title: Dietary medium-chain triglycerides attenuate hepatic lipid deposition in growing rats with protein malnutrition.
abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) on hepatic lipid accumulation in growing rats with protein malnutrition. Weaning rats were fed either a low-protein diet (3%, LP) or control protein diet (20%, CP), in combination with or without MCT. The four groups were as follows: CP-MCT, CP+MCT, LP-MCT, and LP+MCT. Rats in the CP-MCT, CP+MCT and LP+MCT groups were pair-fed their respective diets based on the amount of diet consumed by the LP-MCT group. Rats were fed each experimental diet for 30 d. Four weeks later, the respiratory quotient was higher in the LP-MCT group than those in the other groups during the fasting period. Hepatic triglyceride content increased in the LP groups compared with the CP groups. Hepatic triglyceride content in the LP+MCT group, however, was significantly decreased compared with that in the LP-MCT group. Levels of carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) 1a mRNA and CPT2 mRNA were significantly decreased in the livers of the LP-MCT group, as compared with corresponding mRNA levels of the other groups. These results suggest that ingestion of a low-protein diet caused fatty liver in growing rats. However, when rats were fed the low-protein diet with MCT, hepatic triglyceride deposition was attenuated, and mRNA levels encoding CPT1a and CPT2 were preserved at the levels of rats fed control protein diets.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition Science, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Shimogamo, Kyoto, Japan. kuwahata@kpu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuwahata
authors.forename: Hiroyo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.forename: Saki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Amano
authors.forename: Meiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimamura
authors.forename: Shunsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Aki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Yukiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Ken-ichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyamoto
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kido
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002334:Carnitine O-Palmitoyltransferase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018753:Diet, Protein-Restricted / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005215:Fasting; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D011488:Protein Deficiency / Q000378:metabolism*; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014280:Triglycerides; D002334:Carnitine O-Palmitoyltransferase