title: Triglyceride metabolism in the lung.
abstract: Experiments were carried out to examine whether the lung acts as a depot for circulating lipid, especially that absorbed from the intestine. When 0.5 ml of triolein was administered orally to rats, the triglyceride content of the lung increased 2-3 hr later, but its increase in the lungs 2-3 hr later was only of about 1/10 of that in the liver. In the fed state the triglyceride content of the lung was only about 1/8 of that of the liver. When [3H]palmitic acid was administered orally to mice its uptake by the lung 1 and 2 hr later was 1/25-40 of that by the liver. In the lung, it was incorporated into phospholipid more than into triglyceride, but in the liver it was predominatly incorporated into triglyceride. Most of the lipase activity in both the microsomal and soluble fractions of rat lung appeared to be due to lipoprotein lipase. Fasting did not decrease the lipoprotein lipase activity in either fraction. It was concluded that  the lung is not important in removal of triglyceride from the blood, even during fat absorption from the intestine, and that the lung takes up circulating lipid for its own metabolism rather than for storage.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005215:Fasting; D008049:Lipase / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008168:Lung / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008861:Microsomes / Q000201:enzymology; D010169:Palmitic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000032:analysis; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism*; D014304:Triolein / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D010169:Palmitic Acids; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D010743:Phospholipids; D014280:Triglycerides; D014304:Triolein; D008049:Lipase