Synthesis of phospholipids and triglycerides in human liver slices. I. Experimental conditions and the synthesis rate in normal liver tissue

Sources of fatty acids stored in liver and secreted via lipoproteins in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by the accumulation of excess liver triacylglycerol (TAG), inflammation, and liver damage. The goal of the present study was to directly quantify the biological sources of hepatic and plasma lipoprotein TAG in NAFLD. Patients (5 male and 4 female; 44 +/- 10 years of age) scheduled for a medically indicated liver biopsy were infused with and orally fed stable isotopes for 4 days to label and track serum nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs), dietary fatty acids, and those derived from the de novo lipogenesis (DNL) pathway, present in liver tissue and lipoprotein TAG. Hepatic and lipoprotein TAG fatty acids were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. NAFLD patients were obese, with fasting hypertriglyceridemia and hyperinsulinemia. Of the TAG accounted for in liver, 59.0% +/- 9.9% of TAG arose from NEFAs; 26.1% +/- 6.7%, from DNL; and 14.9% +/- 7.0%, from the diet. The pattern of labeling in VLDL was similar to that in liver, and throughout the 4 days of labeling, the liver demonstrated reciprocal use of adipose and dietary fatty acids. DNL was elevated in the fasting state and demonstrated no diurnal variation. These quantitative metabolic data document that both elevated peripheral fatty acids and DNL contribute to the accumulation of hepatic and lipoprotein fat in NAFLD.

Sources of fatty acids stored in liver and secreted via lipoproteins in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by the accumulation of excess liver triacylglycerol (TAG), inflammation, and liver damage. The goal of the present study was to directly quantify the biological sources of hepatic and plasma lipoprotein TAG in NAFLD. Patients (5 male and 4 female; 44 +/- 10 years of age) scheduled for a medically indicated liver biopsy were infused with and orally fed stable isotopes for 4 days to label and track serum nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs), dietary fatty acids, and those derived from the de novo lipogenesis (DNL) pathway, present in liver tissue and lipoprotein TAG. Hepatic and lipoprotein TAG fatty acids were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. NAFLD patients were obese, with fasting hypertriglyceridemia and hyperinsulinemia. Of the TAG accounted for in liver, 59.0% +/- 9.9% of TAG arose from NEFAs; 26.1% +/- 6.7%, from DNL; and 14.9% +/- 7.0%, from the diet. The pattern of labeling in VLDL was similar to that in liver, and throughout the 4 days of labeling, the liver demonstrated reciprocal use of adipose and dietary fatty acids. DNL was elevated in the fasting state and demonstrated no diurnal variation. These quantitative metabolic data document that both elevated peripheral fatty acids and DNL contribute to the accumulation of hepatic and lipoprotein fat in NAFLD.

Enzymatic determination of carbon (14C)-labeled glycerol in biological samples

A method for determination of glycerol-specific-radioactivity in biological samples is presented. It is based on the following steps: (a) enzymatic conversion of glycerol to dihydroxyacetone-phosphate, (b) quantitative trapping of dihydroxyacetone-phosphate in SPE amino (NH2) columns, (c) eluation with HCl 0.5 N of dihydroxyacetone-phosphate followed by radioactivity counting and (d) estimation of the radioactivity thus trapped compared with that of enzymatically untreated aliquots of the same samples. No interferences from other 14C-labeled materials tested such as D-glucose, L-alanine, L-glutamine and D-beta-hydroxybutyrate were observed. This inexpensive and high-speed method can be applied in routine multiple estimations of glycerol-specific-radioactivity in biological samples in tracer metabolic studies.

Oleate stimulation of incorporation of exogenous glycerol into cardiolipin in isolated perfused rat heart does not involve direct activation of the CDP-DG pathway

Oleate has been shown previously to stimulate the in vitro activity of phosphatidylglycerol-phosphatase, an important enzyme in the cytidine-5'-diphosphate-1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerol pathway of phosphatidylglycerol and cardiolipin biosynthesis. In this study the in vivo effect of oleate on the biosynthesis of new phosphatidylglycerol and cardiolipin was investigated in the heart. Hearts were perfused for 60 min with Krebs-Henseleit buffer containing [1,3-3H]glycerol and 0.6 mM albumin in the absence or presence of 0.6 or 1.2 mM oleate. Total incorporation of radioactivity was higher in the oleate-treated hearts compared with controls and this was due to an exclusive incorporation of radioactive glycerol into the organic phase. Also, the radioactivity incorporated into phosphatidylglycerol and cardiolipin was higher in the oleate-treated hearts compared with controls; however, the increase was greater in hearts perfused with 0.6 mM oleate compared with 1.2 mM oleate, indicating that pathophysiological concentrations of oleate may attenuate the oleate-induced stimulation of glycerol incorporation into polyglycerophospholipids. The pool size of phosphatidylglycerol and cardiolipin were unchanged in oleate-perfused hearts compared with controls. To investigate if the biosynthesis of phosphatidylglycerol and cardiolipin via the cytidine-5'-diphosphate-1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerol pathway was authentically stimulated by oleate hearts were pulse labeled for 15 min with 0.1 mM [1,3-3H]glycerol and subsequently chased for 60 min with 0.1 mM glycerol in the absence or presence of 0.6 mM oleate in the perfusate. Radioactivity incorporated into phosphatidylglycerol and cardiolipin was unchanged compared with controls. Our data indicate that oleate increases the incorporation of exogenous glycerol into polyglycerophospholipids but not accelerate synthesis from prelabeled precursor pools. Accordingly, oleate does not appear to stimulate directly enzymes of the cytidine-5'-diphosphate-1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerol pathway in vivo.

Fatty acids inhibit N-methylation of phosphatidylethanolamine in rat hepatocytes and liver microsomes

Supplementation of rat hepatocytes with various fatty acids in the culture medium reduced the conversion of [3H]phosphatidylethanolamine into phosphatidylcholine. Unsaturated fatty acids were the most effective inhibitors of phospholipid methylation. The inhibition of phosphatidylethanolamine methylation by oleate (2 mM) was reversed within 1 h after replacement with fatty acid-deficient medium. Fatty acids and their CoA derivatives (0.15-0.5 mM) produced 50% inhibition of phosphatidylethanolamine methyltransferase in rat liver microsomes. The first methylation reaction was the site of fatty acid inhibition, as methylation of phosphatidyl-N-monomethylethanolamine and phosphatidyl-N,N-dimethylethanolamine was not reduced in the presence of oleate. The inhibition by oleate was reversed by inclusion of bovine serum albumin or by addition of phospholipid liposomes. Thus, while fatty acids stimulate phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis in hepatocytes via the CDP-choline pathway, the methylation pathway is inhibited.

Fatty acids reverse the cyclic AMP inhibition of triacylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine synthesis in rat hepatocytes

The influence of cyclic AMP analogues and fatty acids on glycerolipid biosynthesis in monolayer cultures of rat hepatocytes was investigated. Chlorophenylthio-cyclic AMP and adenosine 3':5'-cyclic phosphorothioate inhibited the rate of triacylglycerol synthesis from [1(3)-3H]glycerol, and phosphatidylcholine synthesis from [Me-3H]-choline. Supplementation of the hepatocytes with palmitate (1 mM) reversed chlorophenylthio-cyclic AMP inhibition of triacylglycerol synthesis. Similarly, cyclic AMP analogue-inhibition of phosphatidylcholine synthesis was abolished when the cells were simultaneously incubated with oleate (3 mM). Reactivation of phosphatidylcholine synthesis in chlorophenylthio-cyclic AMP-supplemented cells with oleate was accompanied by conversion of CTP: phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase into the membrane-bound form, since these cells released the enzyme more slowly after treatment with digitonin. The opposing actions of cyclic AMP and fatty acids are discussed in relation to the regulation of glycerolipid biosynthesis during starvation, diabetes and stress.

Activities of key enzymes in relation to glucose flux in tumor-host livers

1. Isotope and non-isotope methods were used to study hepatic metabolism of glucose in tumor-host livers. 2. Glycogen synthase, phosphofructokinase activities (Vmax) were decreased, while glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase activities were increased in tumor-host livers. 3. Glycogen phosphorylase, glucokinase and several mitochondrial enzymes, had normal maximum activity in tumor-host livers. Net flux of glucose was decreased in the Embden-Meyerhof and the pentose phosphate pathway in tumor animals. 4. The hepatic cycling of glucose-carbons in tumor animals was significantly decreased as shown by different [14C] [3H] ratios of radioactivity in RNA and lactate, determined from simultaneous incorporation of [U-14C]glucose and [2-3H]glucose. 5. This study demonstrates that previous reports of increased activities of rate limiting enzymes of glucose metabolism in tumor-host livers do not represent a general finding of high glucose metabolism in tumor-host livers.

Glucose turnover, gluconeogenesis from glycerol, and estimation of net glucose cycling in cancer patients

A double isotope method was used in patients with progressive malignancy and in control patients to measure: glucose turnover, conversion rate of carbon skeleton of glycerol into glucose, and the interorgan cycling of glucose carbons (Cori-cycle plus alanine-glucose cycle). [U-14C]glycerol and [6-3H]glucose were given intravenously as a single dose injection. The time course of the specific radioactivities of [6-3H] and [U-14C]glucose was followed in blood. The pool size and the turnover rate of glucose were increased in the cancer group as compared with the control patients. The net recycling of glucose carbons was not increased in the cancer group, despite the increased turnover of glucose. The alterations in the metabolism of glucose did not correlate with the plasma levels of insulin or thyroid hormones (T4, T3, rT3) neither in the entire cancer group nor in those cancer patients who were repeatedly investigated at different intervals of time. The turnover rate of glucose in the cancer patients correlated inversely to their body weight index. The gluconeogenesis rate, given as the fractional conversion rate of the injected radioactive dose of [14C]glycerol, or as mol glucose . kg body weight-1 . day-1, was increased in the cancer group, but still contributed only 3% of the glucose turnover rate in both cancer and control patients. We conclude that an increased gluconeogenesis from glycerol is not significant in terms of energy expenditure in patients with progressive malignancy, as has previously been concluded for the gluconeogenesis from alanine. It seems that increased turnover of glucose may contribute to inappropriately high energy expenditure in cancer patients.

Nutrition of the intervertebral disc: solute transport and metabolism

The metabolism of the canine nucleus pulposus was investigated at different oxygen tensions. It was found that even at high oxygen tensions the metabolism is mainly anaerobic, only approximately 1.5% of the glucose being converted to carbon dioxide. The concentration dependence of oxygen consumption is limited to very low oxygen tensions. Values of oxygen consumption and lactic acid production were used to calculate the concentration profiles of these substances within the nucleus pulposus, using a diffusion theory. The predicted concentration profiles were compared with the experimental measurements of concentration at various positions in the disc. The good agreement in these values found in the nucleus confirms that the main mechanism of metabolite transport is diffusion, and the main route of nutrient supply into the nucleus is via the endplate.

Metabolism in hypothermically perfused human kidney carcinoma: incorporation rate of leucine into proteins

Protein synthesis in tumour-involved human kidneys was studied before, during and after hypothermic perfusion. Before and after perfusion the incorporation rate of leucine into tumour and kidney cortex proteins was determined by incubation of tissue slices at 37 degrees C. During perfusion the incorporation of leucine from the perfusate into tumour and kidney cortex proteins was determined. Before hypothermic perfusion the incorporation rate of leucine into proteins at 37 degrees C was almost the same in kidney cortex and tumour. Leucine was incorporated linearly with time into kidney cortex and tumour proteins during hypothermic perfusion but the incorporation rate was 3-4 times higher into kidney cortex proteins than into tumour proteins. After 6 days of hypothermic perfusion the leucine incorporation rate into proteins at 37 degrees C was depressed by 50% in kidney cortex and by 90% in tumour tissue. The specific activity of leucine in the perfusate decreased during the perfusion period indicating a release of leucine from degradation of proteins. It is concluded that the effect of hypothermic perfusion on protein synthesis was more pronounced in the tumour than in the normal renal parenchyma.

Bile acid concentrations in systemic and portal serum in presumably normal man and in cholestatic and cirrhotic conditions

Total bile acid concentration was determined in systemic and portal serum and in liver tissue from patients with presumably normal liver function, and from patients with extrahepatic cholestasis. Systemic and portal serum bile acids were also determined in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis. In 5 patients, in whom a portal catheter was inserted through the umbilical vein, the diurnal variation in systemic and portal serum bile acid concentration was studied. In patients with presumably normal liver function the fasting systemic serum bile acid concentration was 4.8+/-0.5 mumol times 1(-1), and the portal concentration was 12.9+/-1.5 mumol times 1(-1). In cholestasis and liver cirrhosis the systemic and portal bile acid concentration was substantially elevated. The bile acid concentration gradient between systemic serum, portal serum, liver tissue, and hepatic bile was 1:3:80:2600 in the patients with normal liver function. In both the cholestatic and cirrhotic condition the systemic and portal serum bile acid concentration was equilibrated. Postprandially both the systemic and portal bile acid concentration increased, but the gradient between these concentrations was unchanged. The results are compatible with the hypothesis that portal and systemic serum bile acid concentrations are determined by the intestinal absorption rate in subjects with normal liver function and by the hepatic and renal clearance capacity in cholestatic and cirrhotic conditions.

Gluconeogenesis in human liver tissue. An in vitro method for evaluation of glyconeogenesis in man

Human liver tissue was obtained as surgical biopsies in 29 subjects operated on for uncomplicated gallstone disease. Liver slices were incubated in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer solution, pH 7.4, with 17 l-amino acids, lactate, glycerol, and glucose at various concentrations. The incorporation rate of alanine, lactate, and glycerol into glucose, glycogen, and CO2 was determined by use of 14C-labeled precursors. The gluconeogenetic rate of all substrates was increased 10-35 times by increasing precursor concentration in the medium. Insulin at a physiological concentration (300 mU/l) and dexamethasone (0.001 mmol/l) had slight but significant effects on the incorporation rate of alanine into glucose and glycogen, respectively. Glucagon had no effect. Glucose in the incubation medium did not influence the incorporation rate of precursors into glucose, glycogen, or CO2, suggesting that glucose was not of importance for the regulation of the gluconeogenesis. The gluconeogenetic rate of a precursor was not dependent on or influenced by the presence of other precursors. The gluconeogenesis in human liver slices at physiological concentrations of precursors was 5-20% of the maximal rate reported for the rat liver. When the precursor concentration in the medium was increased, the gluconeogenetic rate increased to values close to those reported for the rat liver in vitro and for man in vivo. This in vitro preparation of human liver seems to be valid for evaluation of gluconeogenesis in man.

Substrate incorporation into hepatic lipids and proteins in vitro in patients with pre-beta hyperlipoproteinemia

Fifty-three patients operated on for uncomplicated gallstone disease have been studied concerning the hepatic synthesis rate in vitro of glycerides and proteins. Thirteen of the patients had pre-beta hyperlipoproteinemia. Five of them and four normolipoproteinemic patients were fed a sucrose-enriched diet for two weeks prior to the operation. In the non-sucrose-fed hyperlipoproteinemic patients the liver concentration of triglycerides (TG) and the incorporation rate of precursors into TG were increased. A significant correlation was found between the synthesis rate of TG in liver tissue and the plasma TG concentration in these hyperlipoproteinemic patients. After sucrose feeding of patients with hyperlipoproteinemia the concentration of phosphoglycerides (PG) the incorporation rate of labelled precursors in PG were significantly lower than in normolipoproteinemic patients and in hyperlipoproteinemic patients on an ordinary diet. The incorporation rate of leucine into hepatic proteins and the hepatic protein concentration were the same in non-sucrose-fed controls, sucrose-fed, and non-sucrose-fed hyperlipoproteinemic patients. The results indicate an increased vulnerability of the hepatic PG and protein metabolism for dietary sucrose in patients with pre-beta hyperlipoproteinemia.