Fig 5. Metabolic flux trajectory analysis depicts differences among phenotypes and dyslipidemia development.

Trajectory analysis reveals decreased dietary cholesterol absorption from the intestinal lumen in the non-dyslipidemic Metabolic Syndrome phenotype (a) and increased hepatic activity in the dyslipidemia Metabolic Syndrome phenotype (b-f). The median metabolic flux trajectories (calculated from the top 10% best trajectories from n = 1,000) are depicted with a solid line for the hepatic dietary cholesterol absorption from the intestinal lumen (a), hepatic (V)LDL-TG uptake from the plasma (b), hepatic fatty acid uptake from the plasma (c), hepatic bile acid synthesis from cholesterol (d), hepatic de novo lipogenesis (e), and hepatic β-oxidation (f). The shaded area depicts the 10% range of trajectories around the median. The low-fat diet cohort is depicted in light blue; the high-fat cohort in dark blue; the non-dyslipidemic Metabolic Syndrome phenotype in gray and the dyslipidemic Metabolic Syndrome phenotype in red. The experimental hepatic de novo lipogenesis (e) data are shown as black error bars that represent mean ± standard deviation.