Evidence that hepatic mitochondrial mass decreases during the first sixteen hours following birth in starved newborn rats.
Fatty acid oxidation increases in newborn rats between 0 and 16 h after birth. We have tested the hypothesis that such a rise might be due to an increase in hepatic mitochondrial mass. The ratio total activity/specific activity for cytochrome c oxidase and citrate synthase was used as an index that reflected the changes in mitochondrial mass. This ratio was decreased by about 25% 16 h after delivery, indicating that hepatic mitochondrial mass was lower 16 h after birth than at birth in starved rats. We conclude that changes in the mitochondrial mass are not responsible for the increase in liver capacity to oxidize fatty acids.
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000378:metabolism*; D002950:Citrate (si)-Synthase / Q000378:metabolism; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000378:metabolism; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D008930:Mitochondria, Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013217:Starvation
D005227:Fatty Acids; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV; D002950:Citrate (si)-Synthase