Hepatic alpha-oxidation of phytanic acid. A revised pathway

Maternal malnutrition and anaemia in India: dysregulations leading to the 'thin-fat' phenotype in newborns

Maternal and child malnutrition and anaemia remain the leading factors for health loss in India. Low birth weight (LBW) offspring of women suffering from chronic malnutrition and anaemia often exhibit insulin resistance and infantile stunting and wasting, together with increased risk of developing cardiometabolic disorders in adulthood. The resulting self-perpetuating and highly multifactorial disease burden cannot be remedied through uniform dietary recommendations alone. To inform approaches likely to alleviate this disease burden, we implemented a systems-analytical approach that had already proven its efficacy in multiple published studies. We utilised previously published qualitative and quantitative analytical results of rural and urban field studies addressing maternal and infantile metabolic and nutritional parameters to precisely define the range of pathological phenotypes encountered and their individual biological characteristics. These characteristics were then integrated, via extensive literature searches, into metabolic and physiological mechanisms to identify the maternal and foetal metabolic dysregulations most likely to underpin the 'thin-fat' phenotype in LBW infants and its associated pathological consequences. Our analyses reveal hitherto poorly understood maternal nutrition-dependent mechanisms most likely to promote and sustain the self-perpetuating high disease burden, especially in the Indian population. This work suggests that it most probably is the metabolic consequence of 'ill-nutrition' - the recent and rapid dietary shifts to high salt, high saturated fats and high sugar but low micronutrient diets - over an adaptation to 'thrifty metabolism' which must be addressed in interventions aiming to significantly alleviate the leading risk factors for health deterioration in India.

Dietary phytanic acid-induced changes in tissue fatty acid profiles in mice

The aims of this research communication were to investigate the in vivo tissue accumulation of phytanic acid (PA) and any changes in the tissue fatty acid profiles in mice. Previous in vitro studies have demonstrated that PA is a milk component with the potential to cause both beneficial effects on lipid and glucose metabolism and detrimental effects on neuronal cells. However, there is limited information about its in vivo actions. In this study, mice were fed diets containing either 0.00 or 0.05% 3RS, 7R, 11R-PA, which is the isomer found in milk and the human body. After 4 weeks, adipose tissue, liver and brain were harvested and their fatty acid profiles were determined by gas chromatographic analysis. The results showed that PA and its metabolite pristanic acid accumulated in the adipose tissue of PA-fed mice, and that dietary PA decreased the hepatic compositions of several saturated fatty acids such as palmitic acid while increasing the compositions of polyunsaturated fatty acids including linoleic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. However, dietary PA neither accumulated nor had a high impact on the fatty acid profile in the brain. These results suggested that dietary PA could exert its biological activities in adipose tissue and liver, although the brain is relatively less affected by dietary PA. These data provide a basis for understanding the in vivo physiological actions of PA.

Effects of dietary phytol on tissue accumulation of phytanic acid and pristanic acid and on the tissue lipid profiles in mice

Recent in vitro evidence suggests that the phytol-derived fatty acids, phytanic acid (PA) and pristanic acid (PrA), are components of animal products with the potential to cause both beneficial and harmful effects on human health. In this study, we investigated the in vivo tissue accumulation of PA and PrA and the changes in tissue lipid profiles, using mice fed a phytol-containing diet. After 4 weeks of treatment with a diet containing 1.0% phytol, plasma, adipose tissue, liver, and brain were collected and their lipid profiles were biochemically and gas-chromatographically determined. Dietary phytol caused PA and PrA accumulation in the adipose tissue and liver but not in the brain, and reduced plasma and liver triacylglycerol levels. Phytol intake also decreased the fatty acid concentrations in the adipose tissue, especially polyunsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic acid, but increased the concentrations of these fatty acids in the liver. However, dietary phytol had a low impact on the brain lipid profile. This study suggests that dietary phytol intake caused accumulation of PA and PrA and modified lipid profiles in the adipose tissue and liver, but that the brain is an insusceptible tissue to dietary phytol-induced changes.

The acyl-CoA oxidases from the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica: characterization of Aox2p

One of the acyl-CoA oxidases from the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica, acyl-CoA oxidase 2 (Aox2p), has been expressed in Escherichia coli as an active, N-terminally tagged (His)(6) fusion protein. The specific activity of the purified enzyme, containing FAD, was 19.7 micromolmin(-1)mg(-1) using myristoyl-CoA as substrate. Using substrates with different chain lengths and different substituents, its kinetic properties were further analyzed. Straight-chain acyl-CoAs, with a chain length of 10-14C, are well oxidized, reflecting the properties of Aox2p as deduced from in vivo studies. Acyl-CoAs containing more than 14C were also desaturated, if their concentration was below 25 microM or if proteins capable of binding these CoA-esters, such as albumin or beta-casein, were added to the assay. These long-chain acyl-CoAs, although poor substrates, acted as competitors for the short- and medium-chain substrates. Compared to palmitoyl-CoA, activity toward hexadecadioyl-CoA, containing a omega-carboxy group, was similar. Taken together, these data suggest that micelles of long-chain acyl-CoAs are able to bind and inhibit Aox2p. The enzyme was also active toward acyl-CoA-esters containing a 2-methyl group, but only the 2S isomer was recognized.