Journal article

Publication year: 1999

Pages: 103-112

Journal: Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition

Volume number: 81

Issue number: 2

ISSN: 0931-2439

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1439-0396.1999.812194.x

Publisher: Wiley

Abstract: 

Previous studies have demonstrated that zinc deficiency changes the ratio between arachidonic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid in rat tissue phospholipids. An altered activity of lysophospholipid acyltransferase, the key enzyme in the renewal of phospholipids, could be one possible reason for this phenomenon. Therefore, the present study was performed to determine the activity of this enzyme in zinc-deficient rats. Four groups of rats were fed zinc-deficient (0.5 mg Zn/kg) or zinc-adequate (45 mg Zn/kg) diets with either olive oil or linseed oil as the source of fat. To ensure an adequate food intake, all the rats were force-fed by gastric tube over a period of 13 days. Feeding the zinc-deficient diets markedly lowered body weight gains as well as zinc concentrations and activities of alkaline phosphatase in plasma, thus proving the zinc-deficient state of these animals. In the rats that mere fed linseed oil, zinc deficiency caused a marked increase in the ratio between n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in liver phospholipids, particularly in phosphatidylcholine. In contrast, in the rats that were fed olive oil, zinc deficiency had only slight effects on the fatty acid composition of the liver phospholipids. The activity of lysophospholipid acyltransferase was measured in hepatic microsomes with [1-C-14]arachidonoyl-CoA as substrate and lysophosphatidylcholine as acceptor. The effect of zinc deficiency on this enzyme was different for rats that were fed olive oil and for rats fed linseed oil. In the rats thar were fed linseed oil, zinc deficiency reduced the activity of this enzyme whereas in the rats that were fed olive oil, zinc deficiency did not alter the activity of the enzyme. The concentration of hepatic phosphatidylcholine was increased by zinc deficiency in the rats that were fed linseed oil whereas it remained unchanged in the rats fed olive oil. Therefore, this study confirms previous results in demonstrating that the effects of zinc deficiency on lipid metabolism are influenced by the type of fat.

Harvard Citation style: Waldhauser, K., Eder, K. and Kirchgeßner, M. (1999) The activity of hepatic lysophospholipid acyltransferase in zinc-deficient rats, Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, 81(2), pp. 103-112. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1439-0396.1999.812194.x

APA Citation style: Waldhauser, K., Eder, K., & Kirchgeßner, M. (1999). The activity of hepatic lysophospholipid acyltransferase in zinc-deficient rats. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition. 81(2), 103-112. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1439-0396.1999.812194.x