Forms of n-3 (ALA, C18:3n-3 or DHA, C22:6n-3) Fatty Acids Affect Carcass Yield, Blood Lipids, Muscle n-3 Fatty Acids and Liver Gene Expression in Lambs.

The effects of supplementing diets with n-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on plasma metabolites, carcass yield, muscle n-3 fatty acids and liver messenger RNA (mRNA) in lambs were investigated. Lambs (n = 120) were stratified to 12 groups based on body weight (35 ± 3.1 kg), and within groups randomly allocated to four dietary treatments: basal diet (BAS), BAS with 10.7 % flaxseed supplement (Flax), BAS with 1.8 % algae supplement (DHA), BAS with Flax and DHA (FlaxDHA). Lambs were fed for 56 days. Blood samples were collected on day 0 and day 56, and plasma analysed for insulin and lipids. Lambs were slaughtered, and carcass traits measured. At 30 min and 24 h, liver and muscle samples, respectively, were collected for determination of mRNA (FADS1, FADS2, CPT1A, ACOX1) and fatty acid composition. Lambs fed Flax had higher plasma triacylglycerol, body weight, body fat and carcass yield compared with the BAS group (P < 0.001). DHA supplementation increased carcass yield and muscle DHA while lowering plasma insulin compared with the BAS diet (P < 0.01). Flax treatment increased (P < 0.001) muscle ALA concentration, while DHA treatment increased (P < 0.001) muscle DHA concentration. Liver mRNA FADS2 was higher and CPT1A lower in the DHA group (P < 0.05). The FlaxDHA diet had additive effects, including higher FADS1 and ACOX1 mRNA than for the Flax or DHA diet. In summary, supplementation with ALA or DHA modulated plasma metabolites, muscle DHA, body fat and liver gene expression differently.

Whey protein isolate counteracts the effects of a high-fat diet on energy intake and hypothalamic and adipose tissue expression of energy balance-related genes.

The intake of whey protein isolate (WPI) is known to reduce high-fat diet (HFD)-induced body-weight gain and adiposity. However, the molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. To this end, we fed C57BL/6J mice for 8 weeks with diets containing 10 % energy as fat (low-fat diet, LFD) or 45 % energy as fat (HFD) enriched with either 20 % energy as casein (LFD and HFD) or WPI (high-fat WPI). Metabolic parameters and the hypothalamic and epididymal adipose tissue expression of energy balance-related genes were investigated. The HFD increased fat mass and plasma leptin levels and decreased the dark-phase energy intake, meal number, RER, and metabolic (VO2 and heat) and locomotor activities compared with the LFD. The HFD increased the hypothalamic tissue mRNA expression of the leptin receptor, insulin receptor (INSR) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1b (CPT1b). The HFD also reduced the adipose tissue mRNA expression of GLUT4 and INSR. In contrast, WPI reduced fat mass, normalised dark-phase energy intake and increased meal size in HFD-fed mice. The dietary protein did not have an impact on plasma leptin, insulin, glucose or glucagon-like peptide 1 levels, but increased plasma TAG levels in HFD-fed mice. At a cellular level, WPI significantly reduced the HFD-associated increase in the hypothalamic tissue mRNA expression of the leptin receptor, INSR and CPT1b. Also, WPI prevented the HFD-induced reduction in the adipose tissue mRNA expression of INSR and GLUT4. In comparison with casein, the effects of WPI on energy intake and hypothalamic and adipose tissue gene expression may thus represent a state of reduced susceptibility to weight gain on a HFD.

Dietary arginine affects energy metabolism through polyamine turnover in juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).

In the present study, quadruplicate groups of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) were fed plant protein-based diets with increasing arginine inclusions (range 28·8-37·4 g/kg DM) to investigate whether arginine supplementation affects growth and lipid accumulation through an elevated polyamine turnover. Dietary lysine was held at a constant concentration, just below the requirement. All other amino acids were balanced and equal in the diets. Arginine supplementation increased protein and fat accretion, without affecting the hepatosomatic or visceralsomatic indices. Dietary arginine correlated with putrescine in the liver (R 0·78, P= 0·01) and with ornithine in the muscle, liver and plasma (P= 0·0002, 0·003 and 0·0002, respectively). The mRNA of ornithine decarboxylase, the enzyme producing putrescine, was up-regulated in the white adipose tissue of fish fed the high-arginine inclusion compared with those fed the low-arginine diet. Concomitantly, spermidine/spermine-(N1)-acetyltransferase, the rate-limiting enzyme for polyamine turnover that consumes acetyl-CoA, showed an increased activity in the liver of fish fed the arginine-supplemented diets. In addition, lower acetyl-CoA concentrations were observed in the liver of fish fed the high-arginine diet, while ATP, which is used in the process of synthesising spermidine and spermine, did not show a similar trend. Gene expression of the rate-limiting enzyme for ß-oxidation of long-chain fatty acids, carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1, was up-regulated in the liver of fish fed the high-arginine diet. Taken together, the data support that increased dietary arginine activates polyamine turnover and ß-oxidation in the liver of juvenile Atlantic salmon and may act to improve the metabolic status of the fish.

Trans-10, cis-12-conjugated linoleic acid reduces the hepatic triacylglycerol content and the leptin mRNA level in adipose tissue in obese Zucker fa/fa rats.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers have been reported to reduce body weight and beneficially affect glucose metabolism in animals, but the results are inconsistent and seem to depend on animal model and type of CLA isomer. In the present study, feeding male Zucker fa/fa rats diets supplemented with 1% trans-10, cis-12-CLA for 10 d reduced the liver TAG content without improving the overall adiposity, and enhanced hepatic mitochondrial and peroxisomal beta-oxidation. The increased carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT)-I activity and mRNA level as well as the increased n-3:n-6 PUFA ratio in liver suggest that trans-10, cis-12-CLA increased the hepatic beta-oxidation by stimulation of PPARalpha. The reduced hepatic TAG content may be partly due to lower activity of stearoyl-CoA desaturase, as the ratios of 18 : 1n-9:18 : 0 and 16 : 1n-7:16 : 0 were reduced in liver. Trans-10, cis-12-CLA increased the CPT-I mRNA in retroperitoneal white adipose tissue (WAT), and increased uncoupling protein-2 mRNA in epididymal and inguinal WAT depots. Leptin mRNA level was decreased in all examined WAT depots, implying reduced insulin sensitivity. The resistin mRNA level was increased in all WAT depots, whereas adiponectin mRNA was reduced in inguinal and retroperitoneal WAT. The present results suggest that dietary supplementation with trans-10, cis-12-CLA may increase the catabolism of lipids in liver and adipose tissue. Moreover, we provide new data suggesting that trans-10, cis-12-CLA modulates the expression of resistin and adiponectin inversely in adipose tissue. Hence, the present results suggest that trans-10, cis-12-CLA may have some beneficial effects on lipid metabolism and adiposity but possibly reduces insulin sensitivity.

Changes in the expression of hypothalamic lipid sensing genes in rat model of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR).

Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) has been linked to the development of type 2 diabetes in later life. The mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are unknown. Recent data suggest that some of the molecular defects underlying type 2 diabetes reside in the CNS. The enzyme carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT1) regulates long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) entry into mitochondria, where LCFA undergo beta-oxidation. Hypothalamic inhibition of CPT1 decreases food intake and suppresses endogenous glucose production. Our aim was to investigate the effects of uterine artery ligation, a procedure that mimics uteroplacental insufficiency, on the CNS expression of CPT1 and other key enzymes of LCFA metabolism. Bilateral uterine artery ligation was performed on d 19 of gestation in the pregnant rat; sham-operated pregnant rats served as controls. Hypothalamus, cerebellum, hippocampus, and cortex were dissected and analyzed at birth by real-time PCR. Nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) serum levels were significantly higher in IUGR pups (p<0.0001). In IUGR rats, the hypothalamic expression of CPT1 isoform C (p=0.005) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) isoforms alpha (p<0.05) and beta (p=0.005) were significantly decreased. The data presented here support the hypothesis that an abnormal intrauterine milieu can induce changes in hypothalamic lipid sensing.

Effect of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on lipid composition, metabolism and gene expression in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) tissues.

Dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) affects fat deposition and lipid metabolism in mammals, including livestock. To determine CLA effects in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), a major farmed fish species, fish were fed for 12 weeks on diets containing fish oil or fish oil with 2% and 4% CLA supplementation. Fatty acid composition of the tissues showed deposition of CLA with accumulation being 2 to 3 fold higher in muscle than in liver. CLA had no effect on feed conversion efficiency or growth of the fish but there was a decreased lipid content and increased protein content after 4% CLA feeding. Thus, the protein:lipid ratio in whole fish was increased in fish fed 4% CLA and triacylglycerol in liver was decreased. Liver beta-oxidation was increased whilst both red muscle beta-oxidation capacity and CPT1 activity was decreased by dietary CLA. Liver highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) biosynthetic capacity was increased and the relative proportion of liver HUFA was marginally increased in salmon fed CLA. CLA had no effect on fatty acid Delta6 desaturase mRNA expression, but fatty acid elongase mRNA was increased in liver and intestine. In addition, the relative compositions of unsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids changed after CLA feeding. CLA had no effect on PPARalpha or PPARgamma expression in liver or intestine, although PPARbeta2A expression was reduced in liver at 4% CLA feeding. CLA did not affect hepatic malic enzyme activity. Thus, overall, the effect of dietary CLA was to increase beta-oxidation in liver, to reduce levels of total body lipid and liver triacylglycerol, and to affect liver fatty acid composition, with increased elongase expression and HUFA biosynthetic capacity.

Defective carbohydrate metabolism in mice homozygous for the tubby mutation.

Tub is a member of a small gene family, the tubby-like proteins (TULPs), with predominant expression in neurons. Mice carrying a mutation in Tub develop retinal and cochlear degeneration as well as late-onset obesity with insulin resistance. During behavioral and metabolic testing, we found that homozygous C57BL/6J-Tub(tub) mice have a lower respiratory quotient than C57BL/6J controls before the onset of obesity, indicating that tubby homozygotes fail to activate carbohydrate metabolism and instead rely on fat metabolism for energy needs. In concordance with this, tubby mice show higher excretion of ketone bodies and accumulation of glycogen in the liver. Quantitation of liver mRNA levels shows that, during the transition from light to dark period, tubby mice fail to induce glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6pdh), the rate-limiting enzyme in the pentose phosphate pathway that normally supplies NADPH for de novo fatty acid synthesis and glutathione reduction. Reduced G6PDH protein levels and enzymatic activity in tubby mice lead accordingly to lower levels of NADPH and reduced glutathione (GSH), respectively. mRNA levels for the lipolytic enzymes acetyl-CoA synthetase and carnitine palmitoyltransferase are increased during the dark cycle and decreased during the light period, and several citric acid cycle genes are dysregulated in tubby mice. Examination of hypothalamic gene expression showed high levels of preproorexin mRNA leading to accumulation of orexin peptide in the lateral hypothalamus. We hypothesize that abnormal hypothalamic orexin expression leads to changes in liver carbohydrate metabolism and may contribute to the moderate obesity observed in tubby mice.

A novel brain-expressed protein related to carnitine palmitoyltransferase I.

Malonyl-CoenzymeA acts as a fuel sensor, being both an intermediate of fatty acid synthesis and an inhibitor of the two known isoforms of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT I), which control mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation. We describe here a novel CPT1 family member whose mRNA is present predominantly in brain and testis. Chromosomal locations and genome organization are reported for the mouse and human genes. The protein sequence contains all the residues known to be important for both carnitine acyltransferase activity and malonyl-CoA binding in other family members. Yeast expressed protein has no detectable catalytic activity with several different acyl-CoA esters that are good substrates for other carnitine acyltransferases, including the liver isoform of CPT I, which is also expressed in brain; however, it displays high-affinity malonyl-CoA binding. Thus this new CPT I related protein may be specialized for the metabolism of a distinct class of fatty acids involved in brain function.

Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of liver carnitine palmitoyltransferase I in INS1E cells: effects on cell metabolism and insulin secretion.

Lipid metabolism in the beta-cell is critical for the regulation of insulin secretion. Pancreatic beta-cells chronically exposed to fatty acids show higher carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT I) protein levels, higher palmitate oxidation rates and an altered insulin response to glucose. We examined the effect of increasing CPT I levels on insulin secretion in cultured beta-cells. We prepared a recombinant adenovirus containing the cDNA for the rat liver isoform of CPT I. The overexpression of CPT I in INS1E cells caused a more than a 5-fold increase in the levels of CPT I protein (detected by Western blotting), a 6-fold increase in the CPT activity, and an increase in fatty acid oxidation at 2.5 mM glucose (1.7-fold) and 15 mM glucose (3.1-fold). Insulin secretion was stimulated in control cells by 15 mM glucose or 30 mM KCl. INS1E cells overexpressing CPT I showed lower insulin secretion on stimulation with 15 mM glucose (-40%; P<0.05). This decrease depended on CPT I activity, since the presence of etomoxir, a specific inhibitor of CPT I, in the preincubation medium normalized the CPT I activity, the fatty-acid oxidation rate and the insulin secretion in response to glucose. Exogenous palmitate (0.25 mM) rescued glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in CPT I-overexpressing cells, indicating that the mechanism of impaired GSIS was through the depletion of a critical lipid. Depolarizing the cells with KCl or intermediary glucose concentrations (7.5 mM) elicited similar insulin secretion in control cells and cells overexpressing CPT I. Glucose-induced ATP increase, glucose metabolism and the triacylglycerol content remained unchanged. These results provide further evidence that CPT I activity regulates insulin secretion in the beta-cell. They also indicate that up-regulation of CPT I contributes to the loss of response to high glucose in beta-cells exposed to fatty acids.

Pig liver carnitine palmitoyltransferase I, with low Km for carnitine and high sensitivity to malonyl-CoA inhibition, is a natural chimera of rat liver and muscle enzymes.

The outer mitochondrial membrane enzyme carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPTI) catalyzes the initial and regulatory step in the beta-oxidation of fatty acids. The genes for the two isoforms of CPTI-liver (L-CPTI) and muscle (M-CPTI) have been cloned and expressed, and the genes encode for enzymes with very different kinetic properties and sensitivity to malonyl-CoA inhibition. Pig L-CPTI encodes for a 772 amino acid protein that shares 86 and 62% identity, respectively, with rat L- and M-CPTI. When expressed in Pichia pastoris, the pig L-CPTI enzyme shows kinetic characteristics (carnitine, K(m) = 126 microM; palmitoyl-CoA, K(m) = 35 microM) similar to human or rat L-CPTI. However, the pig enzyme, unlike the rat liver enzyme, shows a much higher sensitivity to malonyl-CoA inhibition (IC(50) = 141 nM) that is characteristic of human or rat M-CPTI enzymes. Therefore, pig L-CPTI behaves like a natural chimera of the L- and M-CPTI isotypes, which makes it a useful model to study the structure--function relationships of the CPTI enzymes.

Expression of novel isoforms of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT-1) generated by alternative splicing of the CPT-ibeta gene.

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT-I) catalyses the rate-determining step in mitochondrial fatty acid beta-oxidation. The enzyme has two cognate structural genes that are preferentially expressed in liver (alpha) or fat and muscle (beta). We hypothesized the existence of additional isoforms in heart to account for unique kinetic characteristics of enzyme activity in this tissue. Hybridization and PCR screening of a human cardiac cDNA library revealed the expression of two novel CPT-I isoforms generated by alternative splicing of the CPT-Ibeta transcript, in addition to the beta and alpha cDNA species previously described. Ribonuclease protection and reverse transcriptase-mediated PCR assays confirmed the presence of mRNA species of each splicing variant in heart, skeletal muscle and liver, with differing relative concentrations in the tissues. The novel splicing variants omit exons or utilize a cryptic splice donor site within an exon. Deduced polypeptide sequences of the novel enzymes include omissions in the region of putative membrane-spanning and malonyl-CoA regulatory domains compared with the previously described CPT-Is, implying that the encoded enzymes will exhibit unique features with respect to outer mitochondrial membrane topology and response to physiological and pharmacological inhibitors.

Human liver mitochondrial carnitine palmitoyltransferase I: characterization of its cDNA and chromosomal localization and partial analysis of the gene.

Using the cDNA for rat liver mitochondrial carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT I; EC 2.3.1.21) as a probe, we isolated its counterpart as three overlapping clones from a human liver cDNA library. Both the nucleotide sequence of the human cDNA and the predicted primary structure of the protein (773 aa) proved to be very similar to those of the rat enzyme (82% and 88% identity, respectively). The CPT I mRNA size was also found to be the same (approximately 4.7 kb) in both species. Screening of a human genomic library with the newly obtained cDNA yielded a positive clone of approximately 6.5 kb which, upon partial analysis, was found to contain at least two complete exons linked by a 2.3-kb intron. Oligonucleotide primers specific to upstream and downstream regions of one of the exon/intron junctions were tested in PCRs with DNA from a panel of somatic cell hybrids, each containing a single human chromosome. The results allowed unambiguous assignment of the human liver CPT I gene to the q (long) arm of chromosome 11. Additional experiments established that liver and fibroblasts express the same isoform of mitochondrial CPT I, legitimizing the use of fibroblast assays in the differential diagnosis of the "muscle" and "hepatic" forms of CPT deficiency. The data provide insights into the structure of a human CPT I isoform and its corresponding gene and establish unequivocally that CPT I and CPT II are distinct gene products. Availability of the human CPT I cDNA should open the way to an understanding of the genetic basis of inherited CPT I deficiency syndromes, how the liver CPT I gene is regulated, and which tissues other than liver express this particular variant of the enzyme.

Insulin-associated changes in carnitine palmitoyltransferase in cultured neonatal rat cardiac myocytes.

Insulin increases the synthesis of mitochondrial proteins in the isolated perfused heart and total cell protein synthesis in neonatal cardiac myocytes. Since carnitine-dependent fatty acid oxidation is modulated by insulin in a variety of tissues, the effects of 1.7 microM insulin on the mitochondrial enzyme(s), carnitine palmitoyltransferase (malonyl-CoA-sensitive CPT-I and the matrix-facing CPT-II), were studied in neonatal rat cardiac myocytes cultured in the absence of serum. Following incubation in serum-free medium, there is a four-fold increase in the I50 of CPT-I for malonyl-CoA (3.8 microM) compared to cells cultured in serum-free medium to which insulin has been added (I50 = 0.8 microM). CPT-I activity in the insulin-supplemented, serum-free cultures is 57% higher (P < 0.002) than CPT-I activity in cells cultured in the absence of insulin; CPT-II activity is also significantly increased (P < 0.01) in the presence of insulin. Since CPT-II is an inner membrane protein, the CPT response to insulin may be coordinately regulated with other mitochondrial activities. Similar to CPT, cytochrome oxidase activity of cardiac myocytes in serum-free medium is increased 33% by insulin. Consistent with this finding, both CPT-II and cytochrome oxidase mRNA expression is elevated over control in the presence of insulin. CPT-II activity increases significantly only at very high insulin concentrations (1.7 microM), suggesting a role for insulin-like growth factor pathway. When myocytes are cultured in the presence of 1.7 microM insulin and then transferred to an insulin-free medium, subsequent addition of insulin does not stimulate uptake of deoxyglucose. These results suggest that the response of CPT to insulin is mediated by insulin-like growth factor activity and not by cellular glucose availability. The response of CPT to insulin does not appear to be mediated by the protein kinase C pathway since CPT-II activity is not reduced by the protein kinase C inhibitor, chelerythrine. Insulin significantly increases protein synthesis in the neonatal cardiac myocyte and in isolated mitochondria by increasing incorporation of labelled amino acid into total myocyte and/or mitochondrial protein. The degradation rate of radiolabelled protein in cardiac myocytes cultured in the presence of insulin is not different from that of insulin-deprived cells. The data suggest that insulin can affect the activity and expression of mitochondrial proteins, e.g., CPT, through the insulin-like growth factor-I pathway in neonatal cardiac myocytes.

Transcriptional regulation of carnitine palmitoyltransferase synthesis in riboflavin deficiency in rats.

Riboflavin deficiency leads to depressed mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation rates but increased activity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT). Starvation leads to increased CPT activity in ad libitum-fed, riboflavin-supplemented rats. The present studies examined the mechanism of the increase in CPT activity in riboflavin deficiency and whether it was additive to that seen in starvation. Rats were divided into three groups initially: riboflavin-sufficient, ad libitum-fed; riboflavin-deficient, ad libitum-fed; and pair-fed. These groups were subdivided after 5 wk into fed and 24- and 48-h starved groups. When riboflavin-deficient rats were starved for 24 or 48 h, there was only a 30-40% increase in hepatic CPT activity, in contrast to the ad libitum-fed, riboflavin-supplemented rats, in which activity increased twofold. CPT activity of pair-fed rats was similar to that of controls in the fed state and did not increase significantly with starvation. CPT translation, mRNA levels and transcription rates correlated with CPT activity, as did immunoreactive CPT. Concurrently, hepatic ketone production and plasma beta-hydroxybutyrate concentration increased during starvation in the control and pair-fed but not in the riboflavin-deficient rats. The results indicate that increased CPT activity in riboflavin deficiency and starvation results at least in part from increased synthesis. Furthermore, the data support previous work suggesting that the block in fatty acid oxidation occurs in the beta-oxidation pathway at the level of acyl-CoA dehydrogenases.