title: Metabolism of glycerol-1,2,3-trimethylsuccinate in rat hepatocytes.
abstract: The metabolism of glycerol-1,2,3-trimethylsuccinate ester was investigated in rat hepatocytes. The ester displayed a greater nutritional value than D-glucose, as a precursor of either CO2 or glycogen. In terms of 14CO2 production, the value calculated from experiments conducted in the presence of 1.9 mM [U-14C] glycerol-1,2,3-trimethylsuccinate, glycerol-1,2,3-trimethyl[1,4-14C] succinate and glycerol- 1,2,3-trimethyl[2,3-14C] succinate represented about 50 times that found in cells incubated with 1.0 mM D-[U-14C] glucose. For glycogen synthesis, the results found with the ester were approximately 7-8 times higher than those found with the hexose. A further advantage of the ester over D-glucose consisted in the fact that, at increasing concentrations of these nutrients, a maximal metabolic response may be reached at lower levels of glycerol- 1,2,3-trimethylsuccinate than D-glucose. By comparison with previous data obtained in the same experimental model, glycerol-1,2,3-trimethylsuccinate was also found to display a higher nutritional value than the dimethyl ester of succinic acid. It is proposed, therefore, that glycerol-1,2,3-trimethylsuccinate could be used to support ATP generation in cells endangered by an imbalance between the rate of synthesis and hydrolysis of this adenine nucleotide.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Medicine, Brussels Free University, Belgium.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ladrière
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grue-Sørensen
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Björkling
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Malaisse
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000096:biosynthesis; D000818:Animals; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D018118:Chloride Channels / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005947:Glucose / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005990:Glycerol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D006003:Glycogen / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013386:Succinates
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D018118:Chloride Channels; D013386:Succinates; C107089:glycerol-1,2,3-trimethylsuccinate; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D006003:Glycogen; D005947:Glucose; D005990:Glycerol