The physical-chemical basis for sex-related differences in uptake of fatty acids by the liver.
The uptake of fatty acids by the liver was shown previously to be a non-catalyzed process, and rates of uptake were correlated to the affinity of the plasma membranes of liver cells for fatty acids. The experiments in this paper were designed to test whether the known differences in uptake and metabolism of free fatty acids by the livers of male and female rats could be understood based on differences in the affinities of the corresponding plasma membranes for these substrates. The relative affinities for palmitate and oleate of 'male' plasma membranes were found to be lower versus 'female' membranes. Measurements of uptake of palmitate from albumin-palmitate complexes by 'male' and 'female' perfused livers showed higher uptake rates by the latter when correlated with the concentration of the complex. However, the rates of uptake were identical when the concentrations of the fatty acid in the plasma membranes of male and female liver cells were the same.
Noy
N
N
Department of Medicine, Cornell University Medical College, New York, NY 10021.
Donnelly
T M
TM
Cooper
R B
RB
Zakim
D
D
D000418:Albumins / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D010168:Palmitates / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D011485:Protein Binding; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012727:Sex Characteristics
D000418:Albumins; D005227:Fatty Acids; D010168:Palmitates