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. 1974 Sep;142(3):611–618. doi: 10.1042/bj1420611

Synthesis of fatty acids in the perfused mouse liver

D Michael W Salmon 1, Neil L Bowen 1, Douglas A Hems 1
PMCID: PMC1168326  PMID: 4464843

Abstract

1. Fatty acid synthesis de novo was measured in the perfused liver of fed mice. 2. The total rate, measured by the incorporation into fatty acid of 3H from 3H2O (1–7μmol of fatty acid/h per g of fresh liver), resembled the rate found in the liver of intact mice. 3. Perfusions with l-[U-14C]lactic acid and [U-14C]glucose showed that circulating glucose at concentrations less than about 17mm was not a major carbon source for newly synthesized fatty acid, whereas lactate (10mm) markedly stimulated fatty acid synthesis, and contributed extensive carbon to lipogenesis. 4. The identification of 50% of the carbon converted into newly synthesized fatty acid lends further credibility to the use of 3H2O to measure hepatic fatty acid synthesis. 5. The total rate of fatty acid synthesis, and the contribution of glucose carbon to lipogenesis, were directly proportional to the initial hepatic glycogen concentration. 6. The proportion of total newly synthesized lipid that was released into the perfusion medium was 12–16%. 7. The major products of lipogenesis were saturated fatty acids in triglyceride and phospholipid. 8. The rate of cholesterol synthesis, also measured with 3H2O, expressed as acetyl residues consumed, was about one-fourth of the basal rate of fatty acid synthesis. 9. These results are discussed in terms of the carbon sources of hepatic newly synthesized fatty acids, and the effect of glucose, glycogen and lactate in stimulating lipogenesis, independently of their role as precursors.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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