Effect of the peroxisome proliferator LY171883 on triglyceride accumulation in rats fed a fat-free diet.

LY171883 is a leukotriene D4 antagonist that induces peroxisome proliferation in the rodent liver. Like many peroxisome-proliferating agents, it causes transient lipid accumulation and several other changes in hepatic lipid metabolism. The effect of LY171883 on lipid metabolism was studied further in rats maintained on a fat-free diet. Administration of a fat-free diet for 14 days caused a 5.6-fold increase in liver triglycerides associated with a 3.3-fold increase in fatty acid synthetase. Co-administration of 0.1% LY171883 increased liver triglycerides slightly, whereas 0.3% LY171883 prevented the accumulation of triglycerides. Furthermore, treatment with 0.3% LY171883 reversed the fatty liver in rats pretreated with the fat-free diet for 14 days. Fatty acid synthetase activity increased comparably in all treatment groups, indicating that 0.3% LY171883 did not prevent the lipogenic response to a fat-free diet. In rats treated with 0.3% LY171883, peroxisomal beta-oxidation increased 9.5-fold, mitochondrial beta-oxidation 4.8-fold, carnitine palmitoyltransferase I 1.9-fold, and plasma ketones 3-fold. In the 0.1% dose group the increases in these parameters were smaller. The data indicate that 0.3% LY171883 sufficiently increased mitochondrial and peroxisomal beta-oxidation such that fatty acids generated by lipogenesis were preferentially oxidized rather than esterified to triglycerides. In the 0.1% dose group oxidation was only mildly increased, and the excess fatty acids continued to be esterified.