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ABSTRACT: Objective
Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) play an increasing role in human nutrition. In the liver, one fraction is used for synthesis of MCFA-containing triacylglycerol (MCFA-TG), and the rest is used for oxidative energy production or ketogenesis. We investigated which enzymes catalyse the synthesis of MCFA-TG and how inhibition of MCFA-TG synthesis or fatty acid (FA) oxidation influences the metabolic fate of the MCFAs.Methods
FA metabolism was followed by time-resolved tracing of alkyne-labelled FAs in freshly isolated mouse hepatocytes. Quantitative data were obtained by mass spectrometry of several hundred labelled lipid species. Wild-type hepatocytes and cells from diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT)1-/- mice were treated with inhibitors against DGAT1, DGAT2, or FA ?-oxidation.Results
Inhibition or deletion of DGAT1 resulted in a reduction of MCFA-TG synthesis by 70%, while long-chain (LC)FA-TG synthesis was reduced by 20%. In contrast, DGAT2 inhibition increased MCFA-TG formation by 50%, while LCFA-TG synthesis was reduced by 5-25%. Inhibition of ?-oxidation by the specific inhibitor teglicar strongly increased MCFA-TG synthesis. In contrast, the widely used ?-oxidation inhibitor etomoxir blocked MCFA-TG synthesis, phenocopying DGAT1 inhibition.Conclusions
DGAT1 is the major enzyme for hepatic MCFA-TG synthesis. Its loss can only partially be compensated by DGAT2. Specific inhibition of ?-oxidation leads to a compensatory increase in MCFA-TG synthesis, whereas etomoxir blocks both ?-oxidation and MCFA-TG synthesis, indicating a strong off-target effect on DGAT1.
SUBMITTER: Wunderling K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7843514 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Wunderling Klaus K Leopold Christina C Jamitzky Isabell I Yaghmour Mohamed M Zink Fabian F Kratky Dagmar D Thiele Christoph C
Molecular metabolism 20201223
<h4>Objective</h4>Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) play an increasing role in human nutrition. In the liver, one fraction is used for synthesis of MCFA-containing triacylglycerol (MCFA-TG), and the rest is used for oxidative energy production or ketogenesis. We investigated which enzymes catalyse the synthesis of MCFA-TG and how inhibition of MCFA-TG synthesis or fatty acid (FA) oxidation influences the metabolic fate of the MCFAs.<h4>Methods</h4>FA metabolism was followed by time-resolved traci ...[more]