Factors affecting liver uptake of serum free stearic acid-1-C14

Abstract

Hepatic extraction of intravenously injected albumin-bound stearic acid-1-C¹⁴ was studied in anesthetized rats. Hepatic C¹⁴ contents were nearly maximal within 4 min and, in young fed females, represented 47% of the injected label. By this time, about 98% of the stearate-1-C¹⁴ in the livers of all groups had been esterified and appeared chiefly in the phospholipids. Livers of large fed rats (500–600 g) and of 2-day fasted animals represented a smaller portion of body weight and acquired a lesser fraction of the injected stearate-1-C¹⁴ than did those of young fed controls. Subcutaneous epinephrine also reduced hepatic C¹⁴ incorporation. A single feeding of fasted rats with glucose or olive oil had no significant effect on C¹⁴ distribution. Contrary to inferences from several recent studies, there was no consistent relationship between serum free fatty acid level and the fraction of injected stearate-1-C¹⁴ appearing in the livers.