title: Fatty acid oxidation and ketogenesis by astrocytes in primary culture.
abstract: The oxidation of the fatty acids octanoate and palmitate to CO2 and the ketone bodies acetoacetate and D-(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate was examined in astrocytes that were prepared from cortex of 2-day-old rat brain and grown in primary culture to confluence. Accumulation of acetoacetate (by mass) in the culture medium of astrocytes incubated with octanoate (0.3-0.5 mM) was 50-90 nmol C2 units h-1 mg of protein-1. A similar rate was obtained using radiolabeled tracer methodology with [1-14C]octanoate as labeled substrate. The results from the radiolabeled tracer studies using [1-14C]- and [7-14C]octanoate and [1-14C]-, [13-14C]-, and [15-14C]palmitate indicated that a substantial proportion of the omega-terminal four-carbon unit of these fatty acids bypassed the beta-ketothiolase step of the beta-oxidation pathway and the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl (HMG)-CoA cycle of the classic ketogenic pathway. The [14C]acetoacetate formed from the 1-14C-labeled fatty acids, obligated to pass through the acetyl-CoA pool, contained 50% of the label at carbon 3 and 50% at carbon 1. By contrast, the [14C]acetoacetate formed from (omega-1)-labeled fatty acids contained 90% of the label at carbon 3 and 10% at carbon 1, whereas that formed from the (omega-3)-labeled fatty acid contained 20% of the label at carbon 3 and 80% at carbon 1. These results indicate that acetoacetate is primarily formed either by the action of 3-oxo-acid-CoA transferase (EC 2.8.3.5) or acetoacetyl-CoA deacylase (EC 3.1.2.11) or both on acetoacetyl-CoA and not by the action of the mitochondrial HMG-CoA cycle involving HMG-CoA lyase (EC 4.1.3.4), which was readily detected, and HMG-CoA synthase (EC 4.1.3.5), which was barely measurable.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nutritional Sciences, UCLA School of Public Health.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Auestad
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Korsak
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Morrow
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Edmond
mesh_terms: D000090:Acetoacetates / Q000378:metabolism; D000105:Acetyl Coenzyme A / Q000378:metabolism; D000214:Acyl Coenzyme A; D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D002210:Caprylates / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D007657:Ketone Bodies / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction
chemical_list: D000090:Acetoacetates; D000214:Acyl Coenzyme A; D002210:Caprylates; D005227:Fatty Acids; D007657:Ketone Bodies; C010667:acetoacetyl CoA; C016635:acetoacetic acid; D000105:Acetyl Coenzyme A; C031492:octanoic acid