Estimation of peroxisomal and mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation in rat hepatocytes using tritiated substrates

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Abstract
The pathways of peroxisomal and mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation were monitored with the use of substrates which produce NAD3H. I used as marker substrates: D-[3-3H]3-hydroxybutyrate for mitochondrial NAD3H production, [2-3H]glycerol for cytosolic NAD3H production, and [2-3H]acetate to measure carbon-bound 3H which was also generated by the metabolism of the commercial 9,10-3H-labelled fatty acids. The assumption that peroxisomal NAD3H can be considered to be equivalent to cytosolic NAD3H was supported using a specific inhibitor of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation. The approach involves determination of the specific yields, and the relative distribution on carbons 4 and 6, of 3H in glucose from the marker substrates and the labelled fatty acids. In hepatocytes from clofibrate-treated rats, the amount of palmitate or oleate oxidation which starts in the peroxisomes is comparable with that which starts in the mitochondria.