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Adipose monoacylglycerol: Acyl-coenzyme a acyltransferase activity in the white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis): Characterization and function in a migratory bird

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Lipids

Abstract

Although migrating birds use stored triacylglycerol as their primary fuel for flight, they must retain sufficient stores of ω6 and ω3 fatty acids to sustain reproduction after the spring migration. Hepatic monoacylglycerol:acyl-coenzyme A acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.22) (MGAT) activity is associated with physiological periods in which lipolysis and β-oxidation are prominent, and it may also play a role in the selective retention of certain essential fatty acids. Therefore, we characterized MGAT activity in adipose tissue from the whitethroated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), a migratory bird. MGAT specific activity from adipose tissue and liver, respectively, was 22.2±7.27 and 0.79±0.35 nmol/min/mg of total particulate protein. Activity did not vary seasonally or between male and female birds. Specific activity increased 4.3-fold in the presence of 75 μg of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine (1∶1, w/w). MGAT acylatedsn-1(3)-monooleoyglycerol,sn-2-monoolyelglycerol ether andsn-1(3)-monooleylglycerol ether at 7.5, 5.7 and 1.7%, respectively, of the rate observed withsn-2-monooleoylglycerol. An initial lag phase observed at low concentrations of palmitoyl-CoA was corrected by adding 2 mM MgCl2 Mg(NO2)2 or CaCl2, suggesting a requirement for divalent cations. MGAT acylatedsn-2-monolinolenoylglycerol andsn-2-monolinoleoylglycerol in preference tosn-2-monooleoylglycerol. Specificity of MGAT forsn-2-monoacylglycerols and the probable enhanced affinity forsn-2-monoacylglycerols of specific acyl chains may allow selected ω6 and ω3 fatty acids to be retained within the adipocyte, white nonessential fatty acids are released for β-oxidation in flight muscles.

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Abbreviations

AMP:

adenosine monophosphate

ATP:

adenosine triphosphate

CoA:

coenzyme A

EDTA:

(ethylenedinitrilo)tetraacetic acid

MGAT:

monoacylglycerol acyl-coenzyme A acyltransferase

NAD:

nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (oxidized form)

NADH:

nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (reduced form)

PC:

phosphatidylcholine

PS:

phosphatidylserine

Tris-HCl:

(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane hydrochloride

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition and Pediatrics, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 27599-7400, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

    Nadia Mostafa, B. Ganesh Bhat & Rosalind A. Coleman

Authors
  1. Nadia Mostafa
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  2. B. Ganesh Bhat
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  3. Rosalind A. Coleman
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Mostafa, N., Ganesh Bhat, B. & Coleman, R.A. Adipose monoacylglycerol: Acyl-coenzyme a acyltransferase activity in the white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis): Characterization and function in a migratory bird. Lipids 29, 785–791 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02536701

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02536701

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