M.T. Molina

Comparative Effects of Feeding Different Fats on Fatty Acid Composition of Major Individual Phospholipids of Rat Hearts

Comparative effects of feeding dietary linoleic (corn oil), oleic (olive oil), alpha-linolenic (soybean oil) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (fish oil) on lipid content and fatty acid composition of major individual phospholipids of rat hearts were examined. Feeding different diets did not result in lipid accumulation in the heart. Total triglyceride, nonesterified fatty acid, cholesteryl ester and phospholipid levels of heart tissue were not affected by the type of dietary fatty acid. However, heart free cholesterol levels decreased in both animals fed the olive and the fish oil diets. The percentage of individual phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and cardiolipin (CL) did not modify by changes in the dietary fat composition. Heart tissue from animals fed on olive oil were enriched with 18:1 (n-9 + n-7) fatty acid in all phospholipid fractions. Animals fed corn oil contained higher proportions of 18:2 (n-6) for PC, PE and CL, and the ingestion of the soybean oil diet increased 18:2 (n-6) for PC and CL in the same proportion as the ingestion of the corn oil diet. The levels of 22:6 (n-3) were increased in the fish oil-fed group, accompanied by both a decrease in total (n-6) fatty acids and an increase in total (n-3) fatty acids in the three phospholipid fractions. The 20:5 (n-3) was only detected in these animals. These results show that olive oil is as effective as fish oil in reducing heart cholesterol content and support earlier works suggesting the role of fish oil in preventing cardiovascular disease.

Changes in uptake of linoleic acid and cholesterol by jejunal sacs of rats in vitro, after distal small-bowel resection.

Both linoleic acid and cholesterol uptake were studied in small-intestinal sacs of rats in vitro after distal small-bowel resection (DSBR). The relationship between linoleic acid concentration and its absorption was non-linear at low concentrations and became linear at high concentrations in the three groups of animals. These observations indicate that a concentration-dependent dual mechanism of transport is operative in linoleic acid intestinal uptake. Experiments with rotenone and ouabain suggest that a facilitated diffusion is the predominant mechanism of absorption at low concentrations, whereas at high concentrations simple diffusion is predominant. The apparent kinetic constants of linoleic acid uptake (Kd, Kt, and Vmax) increased after DSBR. The uptake of linoleic acid is, however, influenced by the simultaneous presence of linolenic acid, the inhibition constant being decreased after the surgical operation. After the surgical operation an increase of cholesterol uptake was observed, with a parallel enhancement in the apparent mass-transfer coefficient (Kd). Taken together, these results suggest that both organ growth and changes in transport function of the enterocytes appear to be involved in the adaptive response of the bowel to intestinal resection.

CAECAL AND COLONIC UPTAKE OF BOTH LINOLEIC ACID AND CHOLESTEROL IN RATS FOLLOWING INTESTINAL RESECTION

Caecal and colonic uptake of both linoleic acid and cholesterol were studied in rats after distal small bowel resection (DSBR). The results showed that the surgical operation increased the caecal and colonic uptake of linoleic acid. Supplementation with linolenic acid inhibited caecal and colonic uptake of linoleic acid. Experiments carried out in the presence of rotenone and ouabain suggest that facilitated diffusion is the predominant mechanism of caecal and colonic linoleic acid absorption, at least at low concentrations. An increase in caecal and colonic uptake of cholesterol was observed after the surgical operation. The study showed that facilitated diffusion seems to be the mechanism of linoleic acid absorption in the caecum and colon, and that both organ growth and changes in transport function of the epithelial cells of caecum and colon appear to be involved in the adaptive response of the bowel to intestinal resection.

Changes in fatty acid composition of rat liver and serum induced by distal small bowel resection.

The serum lipid composition and the fatty-acid profiles of the major lipid fraction (triglycerides, esterified cholesterol, and phospholipid) of liver and serum were examined 6 weeks after both 50% and 75% distal small bowel resection (DSBR). Total serum lipid content did not modify after DSBR. Esterified cholesterol and phospholipid levels of the serum did not significantly change after the operation. However, a significant increase in both free cholesterol and triglyceride levels was observed after DSBR. Different fatty acid changes in the liver and serum lipid fractions were found after DSBR, with the greatest differences in the hepatic esterified cholesterol fraction. These results suggest that DSBR affects both the lipid composition and the fatty acid composition of major lipid fraction of liver and serum.

Effect of distal small bowel resection on ACAT activity and microsomal lipid composition in rat small intestine

1. The acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) activity and lipid composition of intestinal microsomal membrane were investigated 6 weeks after both 50 and 75% distal small bowel resection (DSBR). 2. No changes in both microsomal ACAT activity and cholesteryl ester levels were found, while microsomal non-esterified cholesterol content was increased after the surgical operation. 3. The total phospholipid content of the microsomes did not change as a result of DSBR. 4. The microsomal phospholipid fatty acid composition showed a significant increase in saturated fatty acids together with no changes in both total monounsaturated and total polyunsaturated fatty acids after resection. 5. An increase in the levels of linoleic acid accompanied by a decrease in arachidonic acid was found in remnant intestine of resected rats.

Distal small bowel resection increases mucosal permeability in the large intestine.

Intestinal 14C-erythritol clearance, as a measure of mucosal permeability, was evaluated in rats 4 weeks after distal small bowel resection. In the cecum and colon of resected animals, erythritol clearance was increased both per organ and per unit tissue mass, regardless of the extent of the resection. In the remnant jejunum, however, a small but significant increase in erythritol clearance was only observed after 80% distal small bowel resection, no matter which reference was chosen. This is the first demonstration that intestinal resection increases the mucosal permeability of the remnant small and large intestine.

Role of rat large intestine in reducing diarrhea after 50% or 80% distal small bowel resection

The effects of intestinal resection on several intestinal parameters have been studied in the large intestine of rats one month after the surgical operation. The results show that both 50% and 80% distal small bowel resection increased net fluid absorption and mucosal permeability and caused expansion of the intercellular spaces of the large intestine. The increase in net fluid absorption was dependent upon the extent of the intestine removed. The cAMP and cGMP content of cecal and colonic mucosa were significantly reduced after jejunoilectomy. Changes in nucleotide levels were dependent on the length of the intestine resected. On the other hand, mucosa Na,K-ATPase specific activity was only increased in the cecum after 80% intestinal resection. The results are discussed in terms of adaptation to prevent diarrhea.

Intestinal resection and ursodeoxycholic acid: effect on hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl Coenzyme A reductase and acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase activities in the rat

The effect of distal small bowel resection (DSBR) and/or ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) ingestion on hepatic activities of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl Coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase and acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) was studied in rats. The total activity and the activity state of the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase were also determined. DSBR significantly increased the total activity of HMG-CoA reductase. This increase was enhanced when rats were treated with UDCA. The active form of the enzyme was increased by DSBR. However, the ingestion of UDCA did not modify these results. Therefore, the observed increase in the total activity of HMG-CoA reductase in resected-rats after the administration of UDCA was due to an increase in the inactive form of the enzyme. The activity of ACAT was decreased in resected animals. This decrease was greater after the treatment of UDCA in resected rats when compared with the corresponding group of untreated rats with UDCA. We conclude that UDCA ingestion increases the effect of intestinal resection on hepatic HMG-CoA reductase and ACAT activities.