CHEMICAL STUDIES OF PERIPHERAL NERVE DURING WALLERTAN DEGENERATION?X

Fatty acid biosynthesis in Wallerian degeneration of rat sciatic nerve

In-vitro fatty acid biosynthesis was studied in normal rat sciatic nerve and during wallerian degeneration. Normal nerve incorporated 1,3-C14-malonyl-CoA and 1-C14-acetyl-CoA into fatty acids by a de-novo biosynthetic pathway. The reaction product with highest radioactivity was palmitic acid, and the free fatty acids of nerve contained 90% of the total fatty acid label. During wallerian degeneration, there was a rapid increase of fatty acid biosynthesis that reached a peak between 16 and 24 days after nerve section. Values declined to normal levels at approximately 50 days.

Role of rat-liver alcohol dehydrogenase in the glycerol pathway to L-lactate in homogenates

14C-Distribution in the C3-chain of L-lactate after incubation of various 14-C-labelled prescursors ([1-14C] and [3-14C] glycerol; [3-14C] glyceraldehyde and glycerid acid; D- and L-[3-14C] serine; [1-14C] fructose and [6-14C] glucose) with homogenate showed that (1) most of the glycerol is metabolized to L-lactate via D-glyceraldehyde; the remainder may possibly form L-lactate via dihydroxyacetone; (2) a part of D-glyceraldehyde and D-glyceric acid may produce glycerol before L-lactate is formed; (3) D and L-serine do not form measurable amounts of L-lactate via D-glyceric acid; (4) rat-liver alcohol dehydrogenase (E.N.1.1.1.1) does not contribute to conversion to L-lactate of dihydroxyacetone phosphate from fructose nor of D-glyceraldehyde phosphate from glucose.