Concentrations of glycerides and phospholipids in rat heart and gastrocnemius muscles. Effects of alloxan-diabetes and perfusion.

1. Methods are described for the extraction of lipid and assay of mono-, di- and tri-glyceride glycerol and phospholipid phosphorus in rat heart and gastrocnemius muscles. 2. In hearts from normal animals, concentrations found were: monoglyceride, 0.6; diglyceride, 0.1; triglyceride, 12.6mumoles of glyceride glycerol/g. of dry muscle; phospholipid, 171mug.atoms of phospholipid phosphorus/g. of dry muscle. Concentrations of glycerides in gastrocnemius muscle were similar to heart muscle but those of phospholipids were lower (64mug.atoms of phospholipid phosphorus/g. of dry muscle). 3. Alloxan-diabetes increased the concentration of triglyceride in the muscles twofold. This increase was shown to be dependent in the heart on the availability of growth hormone and cortisol but not on the availability of dietary lipid. Total glyceride in the heart was increased after 48 and 72hr. starvation but not after 96hr. Changes in glyceride concentration seen in starvation and diabetes were not associated with significant changes in phospholipid concentration. It is suggested that mobilization of free fatty acids in diabetes leads to the synthesis of additional glyceride in muscle. 4. The possible contribution of glyceride fatty acid in the heart to respiration during perfusion has been calculated from the net loss of glyceride during perfusion, and also from the relative rates of lipolysis and esterification and compared with oxidation of fatty acid required for the balance of oxygen consumption (oxygen not utilized in the oxidation of glucose or glycogen glucose). In the normal or diabetic heart perfused with glucose and insulin the breakdown of glyceride can account for the balance of oxygen consumption. In the normal heart perfused without substrate the balance of oxygen consumption is not entirely accounted for by the breakdown of glyceride.