Effect of whole body gamma irradiation on fatty acid composition of liver lipids of female rats and radioprotection by cystamine

Effect of whole body gamma irradiation (1200 R) on the fatty acid composition of liver lipids and its triglycerides (TG), phosphatidyl ethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidyl choline (PC) has been studied in female rats. Radioprotective effect of cystamine on radiation-induced alterations in fatty acid composition of above liver lipid fractions has been studied by giving crystamine 15 min before irradiation. Irradiation increased palmitic acid levels in liver total lipids, and PE and decreased in TG. Cystamine prevented these changes. Irradiation increased palmitoleic acid levels in liver total lipids, total phospholipids and PC and these were prevented by prior administration of cystamine. Linoleic acid was decreased in liver total lipids, TG, total phospholipids and increased in PE and PC of irradiated rats. Administration of cystamine before irradiation partially protected these changes. Arachidonic acid was reduced in all liver lipid fractions of irradiated rats and this was only partially protected by cystamine, which itself reduced its levels in the control animals. Irradiation increased the levels of eicosatrienoic acid and these were not prevented by cystamine.     

Blood lipids during normal and early weaning in rats

In young rats reared with their mothers, a gradual increase of serum cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids and total lipids was found between the 7th and the 18th to 22nd postnatal day. Then the concentrations of lipids gradually decrease. Early weaning at the 18th postnatal day causes a precocious decrease of the concentration of all studied lipids in blood so that their values on days 22 and 26 are significantly lower than in animals weaned on the 30th postnatal day. The body weight of early weaned rats decreases only slightly and returns to normal by the 30th day. The changes in serum lipids after early weaning are caused by differences in the amount of cholesterol and other lipids in breast milk, in comparison with those in the standard laboratory diet. Perhaps they may participate in disturbing the homeostatic equilibrium of cholesterol in early weaned rats.     

The effect of silymarin-N-methylglucamine salt and silybin-dihemisuccinate on (1-14C)-acetate incorporation in rat liver lipids (author''s transl)

60 min after i.v. application of 140.5 mg silymarin-N-methylglucamine salt/kg body weight dissolved in 4% polyvinylpyrrolidone solution, and 30 min after i.p. administration [1-14C]-acetate, compared to rats treated with solvent only, a statistically significant increase of specific radioactivities in total lipids, triglycerides, total phospholipids as well as in the phosphatidylcholine fraction and a decrease of specific activities in the free cholesterol fraction of the liver can be determined. 70 min after i.p. application of 140.5 mg silybin-dihemisuccinate/kg body weight dissolved in phosphate buffer, and 10 min after i.v. administration of [1-14C]-acetate in comparison with rats treated with solvent only, a statistically significant enhancement of specific activities of total liver lipids, free hepatic cholesterol, liver triglycerides, total liver phospholipids, and the hepatic fraction of phosphatidyl ethanolamine can be measured. Silybin also produces an increased specific radioactivity of the serum triglyceride fraction.     

Change in lipid composition and lipid peroxidation rate in brain tissue under conditions of thymic hormone deficiency

Experiments on mature male rats have shown that 3 and 6 months after removal of the brain thymus, the level of total lipids in all cell centrifugate fractions (homogenate, supramitochondrial and mitochondrial fractions), which was followed by the higher rate of lipid peroxidation and the lower activity of cellular compartments, the spectrum imbalance of lipid fractions with predominant increases in the levels of phospholipids and free cholesterol. It is suggested that these changes make a contribution to the dysfunction of brain structures and participate in regulatory processes in thymectomy.     

Lipid metabolism in women with threatened abortion

The study group consisted of 130 subjects: 50 healthy nonpregnant, 35 healthy women in the I trimester of gestation (gestational age 6-15 weeks) and 45 patients with symptoms of threatened abortion (the same gestational age). In the latter group pain and bleeding ceased after hormonal treatment and spasmolytic drugs. Serum blood concentration of following compounds were determined: total lipids, LDL fraction, total cholesterol, phospholipids, triglycerides, HDL and LDL cholesterol fractions. Threatened abortion had changed lipids profile; diminished concentrations of LDL fraction, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol fraction and phospholipids were observed. Levels of total lipids, phospholipids and triglycerides++ in blood serum of healthy pregnant women in the I trimester of gestation were higher than in nonpregnant women.     

Lipids in human testis

The lipid composition of human testis intesticular and post-testicular causes of infertility was studied. The testicular causes of infertility was represented by patients with adult seminiferous tubule failure and Klinefelter's syndrome. The post-testicular causes of infertility were represented by patients with obstruction of efferent ducts of testes. A significant accumulation of total testicular lipids was observed in both causes of infertility. A marked increase in free and esterified cholesterol, monoglycerides and triglycerides caused the accumulation of total testicular lipids in testicular causes of infertility. The accumulation of these lipids was more pronounced in Klinefelter's syndrome compared to adult seminiferous tubule failure. In post-testicular causes of infertility, a vary marked increase in phospholipids along with cholesterol fractions and glycerides led to the accumulation of total testicular lipids. The significant increase in total phospholipids caused by the increases in phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine differentiates post-testicular causes of infertility from testicular causes in which phospholipid classes remained unaffected. Thus, changes in hormonal mileu due to pathological conditions also lead to marked alterations in testicular lipids.     

The effect of beta-carotene on the cytoplasmic membrane lipids of cells in rats under chronic gamma irradiation

Chronic gamma irradiation of rats at a dose rate of 12.9 rad/day for 155 days (total dose 20 Gy) did not change the cholesterol level in the brush border membrane of the small intestine. Maintenance of rats on a beta-carotene-enriched diet (daily throughout the irradiation period, at a diurnal dose of 3 mg/kg body weight produced an increase in cholesterol levels in the small intestinal brush border membranes. The phospholipid level after gamma irradiation alone did not change, but it was increased in gamma-irradiated rats fed with carotene, this increase being most pronounced for sphingomyelin. Beta-carotene decreased the cholesterol/phospholipid ratio in the brush border membrane of irradiated rats. Activation of lipid synthesis (as seen from inclusion of 2-14C-acetate in the epitheliocyte lipids of irradiated animals) and no influence of beta-carotene on the inclusion of the label in small intestine epitheliocytes of irradiated animals have been revealed. In the presynaptic membranes of brain nerve endings, chronic gamma irradiation of animals produced a deep fall of cholesterol and phospholipid levels. Also, a tendency was revealed for stimulation of transport of the neurotransmitter amino acids GABA and L-glutamate across the presynaptic membranes of nerve endings. Beta-carotene normalized the phospholipid and cholesterol levels in brain presynaptic membranes of irradiated rats, as well as decreased L-glutamate transport. It is assumed that the modifying and normalizing effects of beta-carotene on the lipid exchange of plasma membranes upon chronic irradiation of animals and permanent introduction of the drug are associated with the radioprotector activity of beta-carotene.     

Surface-specific electrical occlusal caries diagnosis: reproducibility, correlation with histological lesion depth, and tooth type dependence

We investigated the lipid metabolism in primary cultured hepatocytes to elucidate the causes of hyperlipidemia, increased cholesteryl esters, and decreased triglyceride levels in the livers of daunomycin-nephrotic rats. The incorporation of 14C-palmitate into phospholipids and triglycerides in primary cultured hepatocytes and medium was similar in daunomycin-nephrotic and control rats. The incorporation of 14C-acetate into phospholipids, triglycerides, cholesterol, cholesteryl esters, and total fatty acids in primary cultured hepatocytes was increased in daunomycin-nephrotic rats. The radioactivity of phospholipids, triglycerides, cholesterol, cholesteryl esters, and very-low-density lipoprotein lipids in medium was increased in the hepatocytes of daunomycin-nephrotic rats using 14C-acetate as a precursor. The increased cholesterogenesis and the increased secretion of triglycerides synthesized from acetate by hepatocytes may be due to an increased cholesteryl ester content and a decreased triglyceride content in the livers of daunomycin-nephrotic rats. The increased secretion of lipids synthesized from acetate by hepatocytes may be due to increased accumulation of lipids in serum and very-low-density lipoprotein in daunomycin-nephrotic rats.     

Effect of irradiation on glycosaminoglycans content in rat tissue

Glycosaminoglycan (GAGs) fractions were determined in tissues (skin, liver, lungs, aortic wall) and blood serum of rats irradiated with a single dose of 500 R. An increase of total GAGs as well as changes in the fractions were found in the tissues and urine of exposed rats.     

Relationship between the thickness of the aortic adventitia and the fat content of blood and the aortic wall

10 rabbits underwent a cholesterol feeding. 10 rabbits were used as control animals. After 12 weeks in the tissue extract of the intima-media-complex of the aorta as well as in the serum the total lipids and the total cholesterol were determined. On histological preparations the thickness of the adventitia of the aorta was measured. In comparison to the control group the animals fed with cholesterol showed a significant increase of the lipid values in the serum and the aorta as well as of the thickness of the adventitia. However, no connections could be proved between the parameters of the serum lipids and the morphological changes of the adventitia.     

Cancer of the breast: Interrelations betwpen the primary tumor and the axillary and internal mammary nodes

Effect of fluorescent products from the reaction of malonaldehyde with dipalmitoyl phosphatidylethanolamine on the content of lipids in plasma and liver of rats was examined, and the results are as follows: Growth of rats was suppressed by daily intraperitoneal administration of fluorescent products (10 or 50 mg/kg) for 7 days. Levels of triglycerides and total cholesterol in the plasma tended to decrease but that of phospholipids increased significantly by the administration of fluorescent products in a dose of 50 mg/kg/day. On the other hand, content of triglycerides in liver decreased by about 26% at a dose of 10 mg/kg and 23% at a dose of 50 mg/kg. Total cholesterol and phospholipids showed a slight diminution. Free fatty acid content in the liver was almost constant. Thiobarbituric acid values in the plasma and liver increased significantly by treatment with the fluorescent products, especially the values at a rate of increase were higher in the plasma than in the liver. No significant changes were observed in the relative fluorescence intensity between control animals and groups treated with fluorescent products. Serum lipoprotein patterns after Agarose gel electrophoresis revealed diffuse bands in the pre-beta and beta-regions.     

Lipidemic effect of methanol

The effect of methanol on some of the lipid components in serum was studied in rats. Methanol was administered by stomach tube in doses of 2 and 6 ml/kg b.wt daily for 21 and 6 days, respectively. Methanol was found to accumulate lipids; thus, cholesterol, phospholipids and triglycerides increased significantly. Concurrently, modification of the lipoid content of organs has been considered. It was concluded that methanol and not only formate, is toxic to rats, inspite of the alleged difference in routes of its metabolism in primates and rodents.     

Short term effects of diets with high levels of dithiocarbamates on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism of rat liver

The purpose of the work was to establish the eventual "metabolic toxicity" of pesticide-contaminated diets in the Rat. The liver metabolic response to various stimuli was compared in dithiocarbamate-fed animals and in non-contaminated ones. 112 weanling male Wistar CF rats were fed, during 15 days, with a demi-synthetic control diet. They were then divided into 4 lots:--the control group C, which went on to receive the same diet,--the nabame group N, the diet of which was supplemented with 275 ppm of the dithiocarbamate;--the thirame groupe R, receiving the control diet + 600 ppm thirame;--the zineb groupe Z, given the control diet + 3 600 ppm Zineb. The animals were fed with these diets during 14 days, their dithiocarbamate intake thus averaging 1/20 th of the per os LD 50/rat/day. At the end of this 2-week period, each of the 4 groups was divided into 4 sub-groups, all the animals were fasted overnight, then sacrified:--after no other treatment (sub-groups T);--30 minutes after an i.p. injection of 2.6 g/kg glucose (G);--after having been forced to walk in a restraint wheel for 50 minutes/hr during the 18 hrs of the night fast (sub-groups W);--after a 90 minutes exposure in a cold room (F). The weights of the animals, of their liver, heart, kidneys, adrenals and epididymal pads were recorded. In their liver, the following compounds were determined: water, proteins, total lipids, triglycerides, long-chain acyl-CoA, non-esterified fatty acids, total cholesterol, glycogen, glucose, alpha-glycerophosphate. The thirame rats had a lower food intake than the others and the smallest body weight, but their relative liver and kidneys weights were the highest. The nabame animals did not differ from the control ones but the zineb rats had the lightest epididymal fat pads. The primary effects of the dithiocarbamate diets on liver metabolism were apparently not the same in the 3 groups compared to the control ones: nabame and thirame increased glycogen, thirame increased the lipid compounds: long-chain actyl-CoA and triglycerides, where as zineb feeding resulted in an increase of glucose concentration and in a decrease of triglycerides and total lipids. Muscular exercise, or cold exposure, had the following effects compared to those they had in the control group: a greater glucose utilization in the nabame and thirame rats, a smaller glycogen and glucose utilization, associated with an increase of alpha-glycerophosphate, in the zineb animals. These results were considered altogether with those obtained in a previous paper by the same authors, which concerned liver ketone bodies and adenine nucleotides changes after the same experimental conditions, and it was concluded that the 3 dithiocarbamates actually had a common effect on rat metabolism: they all impaired glucose utilization by the liver. Also, fat mobilization from peripheral depots was shown to occur in the 3 experimental groups, resulting in liver fatty acid oxidation in the nabame and zineb rats, and in liver steatosis for the thirame ones...     

A longitudinal study of circulating lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood during the acute stage of Guillain-Barré syndrome

We investigated sequential changes in bile flow, serum and biliary biochemical parameters in phalloidin-induced cholestasis in rats. Intrahepatic cholestasis was induced by administration with phalloidin (500 microg/kg) for 7 days, and then the animals were allowed to survive for 1, 2, 4, 7, 14 and 28 days after the last treatment. In phalloidin-treated rats, bile flow significantly decreased up to 4 days of recovery, compared with the control animals. In contrast, serum ALP activity, LAP activity, cholesterol concentration and phospholipid concentration exhibited a marked elevation throughout the recovery periods. For biliary parameters, bilirubin excretion rate was unchanged but, cholesterol excretion rate showed a marked decrease throughout the recovery periods. These results demonstrate that some parameters, particularly important indexes of cholestasis (serum ALP, cholesterol, bile flow and so on), continued significant changes at least 4 days after the last administration of phalloidin. These results demonstrate that successive treatment with phalloidin can cause damage in most of serum and biliary parameters at a chronic stage of cholestasis. Thus, our findings may provide useful information for diagnosis of drug-induced cholestasis and help to further elucidate the biochemical mechanisms of drug-induced cholestasis in humans.     

The clinico-biochemical aspects of the pathogenesis of gestoses

The content of lipids and fatty acids was measured in lung tissue of intact rats and animals with lung edema caused by nitrogen oxide or adrenaline. Lung edema was found to involve disagreement between the phospholipid and fatty acid spectra and to increase the permeability of membranes. The toxic and adrenaline-induced edemas were found identical as regards the type of changes in the ratio of fractions of neutral lipids, phospholipids, and fatty acid spectrum, that is, these shifts represent a nonspecific reaction of lung tissue to aggression.     

Incorporation in vivo of 1-14C-palmitic acid into placental and fetal liver lipids of the rabbit

The incorporation of free fatty acid into the placental and fetal liver lipids of rabbits was studied after fetal injections of albumin-bound 1-14C-palmitic acid. The fetuses were killed either 5--10 or 10--20 min after the injection. The placentas and livers were extracted for lipids and the specific activities of triglycerides (TG), phospholipids (PL), free fatty acids (FFA), monoglycerides (MG) and diglycerides (DG) measured. The lipids of the liver and placenta took up 17.0 and 3.6% of the dose, respectively, and of that liver TG accounted for 74% and the placental TG 34% of the label in each tissue. Most of the remaining counts were in the PL fraction with the rest more or less evely distributed between the FFA, DG and MG fractions. No activity was recorded in the cholesterol esters. The placental TG, PL, DG and MG specific activities reached the same level as that of the placental FFA, while in the liver these esters had higher specific activities (than the liver FFA). The liver TG, DG and PL had higher specific activities when compared with those of the placenta. The specific activity of the placental FFA was lower at 10--20 min than at 5--10 min; the opposite was seen for the placental TG. No time-related changes were seen in the liver lipids. It is concluded that (i) both placenta and fetal liver incorporate FFA into glycerides and PL; (ii) the liver incorporates FFA more rapidly and to a greater extent than the placenta; (iii) most of the FFA is incorporated into TG and to a lesser extent (PL; (iv) in both organs hydrolysis of PL or TG occurs. These results are discussed with reference to placental transport of FFA and fetal fat metabolism.     

Plasma and red cell lipids in sickle cell disease

Lipids, in particular phospholipids, are essential components of membrane systems, and the measurement of phospholipids and cholesterol in plasma and tissues is helpful in diagnosis. Phospholipids represent about 60 to 70% of total red cell (RBC) lipids, while about 25% is free cholesterol. Lipids in RBC are present in a dynamic state of equilibrium, and the RBC have the capacity for rapid exchange of lipids with plasma in several ways. The present study examined the cholesterol and phospholipid levels of plasma and erythrocytes in male patients with sickle cell anemia and in healthy male individuals of comparable age. This was performed with a view to detecting possible differences that might be related to some of the RBC abnormalities which accompany the disease. The results show that plasma lipids are significantly reduced in patients with sickle cell anemia and that RBC cholesterol was higher in sickle cell patients than in normal subjects.     

The hypolipidemic effects of 1-acetyl-4-phenyl-1,2,4-triazolidine-3,5-dione in rodents

1-Acetyl-4-phenyl-1,2,4-triazolidine,5-dione (APTD), a potent hypolipidemic agent, lowered both serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels in normo- and hyperlipidemic rats at 10 or 20 mg/kg/day. The agent effectively lowered VLDL-cholesterol (VLDL-C) and LDL-C content and raised HDL-C content in normal and hyperlipidemic rats treated from 4 to 8 weeks. Similar effects on the incorporation of cholesterol into the lipoprotein fractions were observed after drug treatment. Tissue lipids, e.g. cholesterol, were lowered, whereas fecal cholesterol levels were increased. APTD's primary targets were acyl CoA cholesterol acyl transferase (ACAT) for cholesterol ester synthesis and sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyl transferase (GPAT) and phosphatidylate phosphohydrolase (PPH) for triglyceride synthesis.     

The influence of energy intake on the pathophysiology of Trypanosoma congolense infection in Scottish blackface sheep

The intensity of parasitaemia, degree of anaemia, live body weight gains and blood biochemical changes were measured in two groups of Scottish Blackface sheep infected experimentally with Trypanosoma congolense and allowed either a high (9.9 MJ metabolisable energy (ME) day-1) or a low (6.1 MJ ME day-1) energy intake. It was observed that infected animals on the low energy intake had a longer mean prepatent period, but following patency they developed more severe anaemia and greater growth retardation than those on the high energy intake. Both infected groups exhibited significant reductions in serum total lipids, phospholipids, plasma cholesterol and albumin. However, these changes were more severe in the animals on the low energy intake than in those on the high energy intake. It was concluded that adequate energy nutrition enhances the ability of infected animals to withstand the adverse effects of infection, by promoting body weight gains and moderating the severity of the pathophysiological changes associated with ovine trypanosomosis.     

The parameters of cellular proliferation in acute (immature-cell) leukemias

The standard distribution of the fatty acids in the total lipids of serum was gaschromatographically defined in the respective umbilical cord blood of 24 mothers and their newborn babies, as well as in 20 placentas. The same examinations were made with 30 newborn babies on the day of birth, 14 children in the newborn stage, 22 young babies between 3 and 10 weeks old and 16 older babies between 4 and 12 months old. In the umbilical cord mixed blood of another collective (n = 10) the separation of the total serum lipids in the individual fatty fractions (neutral lipids, phospholipids, cholesterol esters) was also undertaken. The results were compared and existing differences were discussed. It was further established that an advance towards the adult's fatty acid pattern already takes place at an age between 4 and 12 months.