Selective labelling of hepatic fatty acids in vivo. Studies on the synthesis and secretion of glycerolipids in the rat.

1. We describe a method for the selective labelling of hepatic fatty acids in the rat in vivo. It relies on (i) the rapid and preferential uptake of cholesteryl ester from chylomicron and/or very-low-density-lipoprotein remnants by the liver [Holder, Zammit & Robinson (1990) Biochem. J. 272, 735-741] (without prior exchange of the ester to other lipoproteins in the plasma), and (ii) the very short half-life of the cholesteryl ester in the liver. The 14C-labelled fatty acid moiety generated by cholesteryl ester hydrolysis was shown to be utilized by the liver for glycerolipid synthesis in a very similar pattern to that demonstrated for exogenous fatty acids by isolated cultured hepatocytes in previous studies. 2. Starvation (24 h) was shown to decrease the proportion of fatty acid utilized for glycerolipid synthesis, but to result in a proportionately smaller effect on incorporation into phospholipid. This was accompanied by a decrease in the fraction of synthesized triacylglycerol that was secreted by the liver. 3. Streptozotocin-diabetes did not affect the phospholipid/triacylglycerol ratio, but resulted in a small, but significant, decline in the fraction of triacylglycerol secreted by the liver. 4. In both starved and diabetic animals fatty acid esterification to the glycerol moiety constituted a smaller proportion of the total disposal of label. 5. These findings appear to validate the present method for the selective labelling of liver fatty acids in vivo in a non-invasive manner. Other possible uses for the method are suggested.