Journal of Lipid Research, Vol. 6, 269-277, April 1965
Copyright © 1965 by Lipid Research, Inc.
Pathogenesis of ethanol-induced fatty liver: III. In vivo and in vitro effects of ethanol on hepatic fatty acid metabolism in rat
Robert Scheig and Kurt J. Isselbacher
Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Medical Services (Gastrointestinal Unit), Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
Addition of ethanol to rat liver slices enhanced triglyceride, phospholipid, and fatty acid synthesis from acetate-1-C14 and pyruvate-2-C14 by liver slices. The type of fatty acid synthesized (i.e., primarily saturated) was not altered by the presence of ethanol.
These effects of ethanol on liver slices are probably not germane to the induction of fatty liver, since they were not observed after ethanol administration to the intact animal. The fatty acids accumulating in the liver after oral administration of ethanol consisted primarily of unsaturated fatty acids similar to those found in adipose tissue; the incorporation of circulating free fatty acids into hepatic triglycerides was increased. Also, the amount and rate of triglyceride formation from saturated and unsaturated fatty acids were significantly increased in liver homogenates and microsomes after ethanol administration but not upon in vitro addition of ethanol to liver slices.
In view of the differences between the in vitro and in vivo effects of ethanol, experiments based solely on the action of ethanol in vitro must be interpreted with caution in elucidating the pathogenesis of the ethanol-induced fatty liver.
Supplementary key words ethanol • fatty liver • adipose tissue • fatty acid • synthesis • mobilization • esterification • rat • liver • liver slices • microsomes
Submitted on August 3, 1964
Accepted on October 26, 1964
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