Metabolism of very-low-density lipoprotein and chylomicrons by streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat heart: effects of diabetes and lipoprotein preference

Very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) and chylomicrons (CM) are major sources of fatty acid supply to the heart, but little is known about their metabolism in diabetic myocardium. To investigate this, working hearts isolated from control rats and diabetic rats 2 wk following streptozotocin (STZ) injection were perfused with control and diabetic lipoproteins. Analysis of the diabetic lipoproteins showed that both VLDL and CM were altered compared with control lipoproteins; both were smaller and had different apolipoprotein composition. Heparin-releasable lipoprotein lipase (HR-LPL) activity was increased in STZ-induced diabetic hearts, but tissue residual LPL activity was decreased; moreover, diabetic lipoproteins stimulated HR-LPL activity in both diabetic and control hearts. Diabetic hearts oxidized lipoprotein-triacylglycerol (TAG) to a significantly greater extent than controls (>80% compared with deposition as tissue lipid), and the oxidation rate of exogenous lipoprotein-TAG was increased significantly in diabetic hearts regardless of TAG source. Significantly increased intracardiomyocyte TAG accumulation was found in diabetic hearts, although cardiac mechanical function was not inhibited, suggesting that lipotoxicity precedes impaired cardiac performance. Glucose oxidation was significantly decreased in diabetic hearts; additionally, however, diabetic lipoproteins decreased glucose oxidation in diabetic and control hearts. These results demonstrate increased TAG-rich lipoprotein metabolism concomitant with decreased glucose oxidation in type 1 diabetic hearts, and the alterations in cardiac lipoprotein metabolism may be due to the properties of diabetic TAG-rich lipoproteins as well as the diabetic state of the myocardium. These changes were not related to cardiomyopathy at this early stage of diabetes.     

Lipoprotein lipase activity in white adipose tissue of rats subjected to exercise--rest cycles

This study was conducted to determine serum lipid levels and the activity of lipoprotein lipase in epididymal white adipose tissue of rats undergoing exercise training. During the 8-week period of treatment, one group of rats was kept sedentary and the remaining animals were exercise trained either continually (1 h of daily treadmill running) or intermittently (alternate weeks of daily running and inactivity). Exercise training, either continual or intermittent, decreased postprandial serum total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations, which returned to sedentary levels in the intermittently trained animals following a week of rest. Lipoprotein lipase activity in whole epididymal adipose pad was lower in rats trained continually than in the sedentary group at the end of the treatment. The intermittent training program elicited large fluctuations in both the specific (per milligram of protein) and total (per tissue) activity of lipoprotein lipase in white adipose tissue. During rest periods, enzyme activity rose to levels that were higher than those of sedentary rats, whereas lipase activity was below that of sedentary animals following a week of running. In the last exercise--rest cycle, body weight gain of the intermittently trained rats was nearly abolished during the week of running, but it increased above that of sedentary animals during weeks of rest. The present results suggest that the modulation of lipoprotein lipase activity in white adipose tissue is one of the adaptations that take place to accommodate the fluctuations in the rate of energy deposition that occur in the rat during an intermittent training program.     

Restoration of lipoprotein lipase activity in insulin-deficient rats by insulin infusion is tissue-specific

The activity of lipoprotein lipase was measured in white and brown adipose tissues, red vastus lateralis muscle, and heart of rats that have been insulin deficient (streptozotocin, 75 mg.kg-1) for 2 weeks, and that have then received implants of insulin-delivering minipumps (17 U.kg-1.day-1) for 1 or 4 days. Normal glycemia was restored in insulin-deficient animals after 4 days of insulin treatment. Hypertriglyceridemia, but not hypercholesterolemia, was reversed after 4 days of insulin infusion. After 2 weeks of insulin deficiency, fasting lipoprotein lipase activity was lowered in all tissues studied. In white adipose tissue, lipoprotein lipase decreased to 50% of control values. After a single day of insulin infusion, even if tissue weight has not yet been greatly affected, total activity was completely restored to control levels. Enzyme activity in brown adipose tissue was also depressed in deficient animals, and insulin infusion was followed by a slow recovery of activity, to a level intermediate between those of control and insulin-deficient groups. Insulin status had milder effects on lipoprotein lipase activity in vastus lateralis muscle than in the adipose tissues. Deficient rats displayed 60% less activity than controls, and 4 days of hormone infusion only partially restored enzyme activity. There was a large loss of lipoprotein lipase in the heart following 2 weeks of insulin depletion, which was not counteracted by hormone infusion. Thus the speed and extent of recovery of lipoprotein lipase activity following hormone replacement in insulin-deficient animals varied widely among tissues. These findings suggest that insulin is part of the factors that determine the tissue specificity of lipoprotein lipase regulation.     

Hormone-sensitive lipase deficiency in mice changes the plasma lipid profile by affecting the tissue-specific expression pattern of lipoprotein lipase in adipose tissue and muscle.

Hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) is believed to play an important role in the mobilization of fatty acids from triglycerides (TG), diglycerides, and cholesteryl esters in various tissues. Because HSL-mediated lipolysis of TG in adipose tissue (AT) directly feeds non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) into the vascular system, the enzyme is expected to affect many metabolic processes including the metabolism of plasma lipids and lipoproteins. In the present study we examined these metabolic changes in induced mutant mouse lines that lack HSL expression (HSL-ko mice). During fasting, when HSL is normally strongly induced in AT, HSL-ko animals exhibited markedly decreased plasma concentrations of NEFA (-40%) and TG (-63%), whereas total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol levels were increased (+34%). Except for the increased HDL cholesterol concentrations, these differences were not observed in fed animals, in which HSL activity is generally low. Decreased plasma TG levels in fasted HSL-ko mice were mainly caused by decreased hepatic very low density lipid lipoprotein (VLDL) synthesis as a result of decreased NEFA transport from the periphery to the liver. Reduced NEFA transport was also indicated by a depletion of hepatic TG stores (-90%) and strongly decreased ketone body concentrations in plasma (-80%). Decreased plasma NEFA and TG levels in fasted HSL-ko mice were associated with increased fractional catabolic rates of VLDL-TG and an induction of the tissue-specific lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity in cardiac muscle, skeletal muscle, and white AT. In brown AT, LPL activity was decreased. Both increased VLDL fractional catabolic rates and increased LPL activity in muscle were unable to provide the heart with sufficient NEFA, which led to decreased tissue TG levels in cardiac muscle. Our results demonstrate that HSL deficiency markedly affects the metabolism of TG-rich lipoproteins by the coordinate down-regulation of VLDL synthesis and up-regulation of LPL in muscle and white adipose tissue. These changes result in an "anti-atherogenic" lipoprotein profile.     

Tissue-specific effects of starvation and refeeding on the disposal of oral [1-14C]triolein in the rat during lactation and on removal of litter.

1. The effects of starvation and refeeding on the disposal of oral [14C]triolein between 14CO2 production and 14C-lipid accumulation in tissues of virgin rats, lactating rats and lactating rats with pups removed were studied. 2. Starvation (24 h) increased 14CO2 production in lactating rats and lactating rats with pups removed to values found in virgin rats. This increase was accompanied by decreases in 14C-lipid accumulation in mammary gland and pups of lactating rats and in white and brown adipose tissue of lactating rats with pups removed. 3. Short-term (2 h) refeeding ad libitum decreased 14CO2 production in lactating rats and lactating rats with pups removed, and restored the 14C-lipid accumulation in mammary glands plus pups and in white and brown adipose tissue respectively 4. Insulin deficiency induced with mannoheptulose inhibited the restoration of 14C-lipid accumulation in white adipose tissue on refeeding of lactating rats with pups removed, but did not prevent the restoration of 14C-lipid accumulation in mammary gland. 5. Changes in the activity of lipoprotein lipase in mammary gland and white adipose tissue paralleled the changes in 14C-lipid accumulation in these tissues. 6. It is concluded that 14C-lipid accumulation in mammary gland may not be affected by changes in plasma insulin concentration and that it is less sensitive to starvation than is lipogenesis or lactose synthesis. This has the advantage that the milk lipid content can still be maintained from hepatic very-low-density lipoprotein for a period after withdrawal of food. The major determinant of the disposal of oral 14C-triolein appears to be the total tissue activity of lipoprotein lipase. When this is high in mammary gland (fed lactating rats) or white adipose tissue (fed lactating rats with pups removed), less triacylglycerol is available for the muscle mass and consequently less is oxidized.     

Effect of pantethine on post-heparin plasma lipolytic activities and adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase in rats

The lipid-lowering effect of pantethine, a new drug affecting lipid metabolism, had been evaluated in carbohydrate-induced hyperlipidemic rats. Administration of the drug raised post-heparin lipolytic activities, the change being due to an increase in lipoprotein lipase activity, whereas hepatic lipase activity remained virtually unchanged. Total lipoprotein lipase activity per g of adipose tissue increased in pantethine-treated rats compared with controls. Furthermore, the soluble lipoprotein lipase of fat-pads was fractionated by heparin-Sepharose affinity chromatography. The first active peak, originated from the microsomal fractions, significantly increased after the drug treatment, while the second one, originated from the plasma membranes, remained unchanged. The increase in the microsomal lipoprotein lipase activity may be due to an increase in intracellular synthesis of lipoprotein lipase enzyme proteins. The heterogeneity of lipoprotein lipase of rat adipose tissues was ensured using affinity chromatography on heparin-Sepharose.     

Relationship of lipoprotein lipase activity to triglyceride uptake in adipose tissue

Fasted rats injected with actinomycin or fed glucose show increased lipoprotein lipase activity of epididymal adipose tissue. Data from the actinomycin-treated animals showed a direct correlation between the lipoprotein lipase activity and the uptake of lipoprotein triglyceride by the epididymal fat pad in vitro and in vivo. Data from the animals fed glucose confirmed these findings in vitro. These data strongly suggest that lipoprotein lipase plays a major role in triglyceride deposition in adipose tissue.     

Nutritional regulation of lipoprotein lipase in guinea pig tissues

Glucose transport in guinea pig adipocytes has been shown to be markedly resistant to stimulation by insulin. Lipoprotein lipase is another transport catalyst in adipose tissue which is believed to be regulated by insulin. We have therefore studied how feeding-fasting affects lipoprotein lipase activity in guinea pig tissues. There was an even more marked decrease in adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity on fasting in guinea pigs (10-20 fold) than in rats or mice (4-5 fold). In adipocytes, the activity decreased only 2.5-4.5 fold; most of the change was in extracellular lipoprotein lipase. On glucose refeeding, the activity was rapidly restored. In the first 4 hours after glucose administration extracellular lipoprotein lipase activity increased to more than 10 times the amount present in adipocytes. After cycloheximide, lipoprotein lipase activity decreased with a half-life of 22 min. It is concluded that lipoprotein lipase is rapidly produced and turned over in guinea pig adipose tissue, and that the system is quite sensitive to feeding-fasting. In contrast to adipose tissue, there was no significant change in lipoprotein lipase activity in any other tissue on fasting. There was a strong correlation between the activities in heart and diaphragm muscle, but this correlation was independent of feeding-fasting.     

Regulation of lipoprotein lipase activity in cardiac myocytes from control and diabetic rat hearts by plasma lipids.

The objective of this investigation was to test the hypothesis that the diabetes-induced reduction in lipoprotein lipase activity in cardiac myocytes may be due to hypertriglyceridemia. Administration of 4-aminopyrazolopyrimidine (50 mg/kg) to control rats for 24 h reduced plasma triacylglycerol levels and increased the heparin-induced release of lipoprotein lipase into the incubation medium of cardiac myocytes. The acute (3-5 days) induction of diabetes by streptozotocin (100 mg/kg) produced hypertriglyceridemia and reduced heparin-releasable lipoprotein lipase activity in cardiac myocytes. Treatment of diabetic rats with 4-aminopyrazolopyrimidine resulted in a fall in plasma triacylglycerol content and increased heparin-releasable lipoprotein lipase activity. Administration of Triton WR-1339 also resulted in hypertriglyceridemia, but the heparin-induced release of lipoprotein lipase from control cardiac myocytes was not reduced in the absence of lipolysis of triacylglycerol-rich lipoproteins. Treatment with Triton WR-1339 did, however, increase the heparin-induced release of lipoprotein lipase from diabetic cardiac myocytes. Preparation of cardiac myocytes with 0.9 mM oleic acid resulted in a decrease in both total cellular and heparin-releasable lipoprotein lipase activities. These results suggest that the diabetes-induced reduction in heart lipoprotein lipase activity may, at least in part, be due to an inhibitory effect of free fatty acids, derived either from lipoprotein degradation or from adipose tissue lipolysis, on lipoprotein lipase activity in (and (or) release from) cardiac myocytes.     

The role of glucagon in the regulation of myocardial lipoprotein lipase activity

The role of glucagon in regulating the lipoprotein lipase activities of rat heart and adipose tissue was examined. When starved rats were fed glucose, heart lipoprotein lipase activity decreased while that of adipose tissue increased. Glucagon administration to these animals at the time of glucose feeding prevented the decline in heart lipoprotein lipase activity, but had no effect on the adipose tissue enzyme. When glucagon was administered to fed rats, heart lipoprotein lipase activity increased to levels found in starved animals but there was no change in the adipose tissue enzyme. It is suggested that the reciprocal lipoprotein lipase activities in heart and adipose tissue of fed and starved animals may be regulated by the circulating plasma insulin and glucagon concentrations.     

Growth hormone-mediated breakdown of body fat: effects of GH on lipases in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle of old rats fed different diets.

Lipid storage and breakdown is mainly controlled by lipoprotein lipase and hormone-sensitive lipase. The aim of this work was to elucidate whether growth hormone mediated loss of adipose tissue involves a concerted action on tissue lipases, and to what degree such events are modulated by dietary regimen. Twelve-month-old rats fed first a high-fat diet or a low-fat diet for 14 weeks were injected with saline or growth hormone (4 mg/kg/d) for four days or three weeks in different combinations with either high- or low-fat diets. In adipose tissue, growth hormone generally inhibited lipoprotein lipase and also attenuated the inhibiting effect of insulin on hormone-sensitive lipase activity. Growth hormone treatment combined with restricted high-fat feeding reduced the activity of both lipases in adipose tissue and stimulated hormone-sensitive lipase in muscle. Generally, plasma levels of free fatty acids, glycerol and cholesterol were reduced by growth hormone, and in combination with restricted high-fat feeding, triglyceride levels improved too. We conclude that growth hormone inhibits lipid storage in adipose tissue by reducing both lipoprotein lipase activity and insulin's inhibitory action on hormone-sensitive lipase. We also propose that growth hormone's effects on tissue lipases and blood lipids are modulated by dietary regimen.     

Adipose, muscle and lung tissue lipoprotein lipase activities in young streptozotocin treated rats

Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity was studied in adipose, muscle and lung tissues of post-weanling rats 48 and 96 hours after experimentally induced diabetes by streptozotocin administration. Weight gain was reduced, and blood glucose level increased about 3-4 fold above the control level as an indication of the diabetic state. LPL activity in brown and white adipose tissues decreased in diabetic rats to 10-30% of the control level. In soleus muscle the LPL activity was slightly enhanced 96 hours after the streptozotocin injection. In cardiac muscle the LPL activity was markedly increased already 48 hours after the administration of streptozotocin and the increase remained significant until 96 hours. There was in the pulmonary tissue also an increase of LPL activity of diabetic rats, although this was significant only 96 hours after streptozotocin treatment. The results suggest marked tissue specific variation in the LPL activity. Moreover, tissue responses to experimentally induced diabetes vary. In adipose tissue the decrease in the LPL activity suggests that lipid transport to adipocytes is decreased while an increase in skeletal and cardiac muscles and in lung tissue proposes that their lipid utilization is enhanced.     

Hypertriacylglycerolemia and adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity in the Nagase analbuminemic rat

In Nagase analbuminemic rats, serum triacylglycerol levels were significantly elevated. This abnormality was accompanied by decreased adipose tissue fat stores, and both were more marked in female than in male rats. Parametrial adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity was determined in normally fed female rats. When expressed per mg protein, the activity in analbuminemic rats was only 35% of that in control rats. The activity in analbuminemic rats, however, could be increased as in control rats by refeeding starved animals with a fat-free and carbohydrate-rich diet, and the peak values recorded were the same with the two groups. Treatment of animals with streptozotocin lowered adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity in both groups to similar levels. These results suggest that hypertriacylglycerolemia associated with analbuminemia may be caused, at least in part, by altered hormonal control of adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity.     

Tissue-specific effects of rapid tumour growth on lipid metabolism in the rat during lactation and on litter removal.

1. The effect of tumour burden on lipid metabolism was examined in virgin, lactating and litter-removed rats. 2. No differences in food intake or plasma insulin concentrations were observed between control animals and those bearing the Walker-256 carcinoma (3-5% of body wt.) in any group studied. 3. In virgin tumour-bearing animals, there was a significant increase in liver mass, blood glucose and lactate, and plasma triacylglycerol; the rate of oxidation of oral [14C]lipid to 14CO2 was diminished, and parametrial white adipose tissue accumulated less [14C]lipid compared with pair-fed controls. 4. These findings were accompanied by increased accumulation of lipid in plasma and decreased white-adipose-tissue lipoprotein lipase activity. 5. In lactating animals, tumour burden had little effect on the accompanying hyperphagia or on pup weight gain; tissue lipogenesis was unaffected, as was tissue [14C]lipid accumulation, plasma [triacylglycerol] and white-adipose-tissue and mammary-gland lipoprotein lipase activity. 6. On removal (24 h) of the litter, the presence of the tumour resulted in decreased rates of lipogenesis in the carcass, liver and white and brown adipose tissue, decreased [14C]lipid accumulation in white adipose tissue, but increased accumulation in plasma and liver, increased plasma [triacylglycerol] and decreased lipoprotein lipase activity in white adipose tissue. 7. The rate of triacylglycerol/fatty acid substrate cycling was significantly decreased in white adipose tissue of virgin and litter-removed rats bearing the tumour, but not in lactating animals. 8. These results demonstrate no functional impairment of lactation, despite the presence of tumour, and the relative resistance of the lactating mammary gland to the disturbance of lipid metabolism that occurs in white adipose tissue of non-lactating rats with tumour burden.     

Acute effect of physical exercise on glycogen content and lipoprotein lipase activity in untrained diabetic rats

The effect of acute physical exercise on skeletal muscle glycogen content and on lipoprotein lipase activity of muscle, adipose and lung tissues was studied in streptozotocin diabetic and control rats. Rats were accustomed to treadmill running for two weeks after streptozotocin treatment. For an exercise bout of moderate intensity rats were randomly divided into two groups: one was sacrificed immediately after exercise and the other 24 hours afterwards. In addition there was a nonexercised sedentary group. No depletion of glycogen was observed after exercise in the vastus lateralis muscle of control (nondiabetic) rats. No difference in glycogen utilization was found in soleus muscle between diabetic and control rats. In diabetic rats a slight decrease occurred in the lipoprotein lipase activity in adipose tissue immediately after exercise, while in control rats there was a significant decline 24 hours after exercise. In soleus muscle a slight but significant increase of lipoprotein lipase activity occurred 24 hours after exercise in diabetic rats but not in control rats. The results suggest that nonketotic streptozotocin diabetes of short duration does not influence muscle glycogen in the resting state, but glycogen utilization is disturbed in white muscle during moderate treadmill running in untrained diabetic rats. The increase in lipoprotein lipase activity after physical exercise in red muscle of diabetic rats occurs during the recovery phase.     

Influence of nutritional state on lipoprotein lipase activities in the hypothyroid rat

We have investigated the effects of nutritional state on the lipoprotein lipase activities of the experimentally hypothyroid rat. Both short-term effects (i.e., those of a 24 h fast with and without re-feeding) and long-term effects (due to decreased food intake in hypothyroidism) have been studied. The hypothyroid rats had significantly higher lipoprotein lipase activities of adipose tissue and heart muscle. The effect of hypothyroidism on adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activities was modified by the nutritional state. In rats studied after 24 h fasting, the hypothyroid group had significantly higher lipoprotein lipase activities than weight-matched, age-matched and pair-fed (i.e., semi-starved) control groups. In rats studied in the re-fed state, the effects of hypothyroidism as such were less evident, since the pair-fed group also demonstrated significantly higher enzyme activities than did the other control groups. We have also studied the lipoprotein lipase activities of different enzyme preparations from adipose tissue. The effects of hypothyroidism were most clearly reflected in an increase of heparin-elutable enzyme activity from adipose tissue, whereas adipocyte lipoprotein lipase activity and the lipoprotein lipase secretion rate from adipocytes were affected to a lesser extent. We conclude that alterations in food intake strongly influence the lipoprotein lipase activities in the hypothyroidism. Our data also imply that the increased lipoprotein lipase activity in the hypothyroid state is due to a decreased degradation of the enzyme, both intra- and extracellularly.     

Adaptations of adipose tissue metabolism and number of insulin receptors in pregnant sheep

The endocrine control of adipose tissue metabolism during pregnancy in sheep has been investigated. The number of insulin receptors of sheep adipocytes was increased during pregnancy. There was no apparent change in the concentration of serum insulin during pregnancy in sheep while the rise in serum progesterone concentration was smaller and more gradual than in rats. Net lipid deposition in adipocytes occurred during the first 55 days of pregnancy, probably due primarily to increased lipoprotein lipase activity. Net deposition of lipid had ceased by mid-pregnancy while by 125 days of pregnancy, the rate of fatty acid synthesis in adipose tissue was decreased and the serum fatty acid concentration had risen, suggesting the onset of net lipid mobilization in the tissue. Results are compared with those from other studies with rats; it would appear that different mechanisms regulate lipid deposition during pregnancy in sheep and rats.     

Medium‐Chain Oil Reduces Fat Mass and Down‐regulates Expression of Adipogenic Genes in Rats

Objective: To test the hypothesis that adipose tissue could be one of the primary targets through which medium‐chain fatty acids (MCFAs) exert their metabolic influence. Research Methods and Procedures: Sprague‐Dawley rats were fed a control high‐fat diet compared with an isocaloric diet rich in medium‐chain triglycerides (MCTs). We determined the effects of MCTs on body fat mass, plasma leptin and lipid levels, acyl chain composition of adipose triglycerides and phospholipids, adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity, and the expression of key adipogenic genes. Tissue triglyceride content was measured in heart and gastrocnemius muscle, and whole body insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance were also measured. The effects of MCFAs on lipoprotein lipase activity and adipogenic gene expression were also assessed in vitro using cultured adipose tissue explants or 3T3‐L1 adipocytes. Results: MCT‐fed animals had smaller fat pads, and they contained a considerable amount of MCFAs in both triglycerides and phospholipids. A number of key adipogenic genes were down‐regulated, including peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α and their downstream metabolic target genes. We also found reduced adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity and improved insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance in MCT‐fed animals. Analogous effects of MCFAs on adipogenic genes were found in cultured rat adipose tissue explants and 3T3‐L1 adipocytes. Discussion: These results suggest that direct inhibitory effects of MCFAs on adiposity may play an important role in the regulation of body fat development.     

The significance of lipoprotein lipase in rat skeletal muscles.

Lipoprotein lipase was assayed in extracts of acetone-ether powders of rat skeletal muscles. Enzyme activity in soleus had typical characteristics of lipoprotein lipase in other tissues: inhibition by molar NaCl and protamine sulfate and activation by the human apolipoprotein, R-glutamic acid. Activity in muscles with predominantly red fibers (soleus, diaphragm, lateral head of gastrocnemius and anterior band of semitendinosus) was higher than in those with predominantly white fibers (body of gastrocnemius and posterior band of semitendinosus). No effect of a 24 hour fast upon enzyme activity was observed in ten skeletal muscles, but activity decreased substantially in four adipose tissue depots and increased slightly in heart muscle with fasting. Four minutes after intravenous injection of labeled lymph chylomicrons, skeletal muscles with predominantly red fibers incorporated several times more chylomicron triglyceride fatty acids than thos with predominantly white fibers. Estimated lipoprotein lipase activity in total skeletal muscle was about two-thirds that in total adipose tissue of rats fed ad libitum. After a 24 hour fast, total activity in skeletal muscle was about twice that in adipose tissue. These data suggest that a substantial fraction of lipoprotein lipase is in skeletal muscle of rats and that this tissue, especially its red fibers, is an important site of removal of triglycerides from the blood.     

Zinc deficiency and the activities of lipoprotein lipase in plasma and tissues of rats force-fed diets with coconut oil or fish oil

The present study was performed to investigate the effect of zinc deficiency on the activities of lipoprotein lipase in postheparin serum and tissues of rats fed diets containing either coconut oil or fish oil as dietary fat, using a bifactorial experimental design. To ensure an adequate food intake, all the rats were force-fed by gastric tube. Experimental diets contained either 0.8 mg zinc/kg (zinc-deficient diets) or 40 mg zinc/kg (zinc-adequate diets). The effects of zinc deficiency on the activities of lipoprotein lipase in postheparin serum and postprandial triglyceride concentrations and distribution of apolipoproteins in serum lipoproteins depended on the type of dietary fat. Zinc-deficient rats fed the coconut oil diet exhibited a reduced activity of lipoprotein lipase in postheparin serum and adipose tissue, markedly increased concentrations of triglycerides in serum, and a markedly reduced content of apolipoprotein C in triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and high density lipoproteins compared with zinc-adequate rats fed coconut oil. By contrast, zinc-deficient rats fed the fish oil diet did not exhibit reduced activities of lipoprotein lipase in postheparin serum and adipose tissue and increased concentrations of serum lipids compared with zinc-adequate rats fed the fish oil diet. This study suggests that a reduced activity of lipoprotein lipase might contribute to increased postprandial concentrations of serum triglycerides observed in zinc-deficient animals. However, it also demonstrates that the effects of zinc deficiency on lipoprotein metabolism are influenced by dietary fatty acids.