Triacylglycerol turnover in isolated working hearts of acutely diabetic rats

Abstract

Although myocardial triacylglycerol may be a potentially important source of fatty acids for β-oxidation in diabetes, few studies have measured triacylglycerol turnover directly in hearts from diabetic animals. In this study, myocardial triacylglycerol turnover was directly measured in isolated working hearts from streptozotocin-induced acutely diabetic rats. Hearts were initially perfused in the presence of 1.2 mM [ 14 C]palmitate and 11 mM glucose for 1 h (pulse) to label the endogenous lipid pools, followed by a 10-min washout perfusion. Hearts were then perfused for another hour (chase) with buffer containing 11 mM glucose ± 1.2 mM [ 3 H]palmitate. During the chase, both 14 CO 2 and 3 H 2 O production (measures of endogenous and exogenous fatty acid oxidation, respectively) were determined. A second series of hearts were perfused using the same protocol, except that unlabeled palmitate was used during the pulse and 11 mM [ 14 C(U),5- 3 H]glucose ± unlabeled palmitate was present during the chase. Both glycolysis ( 3 H 2 O production) and glucose oxidation ( 14 CO 2 production) rates were measured in this series. Myocardial triacylglycerol levels were significantly higher in the diabetic rat hearts (77.5 ± 4.6 vs. 33.7 ± 4.1 μmol fatty acid/g dry mass in control hearts). In diabetic rat hearts chased with 1.2 mM palmitate, triacylglycerol lipolysis was increased, although endogenous [ 14 C]palmitate oxidation rates were similar to control hearts and contributed 10.1% of overall ATP production. The majority of fatty acids derived from triacylglycerol lipolysis were released into the perfusate. In the absence of palmitate, both triacylglycerol lipolysis and endogenous [ 14 C]palmitate oxidation rates were significantly increased in diabetic rat hearts, compared with control. Under these conditions, triacylglycerol fatty acid oxidation contributed 70% of steady-state ATP production in diabetic rat hearts, compared with 34% in control hearts. These results demonstrate that in diabetic rat hearts myocardial triacylglycerol lipolysis is significantly increased and can readily be used as a source of fatty acids for mitochondrial β-oxidation.Key words: heart, triacylglycerols, fatty acid oxidation, glucose oxidation, glycolysis.