Phosphatides in Choline Deficiency and in Adrenal Insufficiency

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Abstract
Summary.: In adult rats fed for three to five months on a high fat diet practically free from choline, the fat content of the livers rose to about 25% of the weight of fresh tissue. At the same time the content of choline phospholipids of the liver remained quantitatively unchanged as compared with rats given 5 mg choline per gm basic diet. The cephalins of the liver, on the other hand, showed a significant increase. The red blood corpuscles of the same choline‐deficient rats showed an increased resistance towards hypotonic NaCl and KCl solutions. The neutral fat accumulated during the choline deficiency period disappeared in fasting. At the same time the phospholipid content of the liver markedly decreased, while the same choline phospholipid/cephalin ratio was maintained as existed before the beginning of the fast. Adrenalectomy accelerated the disappearance of the accumulated neutral fat but did not produce any significant changes in the phospholipids in the liver. In the kidneys, the spleen and the muscles neither choline deficiency, adrenalectomy nor fasting brought about any appreciable changes in the phospholipids. Possible explanations for the results are discussed, especially the rôle of the different phospholipids in the transfer of neutral fat by the liver.