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Title: Fatty acid oxidation and ketogenesis in astrocytes

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:5600339

Astrocytes were derived from cortex of two-day-old rat brain and grown in primary culture to confluence. The metabolism of the fatty acids, octanoate and palmitate, to CO{sub 2} in oxidative respiration and to the formation of ketone bodies was examined by radiolabeled tracer methodology. The net production of acetoacetate was also determined by measurement of its mass. The enzymes in the ketogenic pathway were examined by measuring enzymic activity and/or by immunoblot analyses. Labeled CO{sub 2} and labeled ketone bodies were produced from the oxidation of fatty acids labeled at carboxy- and {omega}-terminal carbons, indicating that fatty acids were oxidized by {beta}-oxidation. The results from the radiolabeled tracer studies also indicated that a substantial proportion of the {omega}-terminal 4-carbon unit of the fatty acids bypassed the {beta}-ketothiolase step of the {beta}-oxidation pathway. The ({sup 14}C)acetoacetate formed from the (1-{sup 14}C)labeled fatty acids, obligated to pass through the acetyl-CoA pool, contained 50% of the label at carbon 3 and 50% at carbon 1. In contrast, the ({sup 14}C)acetoacetate formed from the ({omega}-1)labeled fatty acids contained 90% of the label at carbon 3 and 10% at carbon 1.

Research Organization:
California Univ., Los Angeles, CA (USA)
OSTI ID:
5600339
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English