QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Nakajima, H. Articles by Sawada, T. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Nakajima, H. Articles by Sawada, T.

Pivalate Affects Carnitine Status but Causes No Severe Metabolic Changes in Rat Liver¹

Department of Pediatrics, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kajii-cho, Hirokoji, Kawaramachi, Kamigyo-ku Kyoto 602, Japan

To investigate the carnitine deficiency induced by pivalate, rats had free access to drinking water with or without pivalate. Consumption of 20 mmol/L pivalate for 1 wk decreased the levels of both free and total carnitine in plasma to 20% of levels before treatment. After 4 wk, the concentrations of free carnitine in the liver, heart and muscle of pivalate-treated rats were 60–80% of the control, and in the kidney, 26% of the control. Fractional excretion of free carnitine (FEFC) in pivalate-treated rats was measured; however, the treatment for 3 or 8 d did not affect the values relative to those obtained before treatment. Treatment with pivalate for 4 wk did not affect plasma concentrations of glucose, ammonia and free fatty acids (FFA) in the rats; however, the concentration of 3-hydroxybutyrate (3-OHB) was higher, and the FFA/3-OHB ratio was lower than those of controls. In a liver perfusion study, ketogenesis from oleate and gluconeogenesis from lactate and pyruvate in rats treated with pivalate for 4 wk were not different from controls. These results suggest that administration of pivalate did not induce the excessive excretion of free carnitine in urine, and secondary carnitine deficiency induced by intake of 20 mmol/L pivalate for 4 wk did not cause severe metabolic changes in rat liver.

KEY WORDS: • carnitine deficiency • pivalate • ketogenesis • gluconeogenesis • rats

¹ The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 USC section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

² To whom reprint requests should be addressed.

Manuscript received 4 October 1995. Revision accepted 26 February 1996.