title: Erucic acid metabolism by cultured beating heart cells of the postnatal rat.
abstract: Cardiac erucic acid metabolism has been studied with beating heart cells in culture. It has been shown that erucate is taken up by these cultured cardiac myocytes. These cells are unable to oxidize it directly but require delaying intermediary steps to shorten the erucic acid chain before its complete oxidation. This long latency time of erucate oxidation would explain its accumulation within the different cellular lipid classes. It is suggested that the occurrence of large amounts of erucate in the different phospholipids might affect cellular and mitochondrial membrane structures. Evidence is reported that erucate does not affect the oxidative capacity of the myocardial cell but because of its accumulation dilutes other fatty acids which will then be oxidized at a lower rate.
mesh_terms: D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002788:Cholesterol Esters / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004883:Erucic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000378:metabolism*; D005989:Glycerides / Q000096:biosynthesis; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism*; D010169:Palmitic Acids / Q000096:biosynthesis; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000096:biosynthesis; D013109:Sphingomyelins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002788:Cholesterol Esters; D004883:Erucic Acids; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D005989:Glycerides; D010169:Palmitic Acids; D010743:Phospholipids; D013109:Sphingomyelins; D002245:Carbon Dioxide