A study of the interrelationship between the triacylglycerol and protein components of very-low-density lipoproteins using the perfused rat liver.

High and low rates of very-low-density-lipoprotein triacylglycerol release from the perfused rat liver were achieved by using livers taken respectively from animals that had been given fructose for 48h or from animals that had been starved for 18h. 2. The higher rates of very-low-density-lipoprotein triacylglycerol release by the livers of the fructose-fed rats were associated with higher rates of very-low-density-lipoprotein protein release. 3. When the livers were perfused in the presence of [3H]leucine, radioactivity was incorporated into the very-low-density-lipoprotein apoproteins. The higher rates of very-low-density-lipoprotein triacylgycerol and protein release by the livers of fructose-fed rats were associated with a greater total incorporation of radioactivity into those apoproteins that entered the running gel during polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. However, the distribution of radioactivity among the various apoproteins was not significantly changed by the dietary treatments used.