Effects of dietary nutrients on substrate and effector levels of lipogenic enzymes, and lipogenesis from tritiated water in rat liver

When fasted rats were refed for 4 days with a carbohydrate and protein diet, a carbohydrate diet (without protein) or a protein diet (without carbohydrate), the effects of dietary nutrients on the fatty acid synthesis from injected tritiated water, the substrate and effector levels of lipogenic enzymes and the enzyme activities were compared in the livers. In the carbohydrate diet group, although acetyl-CoA carboxylase was much induced and citrate was much increased, the activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase extracted with phosphatase inhibitor and activated with 0.5 mM citrate was low in comparison to the carbohydrate and protein diet group. The physiological activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase seems to be low. In the protein diet group, the concentrations of glucose 6-phosphate, acetyl-CoA and malonyl-CoA were markedly higher than in the carbohydrate and protein group, whereas the concentrations of oxaloacetate and citrate were lower. The levels of hepatic cAMP and plasma glucagon were high. The activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and also fatty acid synthetase were low in the protein group. By feeding fat, the citrate level was not decreased as much as the lipogenic enzyme inductions. Comparing the substrate and effector levels with the Km and Ka values, the activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and fatty acid synthetase could be limited by the levels. The fatty acid synthesis from tritiated water corresponded more closely to the acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity (activated 0.5 mM citrate) than to other lipogenic enzyme activities. On the other hand, neither the activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and malic enzyme (even though markedly lowered by diet) nor the levels of their substrates appeared to limit fatty acid synthesis of any of the dietary groups. Thus, it is suggested that under the dietary nutrient manipulation, acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity would be the first candidate of the rate-limiting factor for fatty acid synthesis with the regulations of the enzyme quantity, the substrate and effector levels and the enzyme modification.     

Regulation of fatty acid synthesis in lactating rat mammary gland in the fed to starved transition: asynchronous control of pyruvate dehydrogenase, phosphofructokinase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase.

1. Withdrawal of food from lactating rats produced a rapid and dramatic decrease in the uptake of glucose by the mammary gland and an inhibition of the rate of fatty acid synthesis that could not be explained alone by decreased substrate supply to the tissue. 2. Within the first 6 hr starvation, fatty acid synthesis and pyruvate dehydrogenase activity were inhibited by 87 and 80%, respectively, but acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity did not change significantly. 3. Between 6 and 24 hr starvation, total and expressed activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase decreased by 62 and 55%, respectively. 4. The ratio of fructose-6-phosphate/fructose-1,6-bisphosphate concentration in mammary tissue increased 9-fold during the first 6 hr starvation, indicating an inhibition of 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase. However, the major inhibition of this enzyme occurred between 6 and 24 hr starvation when this metabolite ratio increased a further 160-fold in parallel with increased tissue citrate concentration. 5. The increase in citrate concentration between 6 and 24 hr starvation correlated with acetyl-CoA carboxylase inactivation and ketone body accumulation in the mammary gland. 6. This study confirms the asynchronous control of three important regulatory steps in the pathway of glucose utilization and fatty acid synthesis in the lactating rat mammary gland.     

Hypothalamic Inhibition of Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase Stimulates Hepatic Counter-Regulatory Response Independent of AMPK Activation in Rats

Background

Hypothalamic AMPK acts as a cell energy sensor and can modulate food intake, glucose homeostasis, and fatty acid biosynthesis. Intrahypothalamic fatty acid injection is known to suppress liver glucose production, mainly by activation of hypothalamic ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channels. Since all models employed seem to involve malonyl-CoA biosynthesis, we hypothesized that acetyl-CoA carboxylase can modulate the counter-regulatory response independent of nutrient availability.

Methodology/Principal Findings

In this study employing immunoblot, real-time PCR, ELISA, and biochemical measurements, we showed that reduction of the hypothalamic expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase by antisense oligonucleotide after intraventricular injection increased food intake and NPY mRNA, and diminished the expression of CART, CRH, and TRH mRNA. Additionally, as in fasted rats, in antisense oligonucleotide-treated rats, serum glucagon and ketone bodies increased, while the levels of serum insulin and hepatic glycogen diminished. The reduction of hypothalamic acetyl-CoA carboxylase also increased PEPCK expression, AMPK phosphorylation, and glucose production in the liver. Interestingly, these effects were observed without modification of hypothalamic AMPK phosphorylation.

Conclusion/Significance

Hypothalamic ACC inhibition can activate hepatic counter-regulatory response independent of hypothalamic AMPK activation.     

Diurnal variations of lipogenic enzyme mRNA quantities in rat liver.

The diurnal variations in mRNA quantities of lipogenic enzymes (acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase, malic enzyme and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) in rat livers were detected. When the rats began feeding actively after lights out at 1900 h, the mRNA quantities were high from 0500 h to 0900 h in the morning. The variation in fatty acid synthase mRNA quantities was the most dramatic. However, no measurable variation in any enzyme levels including fatty acid synthase was detected. It may be because the half-lives of the enzymes are too long to be effected by the mRNAs which were high for several hours.     

Regulation of fatty acid synthesis and malonyl-CoA content in mouse brown adipose tissue in response to cold-exposure, starvation or re-feeding.

1. The effect of nutritional status on fatty acid synthesis in brown adipose tissue was compared with the effect of cold-exposure. Fatty acid synthesis was measured in vivo by 3H2O incorporation into tissue lipids. The activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and fatty acid synthetase and the tissue concentrations of malonyl-CoA and citrate were assayed. 2. In brown adipose tissue of control mice, the tissue content of malonyl-CoA was 13 nmol/g wet wt., higher than values reported in other tissues. From the total tissue water content, the minimum possible concentration was estimated to be 30 microM 3. There were parallel changes in fatty acid synthesis, malonyl-CoA content and acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity in response to starvation and re-feeding. 4. There was no correlation between measured rates of fatty acid synthesis and malonyl-CoA content and acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity in acute cold-exposure. The results suggest there is simultaneous fatty acid synthesis and oxidation in brown adipose tissue of cold-exposed mice. This is probably effected not by decreases in the malonyl-CoA content, but by increases in the concentration of free long-chain fatty acyl-CoA or enhanced peroxisomal oxidation, allowing shorter-chain fatty acids to enter the mitochondria independent of carnitine acyltransferase (overt form) activity.     

Adaptation to a high protein, carbohydrate-free diet induces a marked reduction of fatty acid synthesis and lipogenic enzymes in rat adipose tissue that is rapidly reverted by a balanced diet

We have previously shown that in vivo lipogenesis is markedly reduced in liver, carcass, and in 4 different depots of adipose tissue of rats adapted to a high protein, carbohydrate-free (HP) diet. In the present work, we investigate the activity of enzymes involved in lipogenesis in the epididymal adipose tissue (EPI) of rats adapted to an HP diet before and 12 h after a balanced diet was introduced. Rats fed an HP diet for 15 days showed a 60% reduction of EPI fatty acid synthesis in vivo that was accompanied by 45%-55% decreases in the activities of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, ATP-citrate lyase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, and malic enzyme. Reversion to a balanced diet for 12 h resulted in a normalization of in vivo EPI lipogenesis, and in a restoration of acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity to levels that did not differ significantly from control values. The activities of ATP-citrate lyase and pyruvate dehydrogenase complex increased to about 75%-86% of control values, but the activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and malic enzyme remained unchanged 12 h after diet reversion. The data indicate that in rats, the adjustment of adipose tissue lipogenic activity is an important component of the metabolic adaptation to different nutritional conditions.     

Deficiency in hepatic ATP-citrate lyase affects VLDL-triglyceride mobilization and liver fatty acid composition in mice

ATP-citrate lyase (ACL) is a key lipogenic enzyme that converts citrate in the cytoplasm to acetyl-CoA, the initial precursor that yields malonyl-CoA for fatty acid biosynthesis. As cytosolic citrate is derived from the tricarboxylic acid cycle in the mitochondrion, ACL catalyzes a critical reaction linking cellular glucose catabolism and lipid synthesis. To investigate the metabolic action of ACL in lipid homeostasis, we specifically knocked down hepatic ACL expression by adenovirus-mediated RNA interference in mice maintained on a low-fat or high-fat diet. Hepatic ACL abrogation markedly reduced the liver abundance of both acetyl-CoA and malonyl-CoA regardless of dietary fat intake, which was paralleled with decreases in circulating levels of triglycerides and free fatty acids. Moreover, hepatic ACL knockdown resulted in diet-dependent changes in the expression of other lipogenic enzymes, accompanied by altered fatty acid compositions in the liver. Interestingly, ACL deficiency led to reduced serum VLDL-triglyceride levels but increased hepatic triglyceride content, resulting at least partially from decreased hepatic secretion of VLDL-containing apolipoprotein B-48. Together, these results demonstrate that hepatic ACL suppression exerts profound effects on triglyceride mobilization as well as fatty acid compositions in the liver, suggesting an important role for ACL in lipid metabolism.     

Possible role of acetyl-CoA-carboxylase in biosynthesis of mevalonic acid and sterols in rat liver]

Effect of citrate on acetyl-CoA incorporation into mevalonic acid, sterols and fatty acids after preliminary incubation of rat liver extracts under conditions optimal for acetyl-CoA carboxylase activation, was studied. 30 min preincubation with the citrate at 37 degrees C results in a 2--3-fold stimulation of the mevalonic acid biosynthesis from acetyl-CoA in the microsomal and soluble (140 000 g) fraction, and in that of sterols precipitated by digitonin or isolated by TLC in the mitochondria--free fraction. 2-14C-malonyl-CoA incorporation into the mevalonic acid and sterols and biosynthesis of sterols from 2-14C-mevalonic acid were not stimulated under those conditions. A correlation was shown to exist between the activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and the rate of acetyl-CoA incorporation into mevalonate and sterols; the activity of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase, limiting the rate of the sterol biosynthesis, was not changed. The stimulating effect of citrate was found to depend on the concentration of acetyl-CoA and NADPH in the medium. The data obtained suggest that the mevalonic acid biosynthesis in rat liver may occur in the presence of acetyl-CoA carboxylase through the formation of malonyl-CoA.     

Studies on the assay, activity and sedimentation behaviour of acetyl-CoA carboxylase from isolated hepatocytes incubated with insulin or glucagon.

The activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, measured in various ways, was studied in 15000g extracts of rat liver hepatocytes and compared with the rate of fatty acid synthesis in intact hepatocytes incubated with insulin or glucagon. Hepatocyte extracts were prepared by disruption of cells with a Dounce homogenizer or by solubilization with 1.5% (v/v) Triton X-100. Sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation demonstrated that the sedimentation coefficient of acetyl-CoA carboxylase from cell extracts was 30-35S, regardless of the conditions of incubation or disruption of hepatocytes. Solubilization of cells with 1.5% Triton X-100 yielded twice as much enzyme activity (measured by [14C]bicarbonate fixation) in the sucrose-gradient fractions as did cell disruption by the Dounce homogenizer. Analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography of acetyl-CoA carboxylase reaction mixtures showed that [14C]malonyl-CoA accounted for 10-60% of the total acid-stable radioactivity, depending on the method for disrupting hepatocytes and on the preincubation of the 15000g extract, with or without citrate, before assay. Under conditions in which incubation of cells with insulin or glucagon caused an activation or inhibition, respectively, of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, only 25% of the acid-stable radioactivity was [14C]malonyl-CoA and enzyme activity was only 13% (control), 16% (insulin), and 57% (glucagon) of the rate of fatty acid synthesis. Under conditions when up to 60% of the acid-stable radioactivity was [14C]malonyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity was comparable with the rate of fatty acid synthesis, there was no effect of insulin or glucagon on enzyme activity.     

Formation of malonyl coenzyme A in rat heart. Identification and purification of an isozyme of A carboxylase from rat heart

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase is thought to be absent in the heart since the latter is highly catabolic and nonlipogenic. It has been suggested that the high level of malonyl-CoA that is found in the heart is derived from mitochondrial propionyl-CoA carboxylase, which also uses acetyl-CoA. In the present study, acetyl-CoA carboxylase was identified and purified from homogenates of rat heart. The isolated enzyme had little activity in the absence of citrate (specific activity, less than 0.1 units/mg); however, citrate stimulated its activity (specific activity, 1.8 units/mg in the presence of 10 mM citrate). Avidin inhibited greater than 95% of activity, and addition of biotin reversed this inhibition. Further, malonyl-CoA (1 mM) and palmitoyl-CoA (100 microM) inhibited greater than 90% of carboxylase activity. Similar to acetyl-CoA carboxylase of lipogenic tissues, the heart enzyme could be activated greater than 6-fold by preincubation with liver (acetyl-CoA carboxylase)-phosphatase 2. The activation was accompanied by a decrease in the K0.5 for citrate to 0.68 mM. These observations suggest that the activity in preparations from heart is due to authentic acetyl-CoA carboxylase. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the preparation from heart showed the presence of one major protein band (Mr 280,000) and a minor band (Mr 265,000) while that from liver gave a major protein band (Mr 265,000). A Western blot probed with avidin-peroxidase suggested that both the 280- and 265-kDa species contained biotin. Antibodies to liver acetyl-CoA carboxylase, which inhibited greater than 95% of liver carboxylase activity, inhibited only 35% of heart enzyme activity. In an immunoblot (using antibodies to liver enzyme) the 265-kDa species, and not the major 280-kDa species, in the heart preparation was specifically stained. These observations suggest the presence of two isoenzymes of acetyl-CoA carboxylase that are immunologically distinct, the 265-kDa species being predominant in the liver and the 280-kDa species being predominant in the heart.     

Lipid metabolism by rat lung in vitro. Utilization of citrate by normal and starved rats

1. The utilization of [1,5-(14)C(2)]citrate by lung slices and cell cytosol preparations, and the activities of liver and lung cytosol citrate-cleavage enzyme (EC 4.1.3.8), l-malate-NAD oxidoreductase (malate dehydrogenase, EC 1.1.1.37) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.32) were examined in normal and starved rats. 2. Lipogenesis from citrate was decreased by approx. 70% in both the phospholipid and neutral lipid fractions of lung slices from starved rats as compared with fed controls. 3. Incorporation of citrate by lung cytosol preparations into fatty acids was decreased by approx. 35% in the starved rats. The apparent inhibition by avidin of fatty acid synthesis was overcome partially by preincubation of lung cytosol preparations with biotin. These results are consistent with the presence in lung tissue of the malonyl-CoA pathway for fatty acid synthesis. 4. Lung citrate-cleavage enzyme activity decreased in rats that had been starved for 72h whereas malate dehydrogenase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activities remained unchanged. The results suggest that the pattern of utilization of lipid precursors by rat lung may be altered during various nutritional states.     

Hormonal regulation of adipose-tissue acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase by changes in the polymeric state of the enzyme. The role of long-chain fatty acyl-coenzyme A thioesters and citrate

1. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity was measured in extracts of rat epididymal fat-pads either on preparation of the extracts (initial activity) or after incubation of the extracts with citrate (total activity). In the presence of glucose or fructose, brief exposure of pads to insulin increased the initial activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase; no increase occurred in the absence of substrate. Adrenaline in the presence of glucose and insulin decreased the initial activity. None of these treatments led to a substantial change in the total activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase. A large decrease in the initial activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase also occurred with fat-pads obtained from rats that had been starved for 36h although the total activity was little changed by this treatment. 2. Conditions of high-speed centrifugation were found which appear to permit the separation of the polymeric and protomeric forms of the enzyme in fat-pad extracts. After the exposure of the fat-pads to insulin (in the presence of glucose), the proportion of the enzyme in the polymeric form was increased, whereas exposure to adrenaline (in the presence of glucose and insulin) led to a decrease in enzyme activity. 3. These changes are consistent with a role of citrate (as activator) or fatty acyl-CoA thioesters (as inhibitors) in the regulation of the enzyme by insulin and adrenaline; no evidence that the effects of these hormones involve phosphorylation or dephosphorylation of the enzyme could be found. 4. Changes in the whole tissue concentration of citrate and fatty acyl-CoA thioesters were compared with changes in the initial activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase under a variety of conditions of incubation. No correlation between the citrate concentration and the initial enzyme activity was evident under any condition studied. Except in fat-pads which were exposed to insulin there was little inverse correlation between the concentration in the tissue of fatty acyl-CoA thioesters and the initial activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase. 5. It is suggested that changes in the concentration of free fatty acyl-CoA thioesters (which may not be reflected in whole tissue concentrations of these metabolites) may be important in the regulation of the activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase. The possibility is discussed that the concentration of free fatty acyl-CoA thioesters may be controlled by binding to a specific protein with properties similar to albumin.     

Coordinate regulation of malonyl-CoA decarboxylase,sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase,and acetyl-CoA carboxylase by AMP-activated protein kinase in rat tissues in response to exercise

Changes in the concentration of malonyl-CoA in many tissues have been related to alterations in the activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), the rate-limiting enzyme in its formation. In contrast, little is known about the physiological role of malonyl-CoA decarboxylase (MCD), an enzyme responsible for malonyl-CoA catabolism. In this study, we examined the effects of voluntary exercise on MCD activity in rat liver, skeletal muscle, and adipose tissue. In addition, the activity of sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT), which like MCD and ACC can be regulated by AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), was assayed. Thirty min after the completion of a treadmill run, MCD activity was increased approximately 2-fold, malonyl-CoA levels were reduced, and ACC and GPAT activities were diminished by 50% in muscle and liver. These events appeared to be mediated via activation of AMPK since: 1) AMPK activity was concurrently increased by exercise in both tissues; 2) similar findings were observed after the injection of 5-amino 4 imidazole carboxamide, an AMPK activator; 3) changes in the activity of GPAT and ACC paralleled that of MCD; and 4) the increase in MCD activity in muscle was reversed in vitro by incubating immunoprecipitated enzyme from the exercised muscle with protein phosphatase 2A, and it was reproduced by incubating immunopurified MCD from resting muscle with purified AMPK. An unexpected finding was that exercise caused similar changes in the activities of ACC, MCD, GPAT, and AMPK and the concentration of malonyl-CoA in adipose tissue. In conclusion: MCD, GPAT, and ACC are coordinately regulated by AMPK in liver and adipose tissue in response to exercise, and except for GPAT, also in muscle. The results suggest that AMPK activation plays a major role in regulating lipid metabolism in many cells following exercise. They also suggest that in each of them, it acts to increase fatty acid oxidation and decrease its esterification.     

A multienzyme complex for CO2 fixation.

Acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase from Euglena gracilis strain Z was isolated as a component of a multienzyme complex which includes phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and malate dehydrogenase. The multienzyme complex was shown to exist in crude extracts and was purified to a homogeneous protein with a molecular weight of 360,000 by gel filtration. The ratio of the activities of the constituent enzymes was acetyl-CoA carboxylase:phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase:malate dehydrogenase, 1:25:500. The complex is proposed to operate in conjunction with malic enzyme, which is present in Euglena, to facilitate the formation of substrates, malonyl-CoA, and NADPH, for fatty acid biosynthesis. The interaction of the enzymes may represent a means of control of acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity in organisms which do not possess an enzyme subject to allosteric regulation. The acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity from Euglena is unaffected by citrate and isocitrate.     

Malonyl-CoA content and fatty acid oxidation in rat muscle and liver in vivo

Malonyl-CoA acutely regulates fatty acid oxidation in liver in vivo by inhibiting carnitine palmitoyltransferase. Thus rapid increases in the concentration of malonyl-CoA, accompanied by decreases in long-chain fatty acyl carnitine (LCFA-carnitine) and fatty acid oxidation have been observed in liver of fasted-refed rats. It is less clear that it plays a similar role in skeletal muscle. To examine this question, whole body respiratory quotients (RQ) and the concentrations of malonyl-CoA and LCFA-carnitine in muscle were determined in 48-h-starved rats before and at various times after refeeding. RQ values were 0.82 at baseline and increased to 0.93, 1. 0, 1.05, and 1.09 after 1, 3, 12, and 18 h of refeeding, respectively, suggesting inhibition of fat oxidation in all tissues. The increases in RQ at each time point correlated closely (r = 0.98) with increases (50-250%) in the concentration of malonyl-CoA in soleus and gastrocnemius muscles and decreases in plasma FFA and muscle LCFA-carnitine levels. Similar changes in malonyl-CoA and LCFA-carnitine were observed in liver. The increases in malonyl-CoA in muscle during refeeding were not associated with increases in the assayable activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) or decreases in the activity of malonyl-CoA decarboxylase (MCD). The results suggest that, during refeeding after a fast, decreases in fatty acid oxidation occur rapidly in muscle and are attributable both to decreases in plasma FFA and increases in the concentration of malonyl-CoA. They also suggest that the increase in malonyl-CoA in this situation is not due to changes in the assayable activity of either ACC or MCD or an increase in the cytosolic concentration of citrate.     

Simultaneous stimulation of fatty acid synthesis and oxidation in rat hepatocytes by vanadate

When added to the hepatocyte incubation medium, vanadate increased the rate of fatty acid synthesis de novo as well as the activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, whereas it had no effect on the activity of fatty acid synthase. On the other hand, and despite elevating the intracellular levels of malonyl-CoA, vanadate diverted exogenous fatty acids into the oxidation pathway at the expense of the esterification route. This was concomitant to an increase in carnitine palmitoyltransferase I activity. All these effects were not significantly different between periportal and perivenous hepatocytes and were also evident in cells incubated in Ca2(+)-free medium. Nevertheless, Ca2+ ions enhanced carnitine palmitoyltransferase I activity in isolated liver mitochondria. In addition, the effects of vanadate on acetyl-CoA carboxylase and carnitine palmitoyltransferase I were only evident in a permeabilized-cell assay, disappearing upon cell disruption and isolation of the corresponding cell subfraction for enzyme assay. Results show that vanadate exerts specific insulin-like and non-insulin-like effects on hepatic fatty acid metabolism, and suggest that the intracellular concentration of malonyl-CoA is not the only factor responsible for the regulation of the fatty-acid-oxidative process in the liver.     

An analysis of the relationships among obesity, plasma insulin and hepatic lipogenic enzymes in "viable yellow obese" mice (Avy/a).

The development of obesity, hyperinsulinemia and six hepatic lipogenic enzymes in Avy/a mice were compared to that in a/a mice. Correlation between body weight, liver weight, plasma insulin concentration and activities of hepatic enzymes was analyzed. In the Avy/a mice, body weight, liver weight and plasma insulin level increased steadily as the mice aged. In the a/a mice, the change of these three parameters was much slower. Plasma insulin concentration in a/a mice did not increase until eight months of age. Compared with a/a mice, Avy/a mice had higher 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and fatty acid synthetase activities at two months of age; lower citrate cleavage enzyme, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase activities at three months of age; lower citrate cleavage enzyme and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and higher acetyl CoA carboxylase activities at five months of age; and higher malic enzyme, citrate cleavage enzyme and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase activities at eight months of age. There were significant correlations between plasma insulin level and body weight and between plasma insulin level and the activities of malic enzyme and citrate cleavage enzyme in Avy/a mice. The correlation between body weight and malic enzyme and citrate cleavage enzyme activities disappeared after the analysis was adjusted for plasma insulin level.     

Factors involved in changes in hepatic lipogenesis during development of the rat

1. Changes in the activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (EC 6.4.1.2), phosphofructokinase (EC 2.7.1.11), aldolase (EC 4.1.2.13), extramitochondrial aconitate hydratase (EC 4.2.1.3) and NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.42) have been measured in the livers of developing rats from late foetal life to maturity. 2. The effect of altering the weaning time on some enzymes associated with lipogenesis has been studied. Weaning rats at 15 days of age instead of 21 days results in an immediate increase in the activity of ;malic' enzyme (EC 1.1.1.40) whereas the activities of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.49) and ATP citrate lyase (EC 4.1.3.8) did not increase until 4-5 days and acetyl-CoA carboxylase 2-3 days after early weaning. Weaning rats on to an artificial-milk diet led to complete repression of the rise in activity of hepatic enzymes associated with lipogenesis normally found on weaning, except for ;malic' enzyme, which increased in activity after 20 days of age. 3. The effect of intraperitoneal injections of glucagon, cortisol, growth hormone and thyroxine on the same hepatic enzymes has been investigated. Only thyroxine had any effect on enzyme activities and caused a 20-fold increase in ;malic' enzyme activity and a twofold increase in ATP citrate lyase activity. 4. The activities of hepatic glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase and ;malic' enzyme are higher in adult female than in adult male rats and it has been shown that this sex difference in enzyme activities is due to both male and female sex hormones. 5. Hepatic malate, citrate, pyruvate, glucose 6-phosphate and phosphoenolpyruvate concentrations have been measured throughout development. 6. The results are discussed in relation to the dietary and hormonal control of hepatic enzyme activities during development.     

Long-term regulation by theophylline of fatty acid synthetase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase and lipid synthesis in cultured glial cells.

The long-term regulation of fatty acid synthetase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase and of fatty acid and sterol synthesis was studied in C-6 glial cells in culture. When theophylline (10(-3) M) was added to the culture medium of these cells, rates of lipid synthesis from acetate and activities of synthetase and carboxylase became distinctly lower than in cells that were untreated. This effect appeared after approximately 12 h, and after 48 h enzymatic activities were reduced approx. 2-fold and rates of lipid synthesis from acetate 3- to 4-fold. The likelihood that the decrease in fatty acid synthesis from acetate was caused by the decrease in activities of fatty acid synthetase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase was established by several observations. These indicated that the locus of the effect probably did not reside at the level of acetate uptake into the cell, alterations in acetate pool sizes or conversion of acetate to acetyl-CoA. Moreover, de novo fatty acid synthesis was found to be the predominant pathway in these glial cells, whether treated with theophylline or not. The mechanism of the effect of theophylline on fatty acid synthetase was shown by immunochemical techniques to involve an alteration in content of enzyme rather than in catalytic efficiency. The change in content of fatty acid synthetase was shown by isotopic-immunochemical experiments to involve a decrease in synthesis of the enzyme. The mechanism whereby theophylline leads to a decrease in lipogenesis and in the synthesis of fatty acid synthetase may not be mediated entirely by inhibition of phosphodiesterase and an increase in cyclic AMP levels, because dibutyryl cyclic AMP (10(-3) M) only partially reproduced the effect.