Membrane-bound lipid particles from beef heart. Chemical composition and structure

Structure and properties of oil bodies in diatoms

Diatoms accumulate triacylglycerols in spherical organelles called oil bodies when exposed to nutrient deprivation conditions. Oil body biology in diatoms has attracted significant attention due to the complexity of the intracellular organelles and the unique combination of genes generated by the evolutionary history of secondary endosymbiosis. The demand for biofuel production has further increased the interest in and importance of a better understanding of oil body biology in diatoms, because it could provide targets for genetic engineering to further enhance their promising lipid accumulation. This review describes recent progress in studies of the structure and properties of diatom oil bodies. Firstly, the general features of diatom oil bodies are described, in particular, their number, size and morphology, as well as the quantity and quality of lipids they contain. Subsequently, the diatom oil body-associated proteins, which were recently discovered through oil body proteomics, are introduced. Then, the metabolic pathways responsible for the biogenesis and degradation of diatom oil bodies are summarized. During biogenesis and degradation, oil bodies interact with other organelles, including chloroplasts, the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria, suggesting their dynamic nature in response to environmental changes. Finally, the functions of oil bodies in diatoms are discussed.This article is part of the themed issue 'The peculiar carbon metabolism in diatoms'.

Microalgal lipid droplets: composition, diversity, biogenesis and functions

Lipid droplet is the major site of neutral lipid storage in eukaryotic cells, and increasing evidence show its involvement in numerous cellular processes such as lipid homeostasis, signaling, trafficking and inter-organelle communications. Although the biogenesis, structure, and functions of lipid droplets have been well documented for seeds of vascular plants, mammalian adipose tissues, insects and yeasts, relative little is known about lipid droplets in microalgae. Over the past 5 years, the growing interest of microalgae as a platform for biofuel, green chemicals or value-added polyunsaturated fatty acid production has brought algal lipid droplets into spotlight. Studies conducted on the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and other model microalgae such as Haematococcus and Nannochloropsis species have led to the identification of proteins associated with lipid droplets, which include putative structural proteins different from plant oleosins and animal perilipins, as well as candidate proteins for lipid biosynthesis, mobilization, trafficking and homeostasis. Biochemical and microscopy studies have also started to shed light on the role of chloroplasts in the biogenesis of lipid droplets in Chlamydomonas.

Plant natural products as an anti-lipid droplets accumulation agent

Recently people often suffer from unhealthy energy metabolism balance as they tend to take more energy than required. Normally, excess energy taken in is converted into triglyceride and stored in adipocyte as lipid droplets. Recent studies have suggested that irregular accumulation of triglyceride in adipocyte might be a cause of many metabolic diseases. Thus, the awareness of the detrimental effects on health of excessive lipid droplets accumulation (LDA) has urged the development or finding of drugs to counter this effect, including those from botanical origins. This review summarized recent progress in this field from the viewpoint of crude drug studies with references to their anti-LDA activity. Possible mechanisms involved in their anti-LDA effect and isolations of the relevant bioactive compounds were also discussed.

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Associated Lipid Droplet Formation and Type II Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus (DM), a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia, is caused by insufficient insulin production due to excessive loss of pancreatic β cells (type I diabetes) or impaired insulin signaling due to peripheral insulin resistance (type II diabetes). Pancreatic β cell is the only insulin-secreting cell type that has highly developed endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to cope with high demands of insulin synthesis and secretion. Therefore, ER homeostasis is crucial to the proper function of insulin signaling. Accumulating evidence suggests that deleterious ER stress and excessive intracellular lipids in nonadipose tissues, such as myocyte, cardiomyocyte, and hepatocyte, cause pancreatic β-cell dysfunction and peripheral insulin resistance, leading to type II diabetes. The excessive deposition of lipid droplets (LDs) in specialized cell types, such as adipocytes, hepatocytes, and macrophages, has been found as a hallmark in ER stress-associated metabolic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, fatty liver disease, and atherosclerosis. However, much work remains to be done in understanding the mechanism by which ER stress response regulates LD formation and the pathophysiologic role of ER stress-associated LD in metabolic disease. This paper briefly summarizes the recent advances in ER stress-associated LD formation and its involvement in type II diabetes.

Retinyl ester storage particles (retinosomes) from the retinal pigmented epithelium resemble lipid droplets in other tissues

Levels of many hydrophobic cellular substances are tightly regulated because of their potential cytotoxicity. These compounds tend to self-aggregate in cytoplasmic storage depots termed lipid droplets/bodies that have well defined structures that contain additional components, including cholesterol and various proteins. Hydrophobic substances in these structures become mobilized in a specific and regulated manner as dictated by cellular requirements. Retinal pigmented epithelial cells in the eye produce retinyl ester-containing lipid droplets named retinosomes. These esters are mobilized to replenish the visual chromophore, 11-cis-retinal, and their storage ensures proper visual function despite fluctuations in dietary vitamin A intake. But it remains unclear whether retinosomes are structures specific to the eye or similar to lipid droplets in other organs/tissues that contain substances other than retinyl esters. Thus, we initially investigated the production of these lipid droplets in experimental cell lines expressing lecithin:retinol acyltransferase, a key enzyme involved in formation of retinyl ester-containing retinosomes from all-trans-retinol. We found that retinosomes and oleate-derived lipid droplets form and co-localize concomitantly, indicating their intrinsic structural similarities. Next, we isolated native retinosomes from bovine retinal pigmented epithelium and found that their protein and hydrophobic small molecular constituents were similar to those of lipid droplets reported for other experimental cell lines and tissues. These unexpected findings suggest a common mechanism for lipid droplet formation that exhibits broad chemical specificity for the hydrophobic substances being stored.

Arf1-dependent PLD1 is localized to oleic acid-induced lipid droplets in NIH3T3 cells

Phospholipase D (PLD) is known to play a role in vesicle transport through the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine (PC) to produce the bioactive lipid, phosphatidic acid. Lipid droplets (LDs) are surrounded by a monolayer of phospholipids, including PC and its lyso derivative, and exhibit a number of signaling proteins. Our recent report suggests that the association of adipose differentiation-related protein (ADRP) to LDs is regulated by an ADP-ribosylation factor 1 (Arf1)-dependent mechanism. In the present study, we found an increase in PLD activity accompanied with LD formation in oleic acid-treated NIH3T3 cells. Brefeldin A, an inhibitor of ARF-GEFs, suppressed both PLD activation and LD formation in oleic acid-treated cells. PLD1, but not PLD2, was found to exist in LDs by immunocytochemical analysis. Furthermore, co-existence of PLD1, Arf1, and ADRP was observed in the LD-enriched subcellular fractions obtained from oleic acid-treated NIH3T3 cells by Western blot analysis. PLD1 activity in the LD-enriched fractions was stimulated by exogenously added Arf1. Although LDs were induced in either PLD1- or PLD2-overexpressing CHO cells by oleic acid treatment, the stimulation of PLD activity was observed only in PLD1-CHO cells. Taken together, the data suggest that the activation of Arf1-dependent PLD1 occurs in LDs and may be involved in their physiological function.

Identification of major proteins in the lipid droplet-enriched fraction isolated from the human hepatocyte cell line HuH7

Recent studies have revealed the presence of intracellular lipid droplets in wide variety of species. In mammalian cells, there exist proteins specifically localize in lipid droplets. However, the protein profile in the droplet remains yet to be clarified. In this study, a fraction enriched with lipid droplets was isolated from a human hepatocyte cell line HuH7 using sucrose density gradient centrifugation, and 17 major proteins in the fraction were identified using nano LC-MS/MS techniques. Adipose differentiation-related protein (ADRP) was the most abundant protein in the fraction. The secondary abundant proteins were identified to be acyl-CoA synthetase 3 (ACS3) and 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 11 (17betaHSD11). Included in the identified proteins were five lipid-metabolizing enzymes as well as two lipid droplet-specific proteins. When HuH7 cell lysate was fractionated by a density gradient, most of 17betaHSD11 was found in the droplet-enriched fraction. In immunocytochemical analysis, 17betaHSD11 showed ring-shaped images which overlapped with those for ADRP. These results suggest that a specific set of proteins is enriched in the lipid droplet-enriched fraction and that 17betaHSD11 localizes specifically in the fraction.

Serial changes in BMIPP uptake in relation to thallium uptake in the rat myocardium after ischaemia

Several clinical studies have shown that iodine-123 labelled 15-(p-iodophenyl)-3-(R, S)-methylpentadecanoic acid (BMIPP) uptake is often lower than the uptake of perfusion tracers in patients with ischaemic heart disease. However, BMIPP accumulation may not decrease during the acute phase of a stunned myocardium in patients with acute coronary syndrome. We evaluated serial changes in BMIPP and perfusion tracer uptake in the myocardium after ischaemia. We performed a 20-min left coronary artery occlusion followed by reperfusion in male Wistar rats. One hour after the reperfusion, echocardiography was performed. Intravenous injection of iodine-125 labelled BMIPP and thallium-201 was performed 1 day (acute group) and 5 days (subacute group) after the operation. To determine the myocardial distribution of 125I-BMIPP and 201Tl, dual-tracer autoradiography was conducted. We identified regions of interest in the anterolateral wall as an area at risk and in the inferoseptum as a remote control area. The anterolateral wall/inferoseptum ratio (A/I ratio) was calculated to compare the distributions of 125I-BMIPP and 201Tl. Coronary occlusion induced hypokinesia in the anterolateral region 1 h after the reperfusion. The A/I ratio of 125I-BMIPP was significantly higher than that of 201Tl in the acute group (1.01 +/- 0.15 vs 0.80 +/- 0.23, P<0.001). On the other hand, there was no significant difference between the A/I ratios of 125I-BMIPP and 201Tl in the subacute group (0.88 +/- 0.18 vs 0.85 +/- 0.18). Two rats showed a significantly lower A/I ratio of 125I-BMIPP than 201Tl in the subacute phase. These data suggest that BMIPP uptake is preserved despite a decrease in perfusion in the acute phase after ischaemia. In the subacute phase, on the other hand, BMIPP uptake is similar to or even lower than thallium uptake. Since BMIPP uptake may change with time after ischaemia, careful interpretation of BMIPP uptake after ischaemia is required in a clinical setting.

Alteration in the cytosolic triacylglycerol biosynthetic machinery leads to decreased cell growth and triacylglycerol synthesis in oleaginous yeast

Altered nutrient content (levels of glucose) caused a drastic reduction in cell growth and triacylglycerol (TAG) production in the wild-type (WT) Rhodotorula glutinis. This was due to the decreased level of synthesis of TAG biosynthetic enzymes, reflected by a reduction in enzyme activity. A similar observation was made in the case of non-lethal mutants of TAG-deficient oleaginous yeast, namely TAG1 and TAG2, which were generated by ethyl methane sulphonate mutagenesis. Metabolic labelling of TAG-deficient cells with [(14)C]acetate, [(32)P]orthophosphate and [(14)C]mevalonate showed a negligible TAG formation with minimal alterations in phospholipid and sterol compositions. Assays on the activities of cytosolic TAG biosynthetic enzymes revealed that lysophosphatidic acid and diacylglycerol acyltransferases (ATs) were defective in TAG1 and TAG2 respectively. The activity of membrane-bound isoforms of TAG biosynthetic enzymes remains unaltered in the mutants. Analysis of cytosolic TAG biosynthetic enzymes by immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation indicated that the defective ATs were a part of the TAG biosynthetic multienzyme complex. Quantitatively, the cytosolic lysophosphatidic acid-AT was comparable between TAG1 and the WT. However, diacylglycerol-AT was relatively less in TAG2 than the WT. These results demonstrated that either by decreasing the nutrient content or mutating the enzymes of the soluble TAG biosynthetic pathway, TAG production was decreased with concomitant reduction in the cell growth.

Intracellular lipid particles of eukaryotic cells

In this review article we describe characterization of intracellular lipid particles of three different eukaryotic species, namely mammalian cells, plants and yeast. Lipid particles of all types of cells share a general structure. A hydrophobic core of neutral lipids is surrounded by a membrane monolayer of phospholipids which contains a minor amount of proteins. Whereas lipid particles from mammalian cells and plants harbor specific classes of polypeptides, mainly perilipins and oleosins, respectively, yeast lipid particles contain a more complex set of enzymes which are involved in lipid biosynthesis. Function of lipid particles as storage compartment and metabolic organelle, and their interaction with other subcellular fractions are discussed. Furthermore, models for the biogenesis of lipid particles are presented and compared among the different species.

Absence of cardiolipin in the crd1 null mutant results in decreased mitochondrial membrane potential and reduced mitochondrial function

Cardiolipin (CL) is a unique phospholipid which is present throughout the eukaryotic kingdom and is localized in mitochondrial membranes. Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells containing a disruption of CRD1, the structural gene encoding CL synthase, have no CL in mitochondrial membranes. To elucidate the physiological role of CL, we compared mitochondrial functions in the crd1Delta mutant and isogenic wild type. The crd1Delta mutant loses viability at elevated temperature, and prolonged culture at 37 degrees C leads to loss of the mitochondrial genome. Mutant membranes have increased phosphatidylglycerol (PG) when grown in a nonfermentable carbon source but have almost no detectable PG in medium containing glucose. In glucose-grown cells, maximum respiratory rate, ATPase and cytochrome oxidase activities, and protein import are deficient in the mutant. The ADP/ATP carrier is defective even during growth in a nonfermentable carbon source. The mitochondrial membrane potential is decreased in mutant cells. The decrease is more pronounced in glucose-grown cells, which lack PG, but is also apparent in membranes containing PG (i.e. in nonfermentable carbon sources). We propose that CL is required for maintaining the mitochondrial membrane potential and that reduced membrane potential in the absence of CL leads to defects in protein import and other mitochondrial functions.

Identification and characterization of major lipid particle proteins of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Lipid particles of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae were isolated at high purity, and their proteins were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Major lipid particle proteins were identified by mass spectrometric analysis, and the corresponding open reading frames (ORFs) were deduced. In silicio analysis revealed that all lipid particle proteins contain several hydrophobic domains but none or only few (hypothetical) transmembrane spanning regions. All lipid particle proteins identified by function so far, such as Erg1p, Erg6p, and Erg7p (ergosterol biosynthesis) and Faa1p, Faa4p, and Fat1p (fatty acid metabolism), are involved in lipid metabolism. Based on sequence homology, another group of three lipid particle proteins may be involved in lipid degradation. To examine whether lipid particle proteins of unknown function are also involved in lipid synthesis, mutants with deletions of the respective ORFs were constructed and subjected to systematic lipid analysis. Deletion of YDL193w resulted in a lethal phenotype which could not be suppressed by supplementation with ergosterol or fatty acids. Other deletion mutants were viable under standard conditions. Strains with YBR177c, YMR313c, and YKL140w deleted exhibited phospholipid and/or neutral lipid patterns that were different from the wild-type strain and thus may be further candidate ORFs involved in yeast lipid metabolism.

1H NMR spectroscopic imaging of myocardial triglycerides in excised dog hearts subjected to 24 hours of coronary occlusion

BACKGROUND

Myocardial ischemic insult causes depression of fatty-acid beta-oxidation and increased fatty-acid esterification with triglyceride (TG) accumulation. This accumulation has been demonstrated to occur in the territory with diminished blood flow surrounding an infarct, ie, the region at risk. To evaluate whether the extent of TG accumulation in the canine heart after 24 hours of ischemia could be detected, we applied myocardial 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic imaging (SI).

METHODS AND RESULTS

Seven adult mongrel dogs underwent 24 hours of left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion. Postmortem, the hearts were excised and the size and location of the infarct were determined. With a Philips 1.5-T clinical NMR imaging/spectroscopic system, two-dimensional (2D) 1H NMR SI was performed. TG 1H NMR chemical shift images were reconstructed from the frequency domain spectra by numerical integration. A statistically significant (P < .05) increase in TG signal intensity was demonstrated in the region at risk compared with the nonischemic control region. There was an intermediate quantity of TG in the infarct region. Biochemical determination of tissue TG content (milligrams per gram wet weight) in the control, at-risk, and infarct regions confirmed the 1H NMR measurements. Histological evaluation with oil red O staining also demonstrated graded TG accumulation in myocytes. The highest TG levels were found in the at-risk region and the lowest levels in the control region.

CONCLUSIONS

By use of 2D 1H NMR SI, the present study confirms and extends previous work that demonstrates preferential accumulation of TG in the reversibly injured myocardium after 24 hours of coronary occlusion. This study provides an important step toward the clinical application of TG imaging. When TG imaging is ultimately possible, resultant data would have diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic implications.

Characterization of lipid particles of the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Lipid particles of the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, were isolated to high purity and their components were analysed. The hydrophobic core of this organelle consists of triacylglycerols and steryl esters, which are almost exclusively located to that compartment. Lipid particles are stabilized by a surface membrane consisting of phospholipids and proteins. Electron microscopy confirmed the purity of the preparations and the proposed structure deduced from biochemical experiments. Major proteins of lipid particles have molecular weights of 72, 52, 43 and 34 kDa, respectively. The 43 kDa protein reacts with an antiserum against human apolipoprotein AII. In lipid particles of the yeast mutant strain S. cerevisiae erg6, which is deficient in sterol delta 24-methyltransferase, this protein is missing thereby identifying the protein and confirming our previous finding (Zinser et al., 1993) that sterol delta 24-methylation is associated with lipid particles. A possible involvement of surface proteins of lipid particles in the interaction with other organelles is discussed with respect to sterol translocation in yeast.

Composition and morphology of lipid droplets from oviduct epithelial cells

This study was undertaken to determine the composition and morphology of lipid droplets in situ and isolated from oviductal epithelial cells and oviductal fluid. Oviductal epithelial cells were harvested enzymatically from oviducts of cows in either the luteal or the follicular stages of the ovarian cycle. Lipid droplets were isolated from cellular homogenates and characterized biochemically using thin layer chromatography. The morphology of lipid droplets in oviductal epithelial cells and in fractions isolated by ultracentrifugation from cellular homogenates was examined by electron microscopy. Lipid droplets isolated from oviduct epithelial cells varied in composition with the ovarian cycle and the oviductal region. There was more total lipid in droplets isolated from cows in the luteal than follicular phase of the ovarian cycle. Most of this difference was due to large amounts of esterified cholesterol present in the samples from luteal-stage animals. The most esterified cholesterol was found in droplets isolated from the oviductal isthmus of luteal cows. Droplets similar in lipid composition to those isolated from epithelial cells were found in oviductal fluid. Four distinct types of lipid inclusions were evident in electron micrographs of oviductal epithelia and characterized as osmiophilic droplets, lipofuscin-like clusters, lamellar structures, and composite bodies. All of the lipid inclusions were found in droplet isolates except for the extracted lipid portion of the composite body. The presence and diversity of oviduct epithelial lipid inclusions suggest that the oviductal epithelium may be very active in lipid metabolism, particularly cholesterol dynamics.

Involvement of lysosome-like particles in the metabolism of endogenous myocardial triglycerides during ischemia/reperfusion. Uptake and degradation of triglycerides by lysosomes isolated from rat heart

The hormonal regulation and enzymatic basis of endogenous lipolysis in heart are not yet completely elucidated. The lysosomal fraction from rat heart appeared to be markedly enriched in triglycerides and a significant reduction in triglycerides in this fraction was found after prolonged perfusion or stimulation of lipolysis with glucagon. The enhanced rate of lipolysis, measured as glycerol release from the isolated perfused rat heart, was abolished 10-15 min after continuous glucagon administration. Omission of glucagon for another 60 min restored the ability of glucagon to stimulate lipolysis, indicating the limited availability of endogenous triglycerides and the presence of a transfer-system for triglycerides from a non-metabolically active pool to a metabolically active pool. The enhanced lipolysis induced by low-flow ischemia was found to be inhibited by the lysosomotropic agent methylamine (5 mM). Methylamine-perfusion during low-flow ischemia was accompanied by an increased recovery of myocardial triglycerides in the lysosomal fraction. The possible role of lysosome-like particles in myocardial triglyceride homeostasis was further investigated by studying the kinetics of uptake and degradation of labeled triglycerides by membrane-particles recovered in the subcellular fraction enriched with lysosomal marker enzymes. It appeared that isolated lysosomal membranes take up added triglycerides at an average rate of 30 nmoles/min/g protein. The bulk of these triglycerides taken up is stored whereas 20% is degraded to diglycerides and free fatty acids. More than 90% of the free fatty acids formed were released from the lysosomes into the supernatant. The uptake and degradation of triglyceride-filled liposomes by isolated myocardial lysosomes was inhibited during incubation with methylamine (5 mM). On the other hand, a lowering of pH during in vitro incubation increased the rate of uptake and degradation of added triglycerides by isolated lysosomes. These results indicate that lysosomes or lysosome-like particles are involved in the enhanced lipolysis during myocardial ischemia.

Studies on the involvement of lipolytic enzymes in endogenous lipolysis of the isolated rat heart

Rat hearts were depleted in vivo from both the heparin-releasable lipoprotein lipase and heparin-resistant tissue neutral triacylglycerol lipase activity by treatment of the animals with cycloheximide (2 mg/kg body weight), intraperitoneally injected 2.5 and 5 h prior to perfusion. The tissue acid lipase, mono- and diacylglycerol lipase activities were not affected by cycloheximide-induced inhibition of protein synthesis. Myocardial basal and glucagon-stimulated lipolysis, determined by the rate of glycerol production and release from the isolated hearts, was not significantly different in control and cycloheximide-treated rats. Tissue triacylglycerols were recovered with the highest relative specific distribution in the lysosomal fraction isolated from heart homogenates. Upon prolongation of the perfusion-duration the relative specific distribution of triacylglycerols in the lysosomal fraction decreased. In addition, the specific lysosomal triacylglycerol content (micrograms/mg protein) dropped significantly, indicating an important role of lysosomes in myocardial triacylglycerol turnover. Our data strongly suggest that the heparin-resistant neutral triacylglycerol lipase activity may not be the only determinant of endogenous lipolysis in the isolated rat heart and indicate that lipolysis may additionally be mediated by the lysosomal, acid lipase in concert with the microsomal mono-and diacylglycerol lipase.

Evidence for the existence of only one triacylglycerol lipase of rat liver active at alkaline pH

There have been numerous reports suggesting the existence of two or more lipases in liver capable of hydrolyzing triacylglycerols at neutral to alkaline pH. We set out to determine if rat liver contains an alkaline triacylglycerol lipase, in addition to heparin-releasable lipase, which has an intracellular localization. We report here the results of studies concerning the pH dependence, subcellular localization and kinetic analysis of the alkaline lipase(s) of rat liver. Homogenates and cytosolic, microsomal and plasma membrane-enriched subfractions all exhibited an optimum of lipase activity at approx. pH 8.0. In no case was there evidence of multiple pH optima in the alkaline ranges of conformity to Michaelis-Menten kinetics were calculated for the microsomal (0.91 +/- 0.12 mM), cytosolic (1.55 +/- 0.38 mM) and plasma membrane-enriched (1.02 +/- 0.04 mM) subfractions. To determine if the com- and subfractions prepared from control livers with those prepared from livers perfused with collagenase. The loss (93%) of lipase activity from both the cytosolic and microsomal subfractions after collagenase perfusion was identical to the loss (93%) of activity from the homogenates, suggesting a common origin with the collagenase-sensitive alkaline lipase on plasma membrane. The characteristics of hydrolysis in vitro of triacylglycerol contained in artificial and natural substrate preparations by the alkaline lipase of rat liver were examined. The artificial substrate preparation was emulsified tri[1-14C]oleoylglycerol prepared by sonication and the natural substrate preparation was a triacylglycerol-rich lipid fraction ('liver fat') prepared from rat liver homogenates. Although the curves were complex, apparent Km values (mean +/- S.W., n = 3-6) over the limited concentration ranges of conformity to Michaelis-Menten kinetics were calculated for the microsomal (0.91 +/- 0.12 mM), cytosolic (1.55 +/- 0.38 mM) and plasma membrane-enriched (1.02 +/- 0.04 mM) subfractions. To determine if the complexity of these kinetics was related to changes in the products of lipolysis, we examined the products after incubations of plasma membrane-enriched fractions with lower and higher concentrations of triacylglycerol. In either case, the products of lipolysis were diacylglycerol, fatty acids and glycerol; no monoacylglycerol accumulated under any circumstances. At the lower concentrations of either tri[1-14C]oleoylglycerol or liver fat, most triacylglycerol hydrolyzed was degraded fully to fatty acids and glycerol. At the higher triacylglycerol concentrations, while complete degradation continued, virtually all of the increased lipolysis of triacylglycerol (over the lipolysis at the lower substrate concentrations) yielded diacylglycerol. The data indicated that the hydrolysis of diacylglycerol by the alkaline lipase of rat liver occurred at a rate slower than that of triacylglycerol. If the same enzyme catalyzes the lipolysis of both tri- and diacylglycerols, triacylglycerols would appear to be preferred...

Alteration of the lipase activities of muscle, adipose tissue and liver by rapeseed oil feeding of rats

Feeding rapeseed oil, rich in erucic acid, for 4 days results in a significant increase of the lipoprotein lipase activities of heart and adipose tissue. The lipase activity of liver, which in earlier studies has been shown to be releasable by heparin perfusion, also increases by the dietary regimen. The increased lipoprotein lipase activity of heart may contribute to lipid accumulation in this organ. The higher intracellular lipid store probably results in higher (hormone-sensitive) tissue lipase activity. The increase of lipoprotein lipase of adipose tissue, however, is not accompanied by an increase of hormone-stimulated tissue lipase activity in fat cells. This activity may even become lower, and might contribute to the decrease of the lipid store in heart after an initial rapid phase of fat accumulation during erucic acid feeding.

Triacylglycerol synthesis in lipid particles from baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae)

Triacylglycerol synthesis has been studied in a lipid particle preparation of baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), and compared with the synthesis in other subcellular fractions. Fatty acid-CoA ligase (AMP) (EC 6.2.1.3) activity and sn-glycerol 3-phosphate acyltransferase activity (EC 2.3.1.15) were present in all the subcellular fractions tested but the highest specific activities of both enzymes were observed with the lipid particle fraction. The products of the glycerol 3-phosphate acylation indicate that triacyglycerol synthesis proceeds through the phosphatidic acid pathway. However, only a small and nearly constant amount of lysophosphatidic acid was found with the lipid particle fraction while the other subcellular fraction produced lysophosphatidic and phosphatidic acid with a more pronounced precursor/product relationship. Triacylglycerol synthesis from endogenous diacylglycerol present in the lipid particle was also demonstrated.

Distribution of cholesteryl esters and other lipids in subcellular fractions of the adrenal gland of the pig

Total lipids from whole pig adrenal glands as well as from their mitochondria, microsomes, liposomes, and cell sap were extracted and fractionated first into neutral lipids and phospholipids. The highest percentage of neutral lipids was found in the cell sap, and the lowest in the microsomal fraction. Neutral lipids were subfractionated into cholesteryl esters, free cholesterol, triglycerides, and free fatty acids. Cholesteryl esters were distributed throughout the liposomes. Free fatty acids represented a substantial part of cell sap lipids, but were present also in the mitochondria, microsomes, and liposomes. Fatty acids of all fractions were analyzed by gas liquid chromatography. Free fatty acids and cholesteryl ester fatty acids from all cellular fractions were similar in composition and were characterized by considerable quantities of linoleic and arachidonic acid. Triglycerides were characterized by an increased percentage of palmitic and a low content of arachidonic acid. Phosphatidyl choline, phosphatidyl ethanolamine, diphosphatidyl glycerol, and sphingomyelin plus phosphatidyl inositol were isolated from the lipids by preparative thin layer chromatography, and their fatty acids analyzed by gas liquid chromatography. Phosphatidyl choline and phosphatidyl ethanolamine from mitochondria, microsomes, and cell sap were very similar in respect of their fatty acid composition. Sphingomyelin plus phosphatidyl inositol was characterized by a high content of C22:2omega6. Diphosphatidyl glycerol was present in mitochondria and in the cell sap.

Membrane-bounded lipid particles from beef heart acylglycerol synthesis

The site for the synthesis of triacylglycerol in heart muscle has been the subject of this study. Acyl-CoA synthetase and glycerophosphate acyltransferase, enzymest necessary for the synthesis of triacylglycerol, have been found to be associated to membrane-bounded lipid particles. The acylglycerol synthesizing enzymes exhibit higher activities in the membrane-bounded lipid particles than in the mitochondrial or microsomal fractions. Futhermore, the lipid particles have the greater capacity for synthesis of diacylglycerols and triacylglycerols, whereas monoacylgly cerols are the major neutral lipid product in both the mitochondrial and the microsomal fractions. The results indicate that the membrane-bounded lipid particle may be the site for the synthesis as well as for the storage of intracellular triacylglycerol of the heart.