Biomaterial Database

An explanation for decreased ketogenesis in the liver of the obese Zucker rat. 1989

M J Azain, and J A Ontko

Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City.

These studies were undertaken to further characterize and explain the differences in hepatic fatty acid metabolism between lean and obese Zucker rats. It was shown that the rate of palmitate or octanoate oxidation and the inhibition of palmitate oxidation by malonyl CoA in mitochondria isolated from lean and obese Zucker rats were similar. Cytochrome oxidase activity was similar in lean and obese rat livers. It was found that the addition of cytosol from the obese rat liver inhibited palmitate oxidation by 20-30% in mitochondria isolated from lean or obese rat livers and thus reproduced the conditions observed in the intact cell. Increased concentrations of metabolites such as malonyl CoA and glycerophosphate in the liver of the obese rat are likely contributors to this inhibitory effect. These results are extrapolated to the intact cell and suggest that decreased hepatic fatty acid oxidation in the obese rat can be accounted for by cytosolic influences on the mitochondria. The decreased rate of fatty acid oxidation observed in the intact hepatocyte or perfused liver cannot be explained by a defect in the capacity of mitochondria to oxidize substrate or by a decrease in mitochondrial number in the obese rat liver.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007657	Ketone Bodies	The metabolic substances ACETONE; 3-HYDROXYBUTYRIC ACID; and acetoacetic acid (ACETOACETATES). They are produced in the liver and kidney during FATTY ACIDS oxidation and used as a source of energy by the heart, muscle and brain.	Acetone Bodies,Bodies, Acetone,Bodies, Ketone
D008099	Liver	A large lobed glandular organ in the abdomen of vertebrates that is responsible for detoxification, metabolism, synthesis and storage of various substances.	Livers
D008297	Male		Males
D008930	Mitochondria, Liver	Mitochondria in hepatocytes. As in all mitochondria, there are an outer membrane and an inner membrane, together creating two separate mitochondrial compartments: the internal matrix space and a much narrower intermembrane space. In the liver mitochondrion, an estimated 67% of the total mitochondrial proteins is located in the matrix. (From Alberts et al., Molecular Biology of the Cell, 2d ed, p343-4)	Liver Mitochondria,Liver Mitochondrion,Mitochondrion, Liver
D009765	Obesity	A status with BODY WEIGHT that is grossly above the recommended standards, usually due to accumulation of excess FATS in the body. The standards may vary with age, sex, genetic or cultural background. In the BODY MASS INDEX, a BMI greater than 30.0 kg/m2 is considered obese, and a BMI greater than 40.0 kg/m2 is considered morbidly obese (MORBID OBESITY).
D010084	Oxidation-Reduction	A chemical reaction in which an electron is transferred from one molecule to another. The electron-donating molecule is the reducing agent or reductant; the electron-accepting molecule is the oxidizing agent or oxidant. Reducing and oxidizing agents function as conjugate reductant-oxidant pairs or redox pairs (Lehninger, Principles of Biochemistry, 1982, p471).	Redox,Oxidation Reduction
D010101	Oxygen Consumption	The rate at which oxygen is used by a tissue; microliters of oxygen STPD used per milligram of tissue per hour; the rate at which oxygen enters the blood from alveolar gas, equal in the steady state to the consumption of oxygen by tissue metabolism throughout the body. (Stedman, 25th ed, p346)	Consumption, Oxygen,Consumptions, Oxygen,Oxygen Consumptions
D010169	Palmitic Acids	A group of 16-carbon fatty acids that contain no double bonds.	Acids, Palmitic
D011506	Proteins	Linear POLYPEPTIDES that are synthesized on RIBOSOMES and may be further modified, crosslinked, cleaved, or assembled into complex proteins with several subunits. The specific sequence of AMINO ACIDS determines the shape the polypeptide will take, during PROTEIN FOLDING, and the function of the protein.	Gene Products, Protein,Gene Proteins,Protein,Protein Gene Products,Proteins, Gene
D011922	Rats, Mutant Strains	Rats bearing mutant genes which are phenotypically expressed in the animals.	Mutant Strains Rat,Mutant Strains Rats,Rat, Mutant Strains,Strains Rat, Mutant,Strains Rats, Mutant