Effect of acetaldehyde on fatty acid oxidation and ketogenesis by hepatic mitochondria.

Acetaldehyde inhibited the oxidation of fatty acids by rat liver mitochondria as assayed by oxygen consumption and CO₂ production. ADP-stimulated oxygen uptake was more sensitive to inhibition by acetaldehyde than was uncoupler-stimulated oxygen uptake, suggesting an effect of acetaldehyde on the electron transport-phosphorylation system. This conclusion is supported by the decrease in the respiratory control ratio, associated with fatty acid oxidation. Acetaldehyde depressed ketone body production as well as the content of acetyl CoA during palmitoyl-1-carnitine oxidation. Acetaldehyde was considerably more inhibitory toward fatty acid oxidation than was acetate. Therefore, the inhibition by acetaldehyde is not mediated by acetate, the direct product of acetaldehyde oxidation by the mitochondria. Oxygen uptake was depressed by acetaldehyde to a slightly, but consistently, greater extent in the absence of fluorocitrate, than in its presence. This suggests inhibition of oxygen consumption from β-oxidation to acetyl CoA and that which arises from citric acid cycle activity. The inhibition of fatty acid oxidation is not due to any effect on the activation or translocation of fatty acids into the mitochondria.The depression of the end products of fatty acid oxidation (CO₂, ketones, acetyl CoA) as well as the greater sensitivity of palmitate oxidation compared to acetate oxidation, suggests inhibition by acetaldehyde of β-oxidation, citric acid cycle activity, and the respiratory-phosphorylation chain. Neither the activities of palmitoyl CoA synthetase nor carnitine palmitoyltransferase appear to be rate limiting for fatty acid oxidation.     

Inhibition of mitochondrial carnitine palmitoyl transferase by 2-tetradecylglycidic acid (McN-3802) (Preliminary Communication)

The oral hypoglycemic agent, 2-tetradecylglycidic acid (McN-3802), which has been reported to inhibit the oxidation of long chain but not short chain fatty acids in isolated rat hepatocytes and muscle preparations, inhibited the oxidation of palmitoyl CoA and palmitic acid by rat liver mitochondria. The drug itself, which is a fatty acid analog, was not oxidized by mitochondria. Evidence is presented that 2-tetradecylglycidic acid (or its coenzyme A ester) inhibits fatty acid oxidation by irreversibly inhibiting mitochondrial carnitine palmitoyltransferase. The drug did not inhibit mitochondrial palmitoyl-CoA synthetase.     

Interaction of short-chain and branched-chain fatty acids and their carnitine and CoA esters and of various metabolites and agents with branched-chain 2-oxo acid oxidation in rat muscle and liver mitochondria

Interaction of various compounds with the 14CO2 production from [1-14C]-labelled branched-chain 2-oxo acids was studied in intact rat quadriceps muscle and liver mitochrondria. In the absence of carnitine, CoA esters of short-chain and branched-chain fatty acids, CoA and acetyl-L-carnitine stimulated oxidation of 4-methyl-2-oxopentanoate and 3-methyl-2-oxobutanoate in muscle mitochondria. Octanoyl-L-carnitine inhibited oxidation of the latter, but stimulated that of the former substrate. Isovaleryl-L-carnitine was inhibitory with both substrates. Carnitine stimulates markedly 3-methyl-2-oxobutanoate oxidation in liver mitochondria at substrate concentrations higher than 0.1 mM, in contrast to 4-methyl-2-oxopentanoate oxidation. In the presence of carnitine, 3-methyl-2-oxobutanoate oxidation was inhibited in muscle and liver mitochondria by octanoate, octanoyl-L-carnitine and isovaleryl-L-carnitine. The latter ester and octanoyl-D-carnitine inhibited also 4-methyl-2-oxopentanoate oxidation in muscle mitochondria. Branched-chain 2-oxo acids inhibited mutaly their oxidation, except that 3-methyl-2-oxobutanoate did not inhibit 4-methyl-2-oxopentanoate oxidation in liver mitochondria. Their degradation products, isovalerate, 3-methylcrotonate, isobutyrate and 3-hydroxyisobutyrate inhibited to a different extent 2-oxo acid oxidation in liver mitochondria. The effect of CoA esters was studied in permeabilized and with cofactors reinforced mitochondria. Acetyl-CoA and isovaleryl-CoA inhibited only 3-methyl-2-oxobutanoate oxidation in muscle mitochondria. Octanoyl-CoA inhibited oxidation of both 2-oxo acids in muscle and 4-methyl-2-oxopentanoate oxidation in liver mitochondria.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Induction of fatty acid binding protein by peroxisome proliferators in primary hepatocyte cultures and its relationship to the induction of peroxisomal beta-oxidation

The induction of liver fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP) by the peroxisome proliferators bezafibrate and clofibrate was compared with the induction of peroxisomal (cyanide-insensitive) palmitoyl-CoA oxidation in cultured rat hepatocytes maintained on a substratum of laminin-rich (EHS) gel. This substratum was chosen because marked induction of both L-FABP and peroxisomal palmitoyl-CoA oxidation was effected by bezafibrate in hepatocytes supported on EHS gel, whereas only peroxisomal palmitoyl-CoA oxidation was induced in hepatocytes maintained on collagen-coated plates. In control cells on EHS, activity of peroxisomal palmitoyl-CoA oxidation remained stable, while L-FABP abundance declined with time, and L-FABP mRNA was undetectable after 5 days. In cultures exposed to bezafibrate or clofibrate, peroxisomal palmitoyl-CoA oxidation activity was induced earlier and more rapidly than L-FABP. When fibrates were withdrawn, peroxisomal palmitoyl-CoA oxidation declined rapidly, whereas L-FABP continued to increase. L-FABP induction was accompanied by a striking increase in mRNA specifying this protein. Tetradecylglycidic acid, an inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I, effectively doubled peroxisomal palmitoyl-CoA oxidation activity. However, tetradecylglycidic acid markedly inhibited fibrate induction of L-FABP and peroxisomal palmitoyl-CoA oxidation but, unexpectedly, did not prevent the fibrate-induced proliferation of peroxisomes. Maximal induction of both L-FABP and peroxisomal palmitoyl-CoA oxidation was produced at a bezafibrate concentration in the culture medium (0.05 mM) much lower than that of clofibrate (0.3 mM). Also, bezafibrate, but not clofibrate, inhibited [1-14C]oleic acid binding to L-FABP with a Ki = 9.5 microM. We conclude that hepatocytes maintained on EHS gel provide an important tool for investigating the regulation of L-FABP. These studies show that the induction of peroxisomal beta-oxidation and L-FABP by peroxisome proliferators are temporally consecutive but closely related processes which may be dependent on a mechanism distinct from that which leads to peroxisome proliferation. Furthermore, the mechanism of action of the more potent peroxisome proliferator, bezafibrate, may be mediated, in part, by interaction of this agent with L-FABP.     

Specific inhibition of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation by 2-bromopalmitate and its co-enzyme A and carnitine esters

1. The CoA and carnitine esters of 2-bromopalmitate are extremely powerful and specific inhibitors of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation. 2. 2-Bromopalmitoyl-CoA, added as such or formed from 2-bromopalmitate, inhibits the carnitine-dependent oxidation of palmitate or palmitoyl-CoA, but not the oxidation of palmitoylcarnitine, by intact liver mitochondria. 3. 2-Bromopalmitoylcarnitine inhibits the oxidation of palmitoylcarnitine as well as that of palmitate or palmitoyl-CoA. It has no effect on succinate oxidation, but inhibits that of pyruvate, 2-oxoglutarate or hexanoate; however, the oxidation of these substrates (but not of palmitate, palmitoyl-CoA or palmitoyl-carnitine) is restored by carnitine. 4. In damaged mitochondria, added 2-bromopalmitoyl-CoA does inhibit palmitoylcarnitine oxidation; pyruvate oxidation is unaffected by the inhibitor alone, but is impaired if palmitoylcarnitine is subsequently added. 5. The findings have been interpreted as follows. 2-Bromopalmitoyl-CoA inactivates (in a carnitine-dependent manner) a pool of carnitine palmitoyltransferase which is accessible to external acyl-CoA. This results in inhibition of palmitate or palmitoyl-CoA oxidation. A second pool of carnitine palmitoyltransferase, inaccessible to added acyl-CoA in intact mitochondria, can generate bromopalmitoyl-CoA within the matrix from external 2-bromopalmitoylcarnitine; this reaction is reversible. Such internal 2-bromopalmitoyl-CoA inactivates long-chain beta-oxidation (as does added 2-bromopalmitoyl-CoA if the mitochondria are damaged) and its formation also sequesters intramitochondrial CoA. Since this CoA is shared by pyruvate and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenases, the oxidation of their substrates is depressed by 2-bromopalmitoylcarnitine, unless free carnitine is available to act as a ;sink' for long-chain acyl groups. 6. These effects are compared with those reported for other inhibitors of fatty acid oxidation.     

Effect of starvation and diabetes on the sensitivity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I to inhibition by 4-hydroxyphenylglyoxylate.

The sensitivity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I to inhibition by 4-hydroxyphenylglyoxylate was decreased markedly in liver mitochondria isolated from either 48 h-starved or streptozotocin-diabetic rats. These treatments of the rat also decreased the sensitivity of fatty acid oxidation by isolated hepatocytes to inhibition by this compound. Furthermore, incubation of hepatocytes prepared from fed rats with N6O2'-dibutyryl cyclic AMP also decreased the sensitivity, whereas incubation of hepatocytes prepared from starved rats with lactate plus pyruvate had the opposite effect on 4-hydroxyphenylglyoxylate inhibition of fatty acid oxidation. The sensitivity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I of mitochondria to 4-hydroxyphenylglyoxylate increased in a time-dependent manner, as previously reported for malonyl-CoA. Likewise, oleoyl-CoA activated carnitine palmitoyltransferase I in a time-dependent manner and prevented the sensitization by 4-hydroxyphenylglyoxylate. Increased exogenous carnitine caused a moderate increase in fatty acid oxidation by hepatocytes under some conditions and a decreased 4-hydroxyphenylglyoxylate inhibition of fatty acid oxidation at low oleate concentration, without decreasing the difference in 4-hydroxyphenylglyoxylate inhibition between fed- and starved-rat hepatocytes. Time-dependent changes in the conformation of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I or the membrane environment may be involved in differences among nutritional states in 4-hydroxyphenylglyoxylate-sensitivity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I.     

Diltiazem inhibits fatty acid oxidation in the isolated perfused rat liver

The effects of diltiazem on fatty acid metabolism were measured in the isolated perfused rat liver and in isolated mitochondria. In the perfused rat liver diltiazem inhibited oxygen uptake and ketogenesis from endogenous substrates. Ketogenesis from exogenously supplied palmitate was also inhibited. The β-hydroxybutyrate/acetoacetate ratio in the presence of palmitate alone was equal to 3·2. When the fatty acid and diltiazem were present simultaneously this ratio was decreased to 0·93, suggesting that, in spite of the inhibition of oxygen uptake, the respiratory chain was not rate limiting for the oxidation of the reducing equivalents coming from β-oxidation. In experiments with isolated mitochondria, incubated in the presence of all intermediates of the Krebs cycle, pyruvate or glutamate, no significant inhibition of oxygen uptake by diltiazem was detected. Inhibition of oxygen uptake in isolated mitochondria was found only when palmitoyl CoA was the source of the reducing equivalents. It was concluded that a direct effect on β-oxidation may be a major cause for the inhibition of oxygen uptake caused by diltiazem in the perfused liver. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Regulation of long chain fatty acid activation in heart muscle.

Regulation of fatty acid activation was studied in whole tissue homogenates of rat heart. The palmityl-CoA synthestase activity was proportional to the fatty acid to albumin ratio in the incubation medium with maximal activity occurring at a molar ratio of about 5. Fatty acyl-CoA synthetase activity was inhibited by products of the reaction (AMP, pyrophosphate, and palmityl-CoA). The apparent Ki for palmityl-CoA inhibition was 5 muM and this inhibition could be relieved by CoA-SH or albumin. The Km for CoA-SH in the absence of palmityl-CoA was 7 muM and was increased to 24 muM by addition of 8 muM palmityl-CoA. Cytosolic and mitochondrial levels of CoA-SH and carnitine were estimated in whole tissue homogenates of heart and liver. From 90 to 100% of whole tissue CoA was recovered in the mitochondrial fraction of heart muscle and it was estimated that the cytosolic concentration of free CoA-SH probably never exceeds its Km value for fatty acid activation in this tissue. Therefore, the rate of fatty acid activation would be expected to depend on the availability of CoA-SH in the cytosolic space. By adjusting the concentration of CoA-SH in the cytosol to the rate of acetyl-CoA oxidation, carnitineacetyl-CoA transferase may function in cardiac muscle to couple the rate of fatty acid activation in the cytosolic compartment to acetyl-CoA oxidation in the mitochondria. Approximately 30% of whole tissue CoA-SH was located in the cytosolic space in liver. Heart muscle has about twice as much carnitine as liver but in both tissues 100% of whole tissue carintine was located in the cytosolic space. The ratio of carnitine to CoA-SH in the cytosolic space was estimated to be about 100 in heart and 17 in liver. This high ratio in cardiac muscle may function to channel fatty acids toward oxidation rather than toward synthesis of complex lipids.     

The action of vasopressin and calcium on palmitate metabolism in hepatocytes and isolated mitochondria from rat liver

Vasopressin inhibits fatty acid oxidation and stimulates fatty acid esterification, glycogenolysis, and lactate production in hepatocytes from fed rats. In cells from fasted rats, the effect of the hormone on palmitate oxidation was absent, while gluconeogenesis was stimulated. The inhibitory action of vasopressin on palmitate oxidation was not due to the increased lactate production. Neither was it correlated to glycogen content or stimulation of glycogenolysis, which were restored earlier than the vasopressin effect on palmitate oxidation when previously fasted rats were refed a carbohydrate diet. The level of malonyl-CoA was moderately increased by vasopressin. Isolated mitochondria from rat liver were incubated in the presence of [U-14C]palmitate, ATP, CoA carnitine, glycerophosphate, ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether) N,N'-tetraacetic acid, and varying amounts of calcium. The oxidation of palmitate was inhibited when the concentration of free calcium was increased from about 0.1 to 10 microM. Simultaneously, palmitate esterification was stimulated. This effect of calcium was observed also with mitochondria from fasted rats and with octanoate as well as palmitate as the substrate. Carnitine acylation was not affected by calcium. The possibility that the observed effects of calcium on mitochondrial fatty acid utilization is part of the mechanism of action of vasopressin on hepatocyte fatty acid metabolism is discussed.     

Fatty acid metabolism in liver of rats treated with hypolipidemic sulphur-substituted fatty acid analogues

The purpose of this study was to investigate early biochemical changes and possible mechanisms via which alkyl(C12)thioacetic acid (CMTTD, blocked for beta-oxidation), alkyl(C12)thiopropionic acid (CETTD, undergo one cycle of beta-oxidation) and a 3-thiadicarboxylic acid (BCMTD, blocked for both omega- (and beta-oxidation) influence the peroxisomal beta-oxidation in liver of rats. Treatment of rats with CMTTD caused a stimulation of the palmitoyl-CoA synthetase activity accompanied with increased concentration of hepatic acid-insoluble CoA. This effect was already established during 12-24 h of feeding. From 2 days of feeding, the cellular level of acid-insoluble CoA began to decrease, whereas free CoASH content increased. Stimulation of [1-14C]palmitoyl-CoA oxidation in the presence of KCN, palmitoyl-CoA-dependent dehydrogenase (termed peroxisomal beta-oxidation) and palmitoyl-CoA hydrolase activities were revealed after 36-48 h of CMTTD-feeding. Administration of BCMTD affected the enzymatic activities and altered the distribution of CoA between acid-insoluble and free forms comparable to what was observed in CMTTD-treated rats. It is evident that treatment of peroxisome proliferators (BCMTD and CMTTD), the level of acyl-CoA esters and the enzyme activity involved in their formation precede the increase in peroxisomal and palmitoyl-CoA hydrolase activities. In CMTTD-fed animals the activity of cyanide-insensitive fatty acid oxidation remained unchanged when the mitochondrial beta-oxidation and carnitine palmitoyltransferase operated at maximum rates. The sequence and redistribution of CoA and enzyme changes were interpreted as support for the hypothesis that substrate supply is an important factor in the regulation of peroxisomal fatty acid metabolism, i.e., the fatty acyl-CoA species appear to be catabolized by peroxisomes at high rates only when uptake into mitochondria is saturated. Administration of CETTD led to an inhibition of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation accompanied with a rise in the concentration of acyl-CoA esters in the liver. Consequently, fatty liver developed. The peroxisomal beta-oxidation was marginally affected. Whether inhibition of mitochondrial beta-oxidation may be involved in regulation of peroxisomal fatty acid metabolism and in development of fatty liver should be considered.     

The carnitine-independent oxidation of palmitate plus malate by moth flight-muscle mitochondria

Mitochondria isolated from the flight muscle of the southern armyworm moth, Prodenia eridania, can oxidize palmitate+malate very rapidly. Added carnitine had no effect on the rate of oxidation of palmitate+malate by flight-muscle mitochondria from two species of moths, and carnitine palmitoyltransferase could not be detected in Prodenia by direct assay. Palmitoylcarnitine was not oxidized by moth mitochondria, but when added in low concentrations it reversibly suppressed the oxidation of palmitate. The evidence indicates that carnitine is not involved in fatty acid degradation by moth flight muscle. Added thiols, including CoA, also suppressed palmitate+malate oxidation. An ATP-dependent fatty acyl-CoA synthetase is present in moth mitochondria.     

Regulation of fatty acid oxidation by adenosine at the level of its extramitochondrial activation

Conditions for the conversion of palmitate into CO₂ and acetoacetate by liver homogenates and isolated liver mitochondria are described. In this system, using liver homogenates, adenosine inhibited the conversion of palmitate into CO₂ and acetoacetate. The inhibition was not observed if the homogenate was substituted by mitochondria or if palmitate was substituted by palmitoyl CoA or palmitoyl carnitine. Intraperitoneal injection of adenosine produced a marked decrease in the level of acetoacetate and β-hydroxybutyrate in plasma, without changing the concentration of serum free fatty acids. Thus, the nucleoside depressed $\text{in vivo}$ the oxidation of long chain fatty acids in liver by inhibiting the extramitochondrial acyl CoA synthase(s). The paramount importance of the extramitochondrial activation of fatty acids as a key control in their oxidation and in the production of ketone bodies is discussed.     

Effect of various agents and conditions on palmitate oxidation by homogenates of rat liver and rat and human skeletal muscle

The effect of various inhibitors of fatty acid transport and of respiratory chain on palmitate oxidation was investigated in homogenates and mitochondria of rat muscle and homogenates of rat liver and human muscle. Inhibition of fatty acid transport by carnitine omission, malonyl-CoA, tetradecylglycidic acid and mersalyl decreased oxidation more with muscle than with rat liver. Antimycin and KCN decreased markedly palmitate oxidation and caused a larger accumulation of peroxisomal oxidation products. Inhibition of mitochondrial long-chain fatty acid transport decreased accumulation of peroxisomal products in comparison to the control. The effect of malonyl-CoA was dependent on the nutritional state, the pH and the palmitate-albumin ratio with liver homogenates, and only on the latter parameter with muscle homogenates. Effects observed were comparable for rat and human muscle homogenates.     

Sodium benzoate inhibits fatty acid oxidation in rat liver: effect on ammonia levels

Sodium benzoate inhibited PC and octanoic acid-mediated State 3 respiration rates by 39 and 29%, respectively, at 0.5 mM in isolated rat liver mitochondria. At 2 mM, benzoate did not affect State 3 respiration rates with either succinate or malate plus glutamate, indicating that it did not act as an uncoupler. The oxidation of palmitate and octanoate was inhibited by 39 and 54% at 2 mM benzoate in liver homogenates. Benzoate, at 10 mmol/kg caused significant decreases in the levels of hepatic ATP, CoA, and acetyl-CoA. Administration of sodium benzoate to rats caused a dose-dependent increase in hepatic ammonia levels. However, the inhibitory effect of benzoate on fatty acid oxidation is not mediated through ammonia since ammonium chloride, at 1 mM, did not inhibit PC or octanoate oxidation in mitochondria or their oxidation in liver homogenate. Our results warrant a reevaluation of the use of sodium benzoate in the treatment of hyperammonemia.     

Fatty acid oxidation in isolated rat liver mitochondria. Developmental changes and their relation to hepatic levels of carnitine and glycogen and to carnitine acyltransferase activity

Prompted by an apparent relationship between ketosis and fatty acid utilization, we studied the capacities for fatty acid oxidation through β-oxidation and Krebs cycle in liver mitochondria isolated from fetal and suckling rats. Rates of state 3 oxidation, as measured by oxygen consumption, were low for both palmitylcarnitine and palmityl CoA plus carnitine at 2 days before term and at birth, but increased at least ninefold during the first 8 days of life and at least sixfold during the remaining suckling period. Despite these sharp increases, oxygen consumption in suckling rats did not exceed the value for fed adult rats. Also, the rates of state 3 oxidation of succinate were low in suckling rats. Respiratory control indices, determined with each of the three substrates, were lower in suckling rats than fed adults. By contrast, ratios of fatty acyl ester to succinate oxidation, a relative measure of the oxidation of palmitylcarnitine and palmityl CoA, were 21–66% and 27–77% higher in suckling than in fed adult rats. The increased ratios indicate that the capacity for fatty acid oxidation is higher during postnatal development than in the fetal stage or adulthood. The oxidation capacity was inversely related to glycogen content in the liver. Although hepatic carnitine concentration and carnitine palmityltransferase activity increased during suckling period, they are not rate limiting for fatty acid oxidation. Studies of the partitioning of fatty acids showed that about two-thirds of the fatty acid oxidized through β-oxidation did not enter Krebs cycle for further oxidation. These results support our working hypothesis that ketosis of suckling rats stems from rapid oxidation of fatty acids and increased partitioning of acetyl CoA into ketogenesis.     

Identification of 2-tetradecylglycidyl coenzyme A as the active form of methyl 2-tetradecylglycidate (methyl palmoxirate) and its characterization as an irreversible, active site-directed inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyltransferase A in isolated rat liver mitochondria

Methyl-2-tetradecylglycidic acid (MeTDGA) has been hypothesized to inhibit fatty acid oxidation by irreversible, active site-directed inactivation of carnitine palmitoyltransferase A after being converted to TDGA-CoA. Using synthetic TDGA-CoA, this hypothesis has been confirmed. Assessing enzyme inhibition in an isolated rat liver mitochondrial system, TDGA-CoA (synthetic or enzyme prepared) was more potent than TDGA or MeTDGA and retained activity in the absence of CoA or Mg2+-ATP. It inhibited palmitoyl-CoA but not palmitoyl carnitine oxidation. Enzyme inactivation was exponential, stereospecific, and fast (t0.5 = 38.5 s with 100 nM (R)-TDGA-CoA). TDGA-CoA was identified as a complexing type irreversible inhibitor (Ki approximately 0.27 microM) by the double reciprocal relationship between the pseudo-first order inactivation rate and its concentration, by the inverse dependence of the second order rate constant on its concentration, and by the independence of the first order rate from the enzyme concentration. Palmitoyl-CoA, CoA, and malonyl-CoA protected the enzyme, while L-carnitine and palmitoyl-L-carnitine were without effect. [3-14C] TDGA-CoA labeled a protein, Mr = 90,000, with a time course which paralleled that of enzyme inhibition; maximum specific binding was 16 pmol/mg of mitochondrial protein.     

The effect of acute and prolonged ethanol treatment on the concentrations of coenzyme A, carnitine and their derivatives in rat liver

1. CoA, acetyl-CoA, long-chain acyl-CoA, carnitine, acetylcarnitine and long-chain acylcarnitine were measured in rat liver under various conditions. 2. Starvation caused an increase in the contents of these intermediates, except that of carnitine. 3. A single dose of ethanol had no effect on CoA content, whereas those of acetyl-CoA, acetylcarnitine and carnitine were increased and those of long-chain acyl-CoA and acylcarnitine were decreased. 4. Four weeks' adaptation to ethanol consumption did not change the effect of ethanol administration on these metabolites. 5. It is suggested that ethanol directly increases hepatic fatty acid synthesis and esterification. It is also suggested that this change is reversible and limited to the period of ethanol oxidation. 6. It is demonstrated that ethanol-induced triglyceride accumulation is not related to carnitine deficiency.     

Relationship between the systems of activation of fatty acids and ademine nucleotide translocase in the mitochondria]

Experiments were conducted on freshly isolated rat liver mitochondria and mitochondria subjected to ageing by two different methods. It was shown that the work of the mitochondrial system of fatty acid activation could lead to inhibition of the adenine nucleotide transport through the internal mitochondrial membrane. Inhibition of adenine nucleotide translocase was eliminated by preincubation of mitochondria with carnitine. The presence in the mitochondrial preparations of fatty acids in the concentration adequate for induction of inhibition of addition of CoA and ATP served as a preculiarity of adenine nucleotide translocase inhibition of the ageing mitochondria. The data obtained permitted to make a supposition on the participation of acyl-CoA formed by the mitochondrial acyl-CoA-synthetase in the regulation of adenine nucleotide transport into the mitochondria.     

Some aspects of fatty acid oxidation in isolated fat-cell mitochondria from rat.

Mitochondrial were prepared from fat-cells isolated from rat epididymal adipose tissues of fed and 48 h-starved rats to study some aspects of fatty acid oxidation in this tissue. The data were compared with values obtained in parallel experiments with liver mitochondria that were prepared and incubated under identical conditions. 2. In the presence of malonate, fluorocitrate and arsenite, malate, but not pyruvate-bicarbonate, facilitated palmitoyl-group oxidation in both types of mitochondria. In the presence of malate, fat-cell mitochondria exhibited slightly higher rates of palmitoylcarnitine oxidation than liver. Rates of octanoylcarnitine oxidation were similar in liver and fat-cell mitochondria. Uncoupling stimulated acylcarnitine oxidation in liver, but not in fat-cell mitochondria. Oxidation of palmitoyl- and octanoyl-carnitine was partially additive in fat-cell but not in liver mitochondria. Starvation for 48 h significantly decreased both palmitoylcarnitine oxidation and latent carnitine palmitoyltransferase activity in fat-cell mitochondria. Starvation increased latent carnitine palmitoyltransferase activity in liver mitochondria but did not alter palmitoylcarnitine oxidation. These results suggested that palmitoylcarnitine oxidation in fat-cell but not in liver mitochondria may be limited by carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2 activity. 3. Fat-cell mitochondria also differed from liver mitochondria in exhibiting considerably lower rates of carnitine-dependent oxidation of palmitoyl-CoA or palmitate, suggesting that carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 activity may severely rate-limit palmitoyl-CoA oxidation in adipose tissue.     

Study of some factors controlling fatty acid oxidation in liver mitochondria of obese Zucker rats.

Livers of genetically obese Zucker rats showed, compared with lean controls, hypertrophy and enrichment in triacylglycerols, indicating that fatty acid metabolism was directed towards lipogenesis and esterification rather than towards fatty acid oxidation. Mitochondrial activities of cytochrome c oxidase and monoamine oxidase were significantly lower when expressed per g wet wt. of liver, whereas peroxisomal activities of urate oxidase and palmitoyl-CoA-dependent NAD+ reduction were unchanged. Liver mitochondria were able to oxidize oleic acid at the same rate in both obese and lean rats. For reactions occurring inside the mitochondria, e.g. octanoate oxidation and palmitoyl-CoA dehydrogenase, no difference was found between both phenotypes. Total carnitine palmitoyl-, octanoyl- and acetyl-transferase activities were slightly higher in mitochondria from obese rats, whereas the carnitine content of both liver tissue and mitochondria was significantly lower in obese rats compared with their lean littermates. The carnitine palmitoyltransferase I activity was slightly higher in liver mitochondria from obese rats, but this enzyme was more sensitive to malonyl-CoA inhibition in obese than in lean rats. The above results strongly suggest that the impaired fatty acid oxidation observed in the whole liver of obese rats is due to the diminished transport of fatty acids across the mitochondrial inner membrane via the carnitine palmitoyltransferase I. This effect could be reinforced by the decreased mitochondrial content per g wet wt. of liver. The depressed fatty acid oxidation may explain in part the lipid infiltration of liver observed in obese Zucker rats.