Monounsaturated trans fatty acids, elaidic acid and trans-vaccenic acid, metabolism and incorporation in phospholipid molecular species in hepatocytes.

The incorporation of [14C]elaidic acid (trans18:1(n-9)) in phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine molecular species in isolated rat liver cells has been studied, and the results compared with the incorporation, previously published (B. Woldseth et al. Biochim Biophys Acta 1993; 1167: 296-302), of [14C]palmitic acid (16:0) and [14C]stearic acid (18:0) and with that of [14C]oleic acid (cis18:1(n-9)). The pattern of incorporation in phospholipid molecular species is similar to that of [14C]stearic acid and different from that of [14C]palmitic acid. In phosphatidylcholine [14C]trans18:1-18:2 and [14C]trans18:1-20:4 were the most abundant species, and in phosphatidylethanolamine [14C]trans18:1-20:4 was the predominant species. With increasing concentration of [14C]elaidic acid increasing amounts of [14C]trans18:1-[14C]trans18:1 were found. The total incorporation in phospholipids was less than that of [14C]stearic acid, but more than that of [14C]palmitic acid. The distribution in percent of [14C]elaidic acid in phospholipid classes was 8.8% in phosphatidylinositol, 1.8% in phosphatidylserine, 59.1% in phosphatidylcholine and 30.3% in phosphatidylethanolamine with 0.1 mmol l-1 substrate concentration. More [14C]elaidic acid than [14C]palmitic acid or [14C]stearic acid was oxidized. The incorporation in phospholipids of [14C]elaidic acid was very different from that of [14C]oleic acid. The main species with [14C]oleic acid were 16:0-[14C]cis18:1 in phosphatidylcholine, and [14C]cis18:1-20:4 in phosphatidylethanolamine. In some experiments [14C]18:2(n-6) was incubated together with unlabelled elaidic or unlabelled trans-vaccenic acid (trans18:1(n-7)). In these experiments, more trans18:1-18:2 was formed from elaidic acid than from trans-vaccenic acid, especially in phosphatidylethanolamine.