The regulation of glyceride synthesis in isolated white-fat cells. The effects of acetate, pyruvate, lactate, palmitate, electron-acceptors, uncoupling agents and oligomycin

1. The incorporation of 5mm-[U-¹⁴C]glucose into glyceride fatty acids by fat cells from normal rats incubated in the presence of 20munits of insulin/ml was increased by acetate, pyruvate, palmitate, NNN′N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine, phenazine methosulphate, dinitrophenol, tetrachlorotrifluoromethyl benzimidazole and oligomycin. Lactate did not stimulate glucose incorporation into fatty acids. The effects of these agents were concentration-dependent. 2. In the presence of 5mm-glucose+insulin, [U-¹⁴C]acetate, [U-¹⁴C]pyruvate and [U-¹⁴C]lactate were incorporated into fatty acids in a concentration-dependent manner, thereby further increasing the total rate of fatty acid synthesis. 3. NNN′N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine decreased the incorporation of [U-¹⁴C]pyruvate into fatty acids in normal cells and increased the incorporation of [U-¹⁴C]lactate into fatty acids. 4. In fact cells from 72h-starved rats the stimulatory effects of NNN′N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine upon glucose and lactate incorporation into fatty acids were totally and partially abolished respectively whereas the stimulatory effects of acetate upon glucose incorporation were retained. 5. Combinations of the optimum concentrations of the substances that stimulate glucose incorporation into fatty acids were tested and compared. The effects of acetate+NNN′N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine and acetate+palmitate upon normal cells were additive. The effects of NNN′N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine+palmitate were not additive. It was found that total fatty acid synthesis in the presence of glucose was most effectively increased by raising the concentration of pyruvate in the incubation system. 6. The significance of these results in supporting the proposal that fatty acid synthesis from glucose in adipose tissue is a ‘self-limiting process’ is discussed.