Effects of pregnancy and ovarian steroids on fatty acid synthesis and uptake in Syrian hamsters.

The effects of pregnancy and ovarian steroids on the in vivo distribution of newly synthesized fatty acids (incorporation of tritium from 3H2O into fatty acid) in Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) were examined. During late, but not early, gestation hamsters had reduced levels of newly synthesized fatty acids in heart, liver, uterus, and white adipose tissues (parametrial and inguinal fat pads). Treatment of ovariectomized hamsters with estradiol + progesterone significantly decreased fatty acid synthesis-uptake in heart, liver, and inguinal white adipose tissue. Treatment with either estradiol or progesterone alone was without significant effect in any tissue. Pretreatment of hamsters with Triton WR-1339 (tyloxapol), an inhibitor of lipoprotein lipase activity and tissue triglyceride uptake, abolished the effects of estradiol + progesterone in white adipose tissue and heart but not in liver. Thus hamsters lose body fat during pregnancy in part because of decreased de novo lipogenesis. The effect of pregnancy on lipogenesis is mimicked by treatment with estradiol + progesterone but not by either hormone alone. Furthermore, it appears that the liver is the principal site of estradiol + progesterone action on lipogenesis in Syrian hamsters.