Further studies on the inhibition of acetate metabolism by propionate

Carnitine and derivatives in rat tissues

1. Free carnitine, acetylcarnitine, short-chain acylcarnitine and acid-insoluble carnitine (probably long-chain acylcarnitine) have been measured in rat tissues. 2. Starvation caused an increase in the proportion of carnitine that was acetylated in liver and kidney; at least in liver fat-feeding had the same effect, whereas a carbohydrate diet caused a very low acetylcarnitine content. 3. In heart, on the other hand, starvation did not cause an increase in the acetylcarnitine/carnitine ratio, whereas fat-feeding caused a decrease. The acetylcarnitine content of heart was diminished by alloxan-diabetes or a fatty diet, but not by re-feeding with carbohydrate. 4. Under conditions of increased fatty acid supply the acid-insoluble carnitine content was increased in heart, liver and kidney. 5. The acylation state of carnitine was capable of very rapid change. Concentrations of carnitine derivatives varied with different methods of obtaining tissue samples, and very little acid-insoluble carnitine was found in tissues of rats anaesthetized with Nembutal. In liver the acetylcarnitine (and acetyl-CoA) content decreased if freezing of tissue samples was delayed; in heart this caused an increase in acetylcarnitine. 6. Incubation of diaphragms with acetate or dl-beta-hydroxybutyrate caused the acetylcarnitine content to become elevated. 7. Perfusion of hearts with fatty acids containing an even number of carbon atoms, dl-beta-hydroxybutyrate or pyruvate resulted in increased contents of acetylcarnitine and acetyl-CoA. Accumulation of these acetyl compounds was prevented by the additional presence of propionate or pentanoate in the perfusion medium; this prevention was not due to extensive propionylation of CoA or carnitine. 8. Perfusion of hearts with palmitate caused a severalfold increase in the content of acid-insoluble carnitine; this increase did not occur when propionate was also present. 9. Comparison of the acetylation states of carnitine and CoA in perfused hearts suggests that the carnitine acetyltransferase reactants may remain near equilibrium despite wide variations in their steady-state concentrations. This is not the case with the citrate synthase reaction. It is suggested that the carnitine acetyltransferase system buffers the tissue content of acetyl-CoA against rapid changes.

Endocrine changes with infusion of propionate in the dairy cow

Sodium propionate (2.5 mmol/kg) was infused rapidly via a jugular vein into each of 13 multiparous Holstein cows at 7 wk postpartum for observation of clearance of propionate. Associated concentration changes of acetate and glucose in blood plasma and glucagon and insulin in blood serum were quantified. This dose elevated concentrations of propionate, which declined subsequently at an exponential rate (.108 min-1). Concentrations of glucagon and insulin were increased in the sampling immediately following infusion, yet subsequent decline of insulin concentrations acted to decrease the molar ratio of insulin:glucagon as propionate returned to preinfusion concentrations. Analysis of sample means disclosed a negative correlation -.82 between glucose and molar ratio of insulin:glucagon. These experimental observations suggest that a supraphysiological dose of propionate has an immediate effect on the pancreas to alter endocrine secretion in the lactating cow.

Short chain acyl-CoA synthetases in ovine rumen epithelium

The activation of and interactions between physiological concentration of acetate, propionate, and butyrate are reported. A partially purified shortchain acyl-CoA synthetase has been prepared from ovine rumen epithelium and its kinetic properties characterised. These properties suggest the activation of volatile fatty acids by two short-chain acyl-CoA synthetases. One is capable of activating acetateactivating acetate, propionate and butyrate and the other will only accept butyrate as a substrate.

Activation of volatile fatty acids in bovine liver and rumen epithelium. Evidence for control by autoregulation

1. The total capacities of homogenates of bovine liver and rumen epithelium to activate acetate, propionate and butyrate were determined. 2. Activating capacities were assayed by measuring the rate of formation of the corresponding CoA esters. The methods used for determining the concentrations of the CoA esters allowed the CoA esters of acetate, propionate and butyrate to be distinguished. It was thus possible to investigate the effect of the presence of a second volatile fatty acid on the rate at which a given volatile fatty acid was activated. 3. The propionate-activating capacity in rumen epithelium was decreased by about 87% in the presence of butyrate, the acetate-activating capacity in liver was decreased by about 55% in the presence of either propionate or butyrate, and the butyrate-activating capacity in liver was decreased by about 40-50% in the presence of propionate. 4. All three activating capacities in liver appeared to be located in the mitochondrial matrix and membrane. The three activating capacities had similar locations to each other in rumen epithelium as well, although in this case activity was more evenly divided between the mitochondria and the cytoplasm. 5. The relative activating capacities towards the volatile fatty acids in the two tissues, together with the ability of one volatile fatty acid to inhibit the activation of another volatile fatty acid, appear to ensure that butyrate is mainly metabolized in the rumen epithelium and that propionate is metabolized in the liver.

Ketogenesis from butyrate and acetate by the caecum and the colon of rabbits

1. When studied in vitro, tissue from the caecum and the proximal colon of rabbits converted butyrate into ketone bodies. The conversion was similar to that observed with liver slices. The ketogenic activity was associated with the mucosa rather than the muscle of the gut wall and, in the colon, diminished as the distance from the caecal-colonic junction increased. 2. Tissue from the wall of the ileum, caecum, proximal colon and distal colon was also shown to metabolize [1-(14)C]butyrate to carbon dioxide. 3. Enzyme assays showed that in both liver tissue and caecal mucosa the activity of hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA synthase was more than ten times that of acetoacetyl-CoA deacylase. Labelling experiments in vitro gave confirmation of the hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA pathway. 4. The significance of the conversion of butyrate into ketone bodies is discussed.

Production within the rumen and removal from the blood-stream of volatile fatty acids in sheep given a diet deficient in cobalt

1. The production and metabolism of volatile fatty acids were studied in sheep offered a cobalt-deficient diet.

2. The molar proportions of acetic (60%), propionic (26%) and butyric (14%) acids in the rumen fluids of sheep given the Co-deficient diet, but whose stores of vitamin B12were adequate, were similar before and after administration of an oral supplement of Co.

3. In pair-fed sheep, one member of which was vitamin B12-deficient and the other (control) treated with vitamin B12parenterally, the concentrations after feeding of both total and individual volatile fatty acids in the blood tended to be higher in deficient than in control sheep.

4. Following injection of the respective salts of individual volatile fatty acids into the blood-stream, formate clearance was apparently not affected, whereas that of acetate was slightly, and that of propionate very significantly, delayed in vitamin B12-deficient sheep compared with pair-fed control animals.

5. Acetate metabolism was retarded in the presence of propionate; the effect was greater in deficient than in pair-fed control sheep.

6. The hypothesis is advanced that it is the failure to metabolize propionate at the normal rate that leads to the progressive loss of appetite in vitamin B12-deficient sheep.

Interactions of acetate, propionate and butyrate in sheep liver mitochondria

1. Interactions in the rates of consumption of acetate, propionate and butyrate in sheep liver mitochondria were examined in the presence and absence of l-malate and alpha-oxoglutarate. 2. Acetate was not consumed in absence of ancillary substrate but utilization of acetate (7.2nmol/min per mg of protein) occurred in the presence of alpha-oxoglutarate. This consumption was abolished by propionate or butyrate but the presence of acetate did not affect consumption of propionate or butyrate. 3. Propionate consumption (10.1nmol/min per mg of protein) was unaffected by malate but was stimulated by 63% by butyrate or by 180% by alpha-oxoglutarate. 4. Butyrate consumption (3.3nmol/min per mg of protein) was stimulated by 117% by malate, by 151% by propionate and by 310% by alpha-oxoglutarate. 5. In the absence of ancillary substrates the maximum rate of total volatile fatty acid utilization (24.7nmol/min per mg of protein) occurred with a mixture of propionate and butyrate. When both propionate and butyrate were present total consumption was not affected by malate but was stimulated by 24% by alpha-oxoglutarate. With alpha-oxoglutarate present, propionate and butyrate each decreased the other's consumption by about 26%, but the total utilization was the greatest observed. 6. The inhibition of acetate consumption by propionate or butyrate is unexplained, but the remaining effects are consistent with an interaction of propionate and butyrate through oxaloacetate together with a general limitation imposed by a need for GTP to rephosphorylate AMP formed during activation of the volatile fatty acids.

EFFECTS OF ALIPHATIC ALCOHOLS ON THE METABOLISM OF GLUCOSE AND FRUCTOSE IN RAT LIVER SLICES

Ethanol, at concentrations up to 3 mM, whilst having little inhibitory effect on the production of respiratory CO2of rat liver slices, has a marked suppressing action on the formation of labelled CO2from labelled glucose. The suppression of C14O2formation by ethanol from radioactive glucose is independent of the concentration of the latter and amounts to 57% with 3 mM ethanol after 1 hour's incubation. The results are consistent with the conclusion that ethanol gives rise more rapidly than glucose to acetyl CoA and that the large suppressing action of ethanol in rat liver slices is due to isotopic dilution of labelled acetyl CoA derived from the labelled sugars with the unlabelled acetyl CoA derived from ethanol. Ethanol exercises a larger inhibition of the rate of C14O2formation from glucose-6-C14than from glucose-1-C14. The difference between the effects of ethanol on C14O2formation from glucose-1-C14and glucose-6-C14is presumably due to operation of the hexosemonophosphate shunt.The higher aliphatic alcohols have about the same diminishing effect on C14O2formation from glucose-U-C14and fructose-U-C14as does ethanol. This observation may also be a consequence of dilution of labelled acetyl CoA derived from the sugars by unlabelled acetyl CoA coming from the added alcohol. Incorporation of radioactive carbon from the labelled sugars into liver proteins and lipids is inhibited by ethanol and higher aliphatic alcohols, and the inhibitions are similar in magnitude to those of C14O2formation. These may be accounted for by isotopic dilution. The amounts of C14incorporated into lipids and proteins from radioactive glucose and fructose are small, being about 1/10th of that appearing in the CO2.The higher aliphatic alcohols suppress total CO2formation during rat liver slice respiration much more than does ethanol at equivalent concentrations.