Lipid and lipoprotein synthesis in isolated and cultured hepatocytes from lean and obese Zucker rats

Lipoprotein-based drug delivery

Lipoproteins (LPs) are circulating heterogeneous nanoparticles produced by the liver and intestines. LPs play a major role in the transport of dietary and endogenous lipids to target cells through cell membrane receptors or cell surface-bound lipoprotein lipase. The stability, biocompatibility, and selective transport of LPs make them promising delivery vehicles for various therapeutic and imaging agents. This review discusses isolation, manufacturing, and drug loading techniques used for LP-based drug delivery, as well as recent applications for diagnosis and treatment of cancer, atherosclerosis, and other life-threatening diseases.

Apolipoprotein B mRNA editing and apolipoprotein gene expression in the liver of hyperinsulinemic fatty Zucker rats: relationship to very low density lipoprotein composition

We previously demonstrated increased apolipoprotein B (apoB) mRNA editing, elevated levels of mRNA for the catalytic component of the apoB mRNA editing complex, apobec-1, and increased secretion of the product of the edited mRNA, apoB48, in very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) in primary cultures of Sprague-Dawley rat hepatocytes following insulin treatment. In order to determine the effect of in vivo hyperinsulinemia on these processes, we determined apoB mRNA editing, apobec-1 expression, hepatic expression of mRNA for apoB and other VLDL apoproteins, and the quantity and composition of plasma VLDL in the hyperinsulinemic fatty Zucker rat. Total apoB mRNA content of the livers of the fatty rats and lean littermates did not differ; however, edited apoB message coding for hepatic apo B48, and abundance of mRNA for the catalytic subunit of the apoB mRNA editing complex, apobec-1, was increased by 1.7- and 3.3-fold, respectively, in fatty rats. ApoCIII mRNA abundance was increased in livers of fatty rats as well, but the abundance of hepatic apoE mRNA in the fatty animal was not different from that of the lean rat. Hepatic apoAI mRNA abundance was also increased in the fatty rats. Associated with increased apoB mRNA editing, was the 1.7-fold increase in the fraction of apoB in plasma as apoB48 in fatty rats. VLDL-triglyceride and -apoB in plasma were 15- and 3-fold higher, respectively, in fatty Zucker rats compared to lean littermates, indicating both enrichment of VLDL with triglycerides and increased accumulation of VLDL particles. Increased hepatic expression of mRNA for apoCIII and apoAI was associated with increased content of apoC (and relative depletion of apoE) in VLDL of fatty rats, and plasma apoAI was increased in fatty Zucker rats, primarily in the HDL fraction. The current study provides further evidence that chronic exposure to high levels of insulin influences both the quantity of and lipid/apoprotein composition of VLDL in plasma. The increased apoC and decreased apoE (as well as increased triglyceride) content of VLDL in the fatty Zucker rat observed in the current study may affect VLDL clearance and therefore may be a factor in the observed accumulation of VLDL in the plasma of the fatty hyperinsulinemic Zucker rats.

Inhibiting delta9-desaturase activity impairs triacylglycerol secretion in cultured chicken hepatocytes

The relationship between endogenous oleic acid produced by hepatic delta9-desaturase and the secretion of VLDL-triglycerides was investigated in a primary culture of chicken hepatocytes. When the fatty acid compositions of the secreted and intracellular triglycerides (TG) (or triacylglycerols) were compared, an imbalance between monoenes and saturated fatty acids was observed, with the secreted TG being significantly more unsaturated than the intracellular TG. The addition of a mixture of cyclopropenic fatty acids (specific inhibitors of fatty acid desaturation) to the culture medium of cells 24 h before measurement of their delta9-desaturase activity and TG secretion rate caused a significant impairment of both desaturase activity and TG secretion, without affecting total TG synthesis. However, the addition of oleic acid to the culture medium of cells treated with cyclopropenic fatty acids restored the TG secretion rate. Palmitic acid did not restore the TG secretion rate and linoleic acid partly restored the TG secretion rate. Finally, even in the presence of oleic acid in the culture medium of secreting cells, those which had been treated with cyclopropenic fatty acids had a significantly lower TG secretion rate than nontreated cells. Taken together, these results show that TG secretion is highly dependent on the delta9-desaturase activity and suggest that oversecretion of VLDL-TG in chickens and subsequent fattening could originate in a high hepatic delta9-desaturation of saturated fatty acids.

Effect of low levels of dietary fish oil on fatty acid desaturation and tissue fatty acids in obese and lean rats

The effect of very low levels of dietary long-chain n-3 fatty acids on delta 6 desaturation of linoleic acid (18:2n-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (18:3n-3), and on delta 5 desaturation of dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (20:3n-6), in liver microsomes and its influence on tissue fatty acids were examined in obese and lean Zucker rats and in Wistar rats. Animals fed for 12 wk a balanced diet containing ca. 200 mg of long-chain polyunsaturated n-3 fatty acids per 100 g of diet were compared to those fed the same amount of alpha-linolenic acid. Low amounts of long-chain n-3 fatty acids greatly inhibited delta 6 desaturation of 18:2n-6 and delta 5 desaturation of 20:3n-6, while delta 6 desaturation of 18:3n-3 was not inhibited in Zucker rats and was even stimulated in Wistar rats. Inhibition of the biosynthesis of long-chain n-6 fatty acids was reflected in a decrease in arachidonic acid (20:4n-6) content of serum lipids when fasting, and also in the phospholipid fatty acids of liver microsomes. On the contrary, heart and kidney phospholipids did not develop any decrease in 20:4n-6 during fish oil ingestion. Docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3), present in the dietary fish oil, was increased in serum lipids and in liver microsome, heart, and kidney phospholipids.

Effects of dietary glucose or fructose on the secretion rate and particle size of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins in Zucker fatty rats

Effects of dietary carbohydrate on the secretion rate and particle size of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins were examined in Zucker fatty rats fed fructose and glucose and were compared with those of Zucker lean rats. Carbohydrates were supplied as 10% drinking solutions for 14 days. As compared with lean rats, Zucker fatty rats had hyperinsulinemia and hypertriglyceridemia associated with an increased rate of triglyceride secretion into the circulation. Feeding fructose and glucose to fatty rats produced an increase in plasma glucose levels, whereas plasma insulin concentrations did not show significant changes. Neither fructose nor glucose supplementation produced significant changes in the rate of triglyceride secretion. Despite this, plasma triglyceride concentrations in fructose-fed fatty rats were twice as high as those in glucose-fed rats or those receiving no supplementary carbohydrate. Particle diameters of lipoproteins of density between 0.96 and 1.006 were larger in fructose-fed fatty rats than in those receiving no sugar. The results suggest that feeding fructose, but not glucose, into fatty rats is associated with an impairment of triglyceride removal and a resultant increase in plasma triglyceride concentration, the latter of which is accompanied by an increase in triglyceride contents in each particle.

Assembly and secretion of hepatic very-low-density lipoprotein

In contrast to water-soluble fuels such as glucose or ketone bodies, the use of lipids as an energy source for tissues has required the development of complex structures for their transport through the aqueous plasma. In the case of endogenously synthesized triacylglycerol this is achieved by the assembly and secretion of hepatic VLDL which provides the necessary stability in an aqueous medium. An essential component of this assembly process is apo B. Dietary changes which require an increase in hepatic VLDL secretion appear to be accompanied by increases in the availability of functional apo B. Interesting questions relate to: (a) the intracellular site(s) of triacylglycerol association with apo B, and (b) the mechanism(s) by which the availability of functional apo B at this site responds to metabolic and hormonal signals which reflect dietary status and, thus, the need to secrete triacylglycerol. As regards the latter, although in some cases changes in apo B synthesis occur in response to VLDL secretion hepatic apo B mRNA levels appear to be quite stable in vitro. Intracellular switching of apo B between the secretory and degradative pathways may be important in controlling VLDL assembly and post-translational modifications of the apoprotein may also play a role by influencing its ability to bind to triacylglycerol. Transport is not the only problem associated with the utilization of a concentrated energy source such as triacylglycerol and the complex problems of waste product disposal and recycling have to be dealt with. In the case of triacylglycerol, potentially toxic waste products include atherogenic remnants and LDL. The overall problem, then, in the long-term, involves the development of a 'safe' means of utilizing triacylglycerol and this requirement accounts for much of the complexity of plasma lipoprotein metabolism. In this area, the rat could teach the human a few tricks. One of these appears to be the utilization of hepatic apo B48 rather than apo B100 for VLDL assembly in response to increases in the extrahepatic utilization of hepatically synthesized triacylglycerol. Under these conditions, the remnants of hepatic triacylglycerol utilization by peripheral tissues are cleared from the plasma much more readily via a process which seems to involve the cycling of more triacylglycerol back to the liver than that which occurs in humans. The means by which this is achieved, though, are obscure and may involve a chylomicron remnant receptor, the nature of which, itself, remains controversial.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)