Regulation of lipoprotein lipase in different rat tissues

In rats maintained on a fat-free diet, hepatic production of very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) fell by only 18% after 20 hours of fasting (as judged by rates of triglyceride accumulation in plasma following administration of Triton WR1339). Infusion of heparin into fed rats caused a rapid accumulation in plasma of two distinct lipase activities in approximately equal amounts: heparin releasable lipoprotein lipase (HR-LPL) and heparin releasable triglyceride lipase (HR-TGL). Fasting reduced the former by 67%, but the latter by only 20 to 25%. To gain insight into the effects of nutritional status on the interorgan distribution of these enzymes, experiments were designed for the perfusion of liver and heart by standard procedures, and of epididymis, gastrocnemius muscle (red fiber), and psoas muscle (white fiber) by micro techniques. After addition of heparin, perfusates were analyzed for each species of lipase. The objective was to selectively monitor the capillary-bound, physiologically functional lipase without significant contamination by intracellular enzyme. HR-TGL was found only in liver, where it represented the major lipase activity; it was only minimally affected by fasting. In epididymis HR-LPL fell by 85% in fasted animals and, remarkably, rebounded almost to ad libitum fed values after only two hours of refeeding. In both heart and gastrocnemius muscle, directional changes in HR-LPL were exactly reciprocal to those seen in epididymis. By contrast, HR-LPL of psoas muscle was unresponsive to fasting. Qualitatively, the data were in keeping with documented nutritionally-induced shifts in tissue disposal of VLDL-triglycerides. However, the extent and rapidity of some of the changes observed were much more pronounced than had hitherto been recognized.