Development of a rat subline with symptoms of hereditary galactosemia and study of its biochemical characteristics]

It was established earlier that the maintenance of rats on a galactose-rich diet induced in rat liver a sequental induction of enzymes, converting galactose to glucose (galactokinase, galactoso-1-phosphaturidytransferase and uridyndiphosphogalactose-4-epimerase); this was followed by the repression of these enzymes. Against the background of the enzyme repression, the continuation of galactose treatment leads to the development of galactosemia symptoms; cataracts, liver lesions growth retardation. Animals with the increased susceptibility to galactose were found in population of Wistar rats; in these animals rapidly developing enzyme induction is followed by sharp repression of enzymes of the galactose metabolism and in them cataracts appear 17-19 days after the start of feeding a galactose-rich diet. A part of the population is resistant to the galactosemic effect of galactose and in these animals cataracts develope only 40-44 days after the beginning of the galactose feeding. By inbreeding of individuals extremely susceptible to galactose and those resistant to it, new substrains of rats were obtained. It is found that in the rats of the galactose-susceptible substrain a number of galactosemic features develope spontaneously and that these features are inheritable. Thus, 85% of the animals of the age of 2.5-6 months have cataract, lens opacities and other lens impairments. In the galactose-resistant substrain no cataracts or lens opacities develope and only slight changes of the lens are observed in 15% of the animals. In the susceptible substrain other features characteristic of galactosemia occur: an increase in the size of thymus, spleen and liver. It is established that in 3.5-5 month old rats of the galactose-susceptible substrain the galactoso-1 phosphaturidyltransferase activity in blood hemolysates is 15 times lower than in rats of galactose-resistant substrain, and in liver the activity of this enzyme is 1.4 times lower. The activity of liver galactokinase and uridyldiphosphogalactose-4-epimerase is slightly higher in rats of galactose-susceptible substrain than in galactose-resistant 1.     

Activation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase during high fat diet feeding

The liver plays a central role in regulating cholesterol homeostasis. High fat diets have been shown to induce obesity and hyperlipidemia. Despite considerable advances in our understanding of cholesterol metabolism, the regulation of liver cholesterol biosynthesis in response to high fat diet feeding has not been fully addressed. The aim of the present study was to investigate mechanisms by which a high fat diet caused activation of liver 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase) leading to increased cholesterol biosynthesis. Mice were fed a high fat diet (60% kcal fat) for 5 weeks. High fat diet feeding induced weight gain and elevated lipid levels (total cholesterol and triglyceride) in both the liver and serum. Despite cholesterol accumulation in the liver, there was a significant increase in hepatic HMG-CoA reductase mRNA and protein expression as well as enzyme activity. The DNA binding activity of sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP)-2 and specific protein 1 (Sp1) were also increased in the liver of mice fed a high fat diet. To validate the in vivo findings, HepG2 cells were treated with palmitic acid. Such a treatment activated SREBP-2 as well as increased the mRNA and enzyme activity of HMG-CoA reductase leading to intracellular cholesterol accumulation. Inhibition of Sp1 by siRNA transfection abolished palmitic acid-induced SREBP-2 and HMG-CoA reductase mRNA expression. These results suggest that Sp1-mediated SREBP-2 activation contributes to high fat diet induced HMG-CoA reductase activation and increased cholesterol biosynthesis. This may play a role in liver cholesterol accumulation and hypercholesterolemia.     

Ornithine decarboxylase and polyamines in liver and kidneys of rats on cyclical regimen of protein-free and protein-containing diets. Relationship to deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis in liver

1. The activity of ornithine decarboxylase in the liver and kidneys of rats maintained on a cyclical regimen of protein-free and protein-containing diets was investigated. There was a daily activation of the enzyme in response to the feeding of protein after 3 days feeding of protein-free diet. 2. The activation of ornithine decarboxylase in the liver and kidneys of rats re-fed on protein was demonstrable throughout 16 cycles of alternating 3-day periods of protein-free and protein-containing diets. The magnitude of the activation in the kidneys diminished from 20-fold stimulation in the first cycle to 5-fold stimulation (compared with animals fed with protein-free diet) in the later cycles of protein re-feeding. The activation of the enzyme in liver was decreased from 20-fold stimulation in the first cycle to approx. 10-fold stimulation in later cycles. 3. The concentration of spermidine was increased by approx. 50% in the liver of animals during cycling from protein-free to protein-containing diets. Spermine was unchanged, and putrescine was maintained at a low concentration approx. one-fifth to one-tenth that of spermidine after protein re-feeding. 4. The incorporation of [(3)H]thymidine into liver DNA was increased 10-fold in animals re-fed with protein compared with animals receiving protein-free diets. 5. The activation of ornithine decarboxylase by re-feeding of protein was inhibited 90% by the injection of propane-1,3-diamine during re-feeding. The stimulation of DNA synthesis was inhibited 60% by multiple injections of propane-1,3-diamine during the re-feeding of protein.     

The effect of diet and 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis-(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) on microsomal hydroxylating enzymes and on sensitivity of rats to carbon tetrachloride poisoning

1. Protein-depleted rats are resistant to the lethal effects of carbon tetrachloride. The LD₅₀ is 6·4ml./kg. in stock rats and 14·7ml./kg. in rats fed on protein-free diets. 2. Protein-depleted rats are resistant to carbon tetrachloride in its effect on the liver as judged by histology, accumulation of liver water, and plasma enzyme and bilirubin measurement. 3. The protection is present after feeding rats on a no-protein diet for 4 days. It is present after feeding rats on a 3%-casein diet, and partly found after feeding rats on a 6%-casein diet. 4. The activities of the microsomal enzymes that demethylate Pyramidon and hydroxylate benzopyrene in the liver fall by over 80% in rats fed on the no-protein diet for 4 days or more, or in rats fed on a 3%-casein diet. A 50% fall is found in rats fed on a 6%-casein diet. 5. A single dose of DDT or three doses of phenobarbitone cause increased microsomal enzyme activity in protein-depleted rats. 6. The animals are then sensitive to the lethal and liver-damaging effects of carbon tetrachloride. 7. DDT dosage also leads to increased sensitivity to carbon tetrachloride in rats fed on stock diets. 8. These findings support the hypothesis that carbon tetrachloride is metabolized by microsomal enzymes to form the true toxic compound.     

Adaptive changes in translation initiation activities for rat pancreatic protein synthesis with feeding of a high-protein diet

We have previously demonstrated that dietary protein induced pancreatic hypergrowth in pancreaticobiliary diverted (PBD) rats. Dietary protein and dietary amino acids stimulate protein synthesis by regulating translation initiation in the rat skeletal muscle and liver. The aim of the present study was to determine whether feeding a high-protein diet induces activation of translation initiation for protein synthesis in the rat pancreas. In PBD rats in which the bile-pancreatic juice was surgically diverted to the upper ileum for 11-13 days, pancreatic dry weight and protein content were doubled compared with those in sham rats and further increased with feeding of a high-protein diet (60% casein diet) for 2 days. These pancreatic growth parameters were maintained at high levels for the next 5 days and were much higher than those of sham rats fed a high-protein diet. In both sham and PBD rats, feeding of a high-protein diet for 2 days induced phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding protein 1 and 70-kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase, indicating the activation of the initiation phase of translation for pancreatic protein synthesis. However, this increased phosphorylation returned to normal levels on Day 7 in PBD but not in sham rats. We concluded that feeding a high-protein diet induced pancreatic growth with increases in the translation initiation activities for pancreatic protein synthesis within 2 days and that prolonged feeding of a high-protein diet changed the initiation activities differently in sham and PBD rats.     

The regulation of l-asparaginase activity in rats and mice. Effects of normal and malignant growth, of sex and of dietary changes

1. The activity of l-asparaginase was very low in the liver of newborn rats and mice, and increased within a few days of birth. 2. In rats, but not in mice, the enzyme activity was higher in females than in males, was enhanced by administration of oestradiol, and was decreased by gonadectomy. 3. The enzyme activity decreased in mice starved or fed on a low-protein diet; in rats it was enhanced by starvation, by feeding them on a high-protein diet, or by administration of l-asparagine. 4. The asparaginase activity was decreased in regenerating liver, and was almost absent in the Morris hepatoma 5123.     

Studies on the biosynthesis of hepatic pyruvate kinase and its correlation with enhanced hepatic lipogenesis in meal-trained rats.

Metabolic and enzymic changes were measured in meal-trained rats fed on high-carbohydrate diet. Rates of hepatic fatty acid synthesis are probably greater than rates of gluconeogenesis throughout the 24 h day provided that animals are fed. The daily enhancement of fatty acid synthesis on meal feeding coincided with the maximum activation of hepatic pyruvate kinase. Maximum activation of this enzyme was reflected in increased total catalytic activity (Vmax.), increased activity at 0.5 MM-phosphoenolpyruvate (V0.5), decreased Vmax./V0.5 ratio and a decrease in co-operativity of phosphoenolpyruvate binding as measured by the Hill coefficient (h). The latter changes are consistent with a decrease in enzyme phosphorylation during activation of the enzyme. To estimate changes in enzyme protein, quantitative enzyme precipitation with rabbit antisera was used. Giving a high-carbohydrate diet to meal-trained animals induced enzyme synthesis within a few hours. Adaptations in diet that enhanced fatty acid synthesis (chow to high carbohydrate; starved to high carbohydrate) led to an increased steady-state concentration of pyruvate kinase protein. An approximate estimate of the half-life of hepatic pyruvate kinase was 56 h. Whenever pyruvate kinase specific activity was measured in liver tissue extracts it was always considerably less (20--100 mumol/min per mg of protein, depending on dietary status) than the specific activity of pure pyruvate kinase (200 mumol/min per mg of protein). Antigenically active, catalytically inactive protein was removed during enzyme purification from cytosol at the stage of (NH4)2SO4 fractionation. The fraction precipitated by 30--45%-satd. (NH4)2SO4 was enzymically active, antigenically reacting protein was identified in the remaining (NH4)2SO4 fractions (0--30%- and 45--85%-satd.) and this contained no enzyme activity. These may correspond to inactive proteolytic fragments of pyruvate kinase. The rate-determining step in adjusting enzyme concentration seems to be proteolysis.     

The effect of high protein diet on the regulatory properties of AMP deaminase from chicken liver

Feeding high protein diet for 5 days caused a 3,5-fold and 2-fold increase of the activity of xanthine dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.37) and 5-nucleotidase (EC 3.1.3.31) respectively, in chicken liver. Six hours after feeding the high protein diet there was no change in either enzyme activity although a 3-fold increase in the level of serum uric acid was observed. High protein diet considerably decreased the activity of AMP deaminase at low, but not at high substrate concentration. The activity ratio, measured at 10.0 and 0.16 mM AMP increased from 14:1 (low protein diet) to 23:1 and 24:1 after 6 h and 5 days of high protein diet, respectively. It has been suggested that feeding birds a high protein diet may cause transformation of liver AMP deaminase (EC 3.5.4.6) from a low Km form toward a high Km form.     

Physiological changes in the activities of extramitochondrial acetyl-CoA hydrolase in the liver of rats under various metabolic conditions

Significant increase in the activity of an acetyl-CoA hydrolase (ATP-stimulated, ADP-inhibited enzyme) in the supernatant fraction of rat liver was observed after 44-68 h of starvation (about 2-fold), and in the early stage of diabetes (about 1.6-fold), but not in the chronic stage of diabetes. The increased enzymatic activity in starved rats returned to the control level within 20 h when the animals were given laboratory chow, but not when they were given fat-free diet with a high carbohydrate content, and the enzyme activity was increased by the latter diet containing 1% thyroid powder. A single intraperitoneal injection of 3,3'5-triiodo-L-thyronine or 3,3',5,5'-tetraiodo-L-thyronine resulted in twice the normal enzyme activity two days later, and conversely 7 days after thyroidectomy, the enzyme activity was about 60% of the control level. A single subcutaneous injection of alpha-(p-chlorophenoxy)isobutyric acid, a hypolipidemic drug, doubled the enzyme activity in euthyroid rats, but not in thyroidectomized rats. Of the various tissues tested besides the liver, only the kidney had detectable ATP-stimulated and ADP-inhibited enzyme activity (5% of the activity in liver cytosol). The kidney enzyme had similar kinetic and immunochemical properties to the liver enzyme. Changes in the enzyme activity in the liver in various states were closely related to the amount of enzyme present, judging from results obtained by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The physiological role of this enzyme (which hydrolyzes acetyl-CoA to acetate and CoASH) may be in maintenance of the cytosolic acetyl-CoA concentration and CoASH pool for both fatty acid synthesis and oxidation.     

Hexose metabolism in pancreatic islets. — Galactose transport,phosphorylation and oxidation

Summary In rat pancreatic islets, the apparent space of distribution of galactose is not different from that of other hexoses. In homogenates of islets or tumoral insulin-producing cells, galactose is phosphorylated at a very low rate relative to either glucose phosphorylation in the same tissues or galactose phosphorylation by liver homogenates. In intact islets, galactose increases modestly the glucose 6-phosphate content and is oxidized at a much lower rate than glucose. Galactose slightly increases insulin output in the presence of a stimulatory concentration of glucose but fails to provoke insulin release in the absence of glucose, whether in islets removed from rats fed a normal or galactose-rich diet. The low rate of galactose oxidation and its poor insulinotropic capacity appear attributable to the weak activity of galactokinase in pancreatic islets.     

Effect of maternal diet on fetal hepatic lipogenesis.

The effects of: a, maternal diet; b, cyclic-3',5'-adenosinemonophosphate (cyclic AMP) and c, clofibrate on hepatic lipogenesis in fetal rats were studied. The experimental diets contained 22% protein, 40--50% carbohydrate, adequate vitamins, and minerals. In addition, the fat-containing diets were supplemented with either 15% corn oil, 25% corn oil, or 5% cholesterol + 10% oleic acid. In the clofibrate feeding studies, 0.3% (w/v) of the ethyl ester was added to a stock ration or to fat-free diet. Lipogenesis was measured in liver slices incubated with [2-14C]pyruvate, [1-14C]acetate, or 3H2O. In addition, activities of lipogenic enzymes were measured in cytosol fractions from liver homogenates. The effec-s of the experimental diets on liver composition were also examined. Lipogenic activity was higher in fetal than in maternal liver. When 15% corn oil was added to the maternal diet, fatty acid synthesis in fetal liver did not decrease as it did in maternal liver. Maternal fasting decreased fetal fatty acid synthesys by 50% when measured with 14C and less than 10% when measured with 3H2O. Although the addition of cholesterol to the maternal diet decreased cholesterol synthesis in maternal liver, no such decrease was observed in fetal liver. Changes in enzyme activities paralleled alterations in lipogenesis in maternal but not in fetal liver. Corn oil feeding or fasting increased the rate of transfer of linoleate from the dam to the fetus. However, accumulation of linoleate in fetal liver did not correlate with a decreased rate of fatty acid synthesis as it did in maternal liver. Maternal hepatic glycogen stores were depleted by fasting, but glycogen levels in fetal liver remained high under these conditions.     

The long-chain acyl-CoA hydrolase activity in the heart of rat fed on rape-seed oil.

1. Fat feeding (soybean oil or erucic acid-rich rape-seed oil) enhance after 2 to 7 days the palmitoyl-CoA hydrolase activity in the heart of weanling rats in a degree dependent on the content of fat in the diet. 2. The rise in enzyme activity between the 7th and 14th day of feeding, observed only in rats fed on rape-seed oil, coincides with the decrease in lipid infiltration in the heart. 3. The obtained results suggest that palmitoyl-CoA hydrolase may control in the heart the amount of acyl-CoA thioesters in the cell, thus decreasing the lipidosis induced by eurcic acid.     

Induction of hepatic mitochondrial glycerophosphate dehydrogenase in rats by dehydroepiandrosterone.

Feeding the thermogenic steroid, 5-androsten-3 beta-ol-17-one (dehydroepiandrosterone, DHEA) in the diet of rats induced the synthesis of liver mitochondrial sn-glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase to levels three to five times that of control rats within 7 days. The previously reported enhancement of liver cytosolic malic enzyme was confirmed. The induction of both enzymes was detectable at 0.01% DHEA in the diet, reached plateau stimulation at 0.1 to 0.2%, and was completely blocked by simultaneous treatment with actinomycin D. Feeding DHEA caused smaller, but statistically significant increases of liver cytosolic lactate, sn-glycerol 3-phosphate, and isocitrate (NADP(+)-linked) dehydrogenases but not of malate or glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenases. The capability of DHEA to enhance mitochondrial glycerophosphate dehydrogenase and malic enzyme was influenced by the thyroid status of the rats; was smallest in thyroidectomized rats and highest in rats treated with triiodothyronine. 5-Androsten-3 beta,17 beta-diol and 5-androsten-3 beta-ol-7,17-dione were as effective as DHEA in enhancing the liver mitochondrial glycerophosphate dehydrogenase and malic enzyme. Administering compounds that induce the formation of cytochrome P450 enzymes enhanced liver malic enzyme activity but not that of mitochondrial glycerophosphate dehydrogenase. Arochlor 1254 and 3-methylcholanthrene also increased the response of malic enzyme to DHEA feeding.     

Effect of diet overloaded by fats on the enzyme systems of metabolism in rats

The feeding of rats with high-fat diet (a part of fats was 50% of energy value of ration against 20% in control) during 4 weeks increased the level of cytochrome P-450 in the liver and enhanced aniline- and p-nitrophenol hydroxylase activity of CYP2E1 as well as erythromycin N-demethylase activity of CYP3A; the activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase class 3, UDP-glucuronosyl transferase, glutathione-S-transferase and N-acetyl transferase. At the same time, the moderate decrease of indomethacin-O-demethylase of CYP2C both phenolsulfotransferase activity were fixed. The changes of enzymatic activity correlated with activating of processes of gluconeogenesis, glycogenolysis and, especially, ketogenesis. A high-fat diet enhanced reactions of biotransformation of amidopyrine, acetanilide, toluene, sulfadimezine, were catalyzed with CYP2E1, CYP3A and enzymes of conjugation, simultaneously it increased the hepatotoxicity of paracetamol.     

Comparative studies on lipogenic enzyme activities in brown adipose tissue and liver of the rat during starvation-refeeding transition and cold exposure

1. The effect of starvation-refeeding transition and cold exposure on the activity of lipogenic enzymes in brown adipose tissue (BAT) and liver from rats was compared. 2. Starvation caused a decrease of lipogenic enzyme activities in BAT and liver. 3. Refeeding of the animals with a high carbohydrate diet caused an increase of lipogenic enzymes in these tissues. 4. Cold exposure (4 degrees C for 30 days) led to the increase of BAT enzyme activities to the values observed in rats fed a high carbohydrate diet. 5. Under the same conditions the activity of hepatic lipogenic enzymes also increased but never reached the values observed in the liver of rats fed with a high carbohydrate diet. 6. Therefore BAT and liver lipogenic enzymes showed, in general, a similar pattern of variation under identical nutritional conditions, but substantial differences between these two organs occurred as far as the response to cold exposure was concerned. 7. The experiments also revealed that in the control animals BAT displayed a higher lipogenic potential than the liver.     

Modulation of the activity of 5′-nucleotidase by the transfer of non-esterified cholesterol to rat-liver microsomal fraction and evidence for regulation of the concentration of non-esterified cholesterol in plasma membranes in vivo

The transfer of non-esterified cholesterol to rat-liver microsomal fraction resulted in a considerable decrease in the activity of 5′-nucleotidase and in changes in the characteristics of the Arrhenius plots of the enzyme. The decrease in the activity of 5′-nucleotidase and the increase in the concentration of non-esterified cholesterol in the serum-treated preparations were serum-concentration-dependent and incubation-time-dependent. The enzyme in serum-treated preparations with high non-esterified cholesterol content showed Arrhenius plots with a constant activation energy between 37 and 19°C, whereas the enzyme in the non-treated microsomal fraction or the lipoprotein-deficient serum-treated preparations showed a break at about 28°C, with activation energies higher below and lower above the break. These changes in the temperature-induced kinetics are consistent with an increase in the concentration of non-esterified cholesterol in the plasma membrane vesicles of the serum-treated preparations. The Arrhenius plots of 5′-nucleotidase in liver microsomal fraction from rats fed cholesterol-supplemented diet showed constant activation energy between 37 and 19°C and had similar characteristics with the plots for 5′-nucleotidase in serum-treated preparations. Since the changes in the characteristics of Arrhenius plots of the enzyme in microsomal fraction from rats that had been denied food for 36 h were in the opposite direction to those produced by feeding cholesterol, these results are consistent with a lower concentration of non-esterified cholesterol in hepatic plasma membranes from fasted rats relative to that in plasma membranes from fed rats. The isolation of a plasma membrane preparation with negligible contamination of endoplasmic reticular membranes from rats fed the standard or cholesterol-supplemented diet and from fasted rats showed that the ratio of cholesterol to phospholipid has increased in the preparation from rats fed cholesterol and decreased in that from rats that had been denied food relative to the ratio in the preparation from rats fed the standard diet. The Arrhenius plots of 5′-nucleotidase in these preparations showed characteristics similar to the corresponding plots of the enzyme in the microsomal fraction from the rats in the three experimental conditions.     

On lysosomal fragility and induction of liver hexose-monophosphate dehydrogenases in the fasted-refed rat.

Young adult male rats were fasted for 3 days, then fed a glucose-rich diet, ad libitum. At the end of the fasting period, the specific activity of liver glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase was decreased to 60% of control (nonfasted) levels. After 24 to 72 h of refeeding, the specific activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase increased seven- and twofold, respectively. During the fasting period, the liver lysosome fragility increased, as judged by increased release of bound acid phosphatase and β-N-acetylglucosammidase activity during standard homogenization. Three hours after feeding a carbohydrate-rich diet, a further increase in liver lysosomal fragility was observed that returned to control values prior to the induction of the dehydrogenases. Similarly, the susceptibility of liver lysosomes from fasted rats to increased fragility by the intraperitoneal injection of glucose or galactose was also observed. Prior starvation was not a requisite for labilization of lysosomal membranes by injected glucose, but induction of the pentose phosphate shunt dehydrogenase was not observed.In a group of 6-week old male rats fed a commercial pellet diet throughout, the injection of insulin caused no change in liver lysosomal fragility, though hypoglycemia resulted. Similar animals made diabetic by treatment with Streptozotocin and diabetic rats given insulin, showed no change in liver lysosmal fragility based on the percentage of free to total activities of β-N-acetylglucosaminidase, β-glucuronidase, β-galactosidase, and Cathespin D. However, when adult female rats were fasted for 24 h, then injected with sufficient insulin to produce hypoglycemia, liver lysosomal fragility, based on the release of β-N-acetylglucosaminidase during homogenization, increased nearly threefold. These studies demonstrate that stimulated lysosomal fragility can be initiated by refeeding fasted animals a carbohydrate-rich diet, by intraperitoneal injections of fasted rats with glucose or galactose, or by administering insulin alone to fasted rats. However, hyperglycemia induced by diabetogenic doses of Streptozotocin, or hypoglycemia induced in well-fed animals by insulin injection failed to elicit an enhanced liver lysosomal fragility. Whether induction of the enzymes of lipogenesis by rat liver is dependent upon a prior lysosomal membrane labilization remains to be determined.     

Effects of dietary nutrients on lipogenic enzyme and mRNA activities in rat liver during induction

By feeding a carbohydrate diet (without protein) to fasted rats, malic enzyme mRNA activity in the liver was increased to the level in rats fed a carbohydrate and protein diet, whereas the enzyme activity itself was increased to 60% of that level. It appears that malic enzyme mRNA activity was increased by dietary carbohydrate, while dietary protein contributed to an increase in the translation of mRNA. In the animals fed carbohydrate without protein, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase mRNA activity increased to 50% of the level in rats fed the carbohydrate and protein diet, whereas the enzyme activity increased to only 25%. By feeding a protein diet (without carbohydrate), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity increased to 65% of the level in rats fed both carbohydrate and protein. This enzyme induction appears to be more dependent on protein than carbohydrate. With the carbohydrate diet, acetyl-CoA carboxylase was induced up to the level in the carbohydrate and protein diet group, whereas fatty acid synthetase was induced to only 33%. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase induction appears to be carbohydrate dependent. On the other hand, isotopic leucine incorporation studies showed that the magnitudes of the enzyme inductions caused by the dietary nutrients should be ascribed to the enzyme synthesis rates rather than the degradation. By fat feeding, the mRNA activities of malic enzyme and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase were markedly decreased along with the enzyme induction. Fat appears to reduce these enzyme inductions before the translation of mRNA.     

The phospholipid-dependence of uridine diphosphate glucuronyltransferase. Effect of protein deficiency on the phospholipid composition and enzyme activity of rat liver microsomal fraction

After force-feeding a protein-free diet to male rats for 5-7 days a substantial (2.4-fold) increase in the specific activity of the liver microsomal enzyme UDP-glucuronyltransferase (EC 2.4.1.17) was observed. A similar activation of the enzyme occurred when rats were fed on a low-protein (5%, w/w, casein) diet for 60 days. Although both the short- and long-term protein-deficient diets decreased the contents of microsomal protein and phospholipid in liver tissue they did not significantly alter the ratio of these major membrane components. Protein deficiency profoundly altered the phospholipid composition of microsomal membranes. The most striking difference in microsomal phospholipid composition between control and protein-deficient rats was their content of lysophosphatides. Whereas microsomal membranes from protein-deficient rats contained significant proportions of lysophosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylethanolamine very little or no lysophosphatides were detected in control preparations. Pretreatment of microsomal fractions from normal rats with phospholipase A markedly increased their UDP-glucuronyltransferase activity as did their pretreatment with lysophosphatidylcholine. It is concluded that the quantities of lysophosphatides present in microsomal membranes from protein-deficient rats were sufficient to have caused the increased UDP-glucuronyltransferase activities of these preparations. Evidence is presented suggesting that these changes in microsomal phospholipid composition and UDP-glucuronyltransferase activity caused by protein deficiency reflect changes that occur in vivo. The possible physiological significance of these findings is discussed.     

Effects of dietary fatty acids on hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase activity in hamsters on a high-glucose diet

Hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase activity in hamsters given a fat-free high-glucose diet for 21 days was approximately 20 times higher than that in chow-fed hamsters. The increase in enzyme activity by dietary glucose was affected by saturated or unsaturated fatty acids or cholesterol added to the high-glucose diet. Ethyllinoleate or ethyloleate, added to the diet at a concentration of 5%, suppressed the increase in the enzyme activity. In contrast, addition of ethylpalmitate to the diet further stimulated the increase in the enzyme activity. Addition of 2% cholesterol to the high-glucose diet moderately suppressed, and addition of both cholesterol and ethyllinoleate completely prevented, the increase in the enzyme activity. The enzyme activity closely correlated with the incidence of formation of cholesterol gallstones but not with the liver cholesterol level. Marked increase in the enzyme activity was observed by feeding the high-glucose diet to starved hamsters for even a short period. On the third day after feeding was resumed, the enzyme activity was increased 500-fold compared to that during starvation. This increase in the enzyme activity was also reduced by dietary unsaturated fatty acid esters and stimulated by a dietary saturated fatty acid ester.