of triglycerides (TG) by the liver is implicated in the pathogenesis of the metabolic syndrome. The aim of the study was to evaluate whether a primary elevation in hepatic glucose utilization (HGU), as induced by an acute rise in circulating glucose values during physiological hyperinsulinemia, promotes TG synthesis in spite of the reduction in free fatty acids (FFA) levels. METHODS: Glucose dose-response studies were conducted in anesthetized pigs using positron emission tomography (PET) to quantify HGU during fasting euglycemic conditions (EF), and under two-step hyperglycemic hyperinsulinemia (1st-HH +3.0, 2nd-HH +6.0 mmol/L over EF glucose values). Liver biopsies were obtained in three animals to evaluate the relationship between glucose exposure and hepatic fat content. RESULTS: Plasma glucose levels were progressively increased in the two-step studies, and otherwise stable within every hour of PET scanning. HGU increased almost fivefold with raising glucose levels, from 0.033 ± 0.009 in EF to 0.149 ± 0.043 in 1st-HH, p = 0.02, and to 0.138 ± 0.050 μmol/min/g in 2nd-HH, p = 0.03. Circulating TG concentrations increased by 50 and 100% in the two hyperglycemic conditions (p = 0.03 2nd-HH vs. EF), in spite of a 70% suppression in plasma FFA levels. The hepatic TG content paralleled the glucose loads. Plasma γ-glutamyl transferase (γ-GT) was increased by 17% (p