Journal article

Publication year: 2007

Pages: 882-889

Journal: British Journal of Nutrition

Volume number: 98

Issue number: 5

ISSN: 0007-1145

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1017/S000711450775691X

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Abstract: 
It has been shown that treatment of rats with clofibrate, a synthetic agonist of PPAR alpha, increases mRNA concentration of organic cation transporters (OCTN)-1 and -2 and concentration of carnitine in the liver. Since oxidised fats have been demonstrated in rats to activate hepatic PPAR alpha, we tested the hypothesis that they also up regulate OCTN. Eighteen rats were orally administered either sunflower-seed oil (control group) or an oxidised fat prepared by heating sunflower-seed oil, for 6d. Rats administered the oxidised fat had higher mRNA concentrations of typical PPAR alpha target genes such as acyl-CoA oxidase, cytochrome P450 4A1 and carnitine palmitoyltransferases-1A and -2 in liver and small intestine than control rats (P<0.05). Furthermore, rats treated with oxidised fat had higher hepatic mRNA concentrations of OCTN1 (1 center dot 5-fold) and OCTN2 (3 center dot 1fold), a higher carnitine concentration in the liver and lower carnitine concentrations in plasma, gastrocnemius and heart muscle than control rats (P<0.05). Moreover, rats administered oxidised fat had a higher mRNA concentration of OCTN2 in small intestine (2-4-fold; P<0.05) than control rats. In conclusion, the present study shows that an oxidised fat causes an up regulation of OCTN in the liver and small intestine. An increased hepatic carnitine concentration in rats treated with the oxidised fat is probably at least in part due to an increased uptake of carnitine into the liver which in turn leads to reduced plasma and muscle carnitine concentrations. The present study supports the hypothesis that nutrients acting as PPAR alpha agonists influence whole-body carnitine homeostasis.

Harvard Citation style: Koch, A., König, B., Luci, S., Stangl, G. and Eder, K. (2007) Dietary oxidised fat up regulates the expression of organic cation transporters in liver and small intestine and alters carnitine concentrations in liver, muscle and plasma of rats, British Journal of Nutrition, 98(5), pp. 882-889. https://doi.org/10.1017/S000711450775691X

APA Citation style: Koch, A., König, B., Luci, S., Stangl, G., & Eder, K. (2007). Dietary oxidised fat up regulates the expression of organic cation transporters in liver and small intestine and alters carnitine concentrations in liver, muscle and plasma of rats. British Journal of Nutrition. 98(5), 882-889. https://doi.org/10.1017/S000711450775691X