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(Journal of Nutrition. 2001;131:1986-1992.)
© 2001 The American Society for Nutritional Sciences


Articles

Butyrate Impairs Energy Metabolism in Isolated Perfused Liver of Fed Rats1

Marie-Christine Beauvieux*,{dagger}2, Pierre Tissier{dagger}, Henri Gin*,{dagger}, Paul Canioni{dagger} and Jean-Louis Gallis{dagger}

* Service de Nutrition et Diabétologie, Hôpital Haut-Lévêque, F-33600 Pessac France and {dagger} Centre de Résonance Magnétique des Systèmes Biologiques, UMR 5536 CNRS-UB2, F-33076 Bordeaux Cedex France

2To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed. E-mail: mcdb{at}rmsb.u-bordeaux2.fr.


    ABSTRACT
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
This study was designed to test the effects of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) with an even number of carbon atoms on hepatic energy metabolism. The effect of the SCFA was evaluated by measuring liver ATP content and oxygen consumption. The ATP content was evaluated using 31P nuclear magnetic resonance in isolated liver from fed rats. In addition, respiratory activity (VO2) was assessed using Clark electrodes. The livers were perfused with acetate, butyrate or a medium chain length fatty acid, octanoate, at a concentration of 0.05–5.0 mmol/L. The addition of each substrate enhanced the rate of the net ATP consumption (Vi), establishing a new ATP steady state that required a perfusion time of >=20 min, dependent on the chain length and concentration of the fatty acid (FA). The initial Vi was unchanged for acetate and the ATP level stabilized at 58% of the initial level. Both butyrate and octanoate induced a dose-dependent increase in Vi. This may reflect an ATP-consuming process for the intracellular pH regulation observed during the acidosis associated with the ß-oxidation pathway. At the new steady state, the ATP concentration was ~45% of the initial level for both FA. VO2 was both rapidly and reversibly increased, and the change was a function of butyrate or octanoate concentration and of the chain length. Km values were similar for butyrate and octanoate. Because all of the effects were similar for butyrate and octanoate, in contrast to acetate, we suggest that the impairment of the energy metabolism by butyrate resulted from an increase in the FADH2/NADH ratio due to ß-oxidation. In conclusion, the difference in the hepatic oxidation pathways of two products of intestinal fermentation (acetate and butyrate) explains their different actions on energy metabolism.


KEY WORDS: • short-chain fatty acids • butyrate • nuclear magnetic resonance • respiration • rats


    INTRODUCTION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Fermentation of unabsorbed carbohydrates and endogenous polysaccharides, including mucus, by bacteria in the large intestine leads to the production of nongaseous by-products, notably short-chain fatty acids (SCFA).3 The magnitude of this fermentation in nonruminants is quite dramatic; indirect estimation in humans suggests that 80 g of residual fibers can theoretically yield 300–800 mmol SCFA daily (1)Citation . Three SCFA account for 83% of all SCFA produced, and these are distributed in a fairly constant ratio of 60:25:15 (acetate/propionate/n-butyrate) (2)Citation . It has been proposed that they be used to supplement total parenteral nutrition solutions and hence inhibit the small-bowel mucosal atrophy that would otherwise occur when luminal nutrients are absent (3Citation ,4)Citation . SCFA also contribute to energy requirements, 5–9% in both humans and rats (5Citation ,6)Citation . Because an increase in the amount of fiber in the diet will undoubtedly increase the amount of SCFA produced, the contribution of SCFA to the energy supply of the body may increase considerably as the amount of dietary fiber increases.

Moreover, SCFA may indirectly influence carbohydrate and lipid metabolism (7Citation ,8)Citation . It has been suggested (9)Citation that some of the beneficial effects of high carbohydrate, high fiber diets on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism are mediated by the metabolism of SCFA in the liver. SCFA, which are normally produced in the colon, are readily absorbed by the colonic mucosa and metabolized by both the colonic mucosa and the liver (10)Citation . Hepatic metabolism and clearance of SCFA are substantial because portal concentrations are 150% greater than those simultaneously determined in the hepatic vein and 375% greater than systemic concentrations (11)Citation .

Without consideration of the chain length, several aspects of fatty acid (FA) metabolism in the liver have been described, especially the stimulation of ATP-consuming pathways, such as gluconeogenesis, ketogenesis, triglyceride synthesis and secretary processes (12Citation ,13)Citation . ATP use is also enhanced when FA are activated by conversion to CoA derivatives (14)Citation . Under physiologic conditions, ATP consumption must be offset by increased ATP synthesis because the energy steady state of the cell must be maintained. The reduced compounds (NADH + H+, FADH2) resulting from ß-oxidation of FA as fuels are reoxidized in the mitochondrial respiratory chain and are thought to lead in part to ATP generation. For a given FA concentration, the energy supply is directly dependent on the chain length. However, medium- or long-chain FA have been demonstrated to impair mitochondrial activity, and their effector roles could be linked to a mechanism similar to the uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria (15Citation 16Citation 17)Citation .

To our knowledge, no study of the time course of the effect of SCFA on hepatic energy metabolism (nucleotide content and respiratory activity) has been reported. In addition to measuring the variation in O2 consumption, our aim was to use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to continuously measure changes in the energy metabolism of intact livers. The organ isolated from fed rats was perfused, for prolonged periods of time, with different concentrations of even-chain SCFA, namely, acetate and butyrate. The results are compared with the data obtained with octanoate as substrate to determine the influence of the chain length.


    MATERIALS AND METHODS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Rat liver perfusion conditions.

High grade chemicals were purchased from Sigma Chemical (St. Louis, MO) except where otherwise specified. Media were diluted daily from concentrated stock solutions. Standard Krebs-Heinseleit buffer (KHB) was composed of (mmol/L) 120 NaCl, 4.70 KCl, 1.20 MgSO4, 25 NaHCO3, 1.20 KH2PO4-K2HPO4, 1.30 CaCl2, 0.30 Na-pyruvate and 2.10 Na-lactate (pH = 7.35 at 37°C). Substrates (acetate, butyrate and octanoate) were added to the KHB as sodium salts. In humans, dietary production of SCFA in the colon and their hepatic levels have been reported to be 200–800 mmol/d (1Citation ,18)Citation and 148 ± 42 µmol/L (11)Citation , respectively. According to these physiologic reports and because octanoate is water insoluble up to 4.7 mmol/L, we chose to add acetate and butyrate in the 0.05–5 mmol/L range and octanoate in the 0.05–3 mmol/L range. Only even-chain substrates were selected to allow comparisons in their metabolism.

Male Wistar rats (Center d’élevage Depré, St Doulchard, France) weighing 80–120 g consumed food ad libitum. The diet composition is specified in Table 1Citation . Rats were anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of pentobarbital sodium (50 mg/kg); liver perfusion through the portal vein (antegrade perfusion technique) was described previously (19)Citation . Perfusion with nonrecirculating medium was chosen to avoid recirculation of hepatic catabolites, and the bile duct was cannulated to avoid mixing of bile with the liver effluent. Briefly, the liver (4–6 g) was perfused with KHB at 37°C. The temperature of the perfusion circuit was regulated with a thermostatic bath. The perfused liver was then excised from the rat abdomen and transferred into a 20 mm-diameter NMR cell. The beginning of the liver perfusion always occurred between 1300 and 1400 h to minimize the effects of differences in dietary fiber fermentation and endogenous SCFA production. All experiments were conducted after a 30-min metabolic equilibration period.


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Table 1. Formulation of the rat diet1

 
The perfusate was pumped through a Silastic homemade oxygenator, gassed with 95% O2 and 5% CO2. Perfusion flow was kept constant [5 mL/(min · g wet liver)] and was sufficient to ensure good oxygenation of the liver as judged by the effluent oxygen concentration. Perfusate temperature and pH were monitored both before entering and after leaving the liver by continuous-flow pH electrodes and temperature electrodes.

The sequence protocol at 37°C was as follows: 1) initial KHB perfusion (30 min); 2) KHB + substrate perfusion (70–90 min); and 3) rinse with KHB perfusion (30 min). A control group consisted of livers (n = 3) perfused only with KHB for 100 min. The sequence protocol was applied to three groups of livers devoted to different measurements. The first group was subjected to continuous NMR measurements to follow ATP levels and to determine glycogen content. The second group was devoted to respiratory measurements. The third group corresponded to experiments with sequential NMR and respiratory measurements (requiring the removal of the NMR cell from the magnet). For each group, n = 2–9, as specified in the results section, for each substrate at each concentration. This study complied with NIH guidelines (20)Citation .

Liver oxygen consumption measurements.

NMR experiments require a long thermostatically controlled perfusion and suction lines, which could affect oxygen consumption measurements. As a consequence, additional experiments were performed outside the magnet, with the isolated perfused liver placed into a NMR cell similar to that used for the NMR experiments. Respiration of the liver was assessed using O2 Clark electrodes, placed in the perfusion circuit just before and after the liver, in conjunction with continuous monitoring using an oxygen meter (model 781; Strathkelvin Instrument, Glasgow, Scotland). Oxygen consumption (VO2) [µmol O2/(min · g wet liver)] = (perfusate O2 content - effluent O2 content) x liver flow rate [mL/(min · g wet liver)] where O2 concentration was expressed in mmol/L.

31P NMR measurements.

NMR measurements on isolated liver were performed on a Bruker DPX-400 wide-bore spectrometer (Wissembourg) operating at 9.4 T. 31P and 13C NMR spectra were recorded at 161.9 and 100.6 MHz, respectively, with a 31P/13C double-tuned 20-mm probe. The magnetic field was adjusted on the water proton signal. 31P NMR spectra were obtained every 2 min [240 free induction decays (FID)] without proton decoupling. Radiofrequency pulses of 25 µs duration (70° flip angle) with 0.2 s acquisition time, 0.5 s total recycling time, 10,000 Hz spectral width and 4K data points were used for data acquisition. 13C NMR spectra were proton-decoupled using a gated bilevel mode; a high level of 1H irradiation was used during acquisition and a low level during relaxation delay. Each 13C NMR spectrum corresponded to the Fourier transformation of 500 FID, resulting from a 66° radiofrequency pulse repeated every second (25,000 Hz spectral width). A Lorentzian line broadening of 15 Hz was applied before Fourier transformation for both 31P and 13C NMR spectra.

Chemical shift of phosphorylated metabolites was expressed relative to the position of resonance in the frequency scale (chemical shift in ppm) of an external reference of 13 µmol methylene diphosphonic acid (set at 18.40 ppm) contained in a sealed capillary and glycerophosphorylcholine as an internal standard set at 0.47 ppm. 13C chemical shifts were expressed from an external silicone reference (at 1.45 ppm).

ATP represented at least 80% of ß-nucleoside-5'-triphosphate (ßNTP) (21)Citation . Hepatic ATP levels were estimated from peak areas and expressed as a percentage of the initial value obtained at the end of the 30-min equilibration period in KHB. During this period, any livers showing an increase in the intensity of inorganic phosphate (Pi) resonance occurring with a concomitant decrease in NTP signals (probably reflecting some partial lobe ischemia) were discarded.

Changes in intracellular pH (pHi) were determined from the chemical shift of the intracellular Pi signal using a titration curve constructed at 37°C according to the Henderson-Hasselbach equation (19)Citation .

Evaluation of the apparent rate of ATP depletion.

Liver ATP content was decreased to varying degrees under the various experimental conditions. Under our experimental conditions, the time course of ATP concentration change during the first 20 min of the substrate perfusion could be fitted to a single exponential (validated by a r2 value >0.91; P = 0.05) of the form: ATP (t) = A exp(-kt), where k is a time constant and A the liver ATP concentration at the onset of the substrate perfusion. To compare all experimental groups, the values at the onset of ATP depletion were arbitrarily fixed to 100%. The derivative of the equation provides the apparent velocity of the ATP decrease: V(t) = d(ATP(t))/dt. The value of V(t) for t = 0 gave the initial rate of net ATP consumption (Vi).

Biochemical assays.

Liver effluents (3 mL) were collected to determine glucose and lactate excretions enzymatically at each phase of the protocol (glucose oxidase and lactate dehydrogenase; Sigma Diagnostics). The collection of samples was systematically performed synchronously with the 13C NMR acquisitions. Glucose and lactate excretions were expressed in µmol/(min · g wet liver).

Statistical procedures.

All results were expressed as means ± SEM. Statistical analysis was performed with the software package Statworks (Cricket Software, London, UK). One-way ANOVA was carried out to test for any differences among the mean values; the analyzed factor was the substrate concentration or the nature of the substrate. Two-way ANOVA was performed for the initial rate of liver ATP consumption Vi and for the hepatic O2 consumption VO2; the analyzed factors were the nature and the concentration of substrates. A t test was used after ANOVA to identify significant differences between different substrates or between different concentrations. Differences with a P-value < 0.05 were considered to be significant.


    RESULTS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Changes in ATP content.

Typical 31P NMR spectra of an isolated rat liver perfused at 37°C with KHB are shown in Figure 1ACitation and CCitation . The liver ATP concentration (2.60 ± 0.05 µmol/g wet liver; n = 16) determined from the ßNTP resonance area was quite stable during the initial 30-min period of KHB perfusion in all groups and throughout the complementary perfusion in the control KHB group. A slow ATP degradation [9.01 ± 0.68 nmol/(min · g wet liver; n = 56) during the initial 30-min period] was observed, leading to an ATP level of ~65% of the initial content after a total of 100 min KHB perfusion (Fig. 1BCitation ).



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Figure 1. 31P NMR spectra of an isolated rat liver after a 30-min control Krebs-Henseleit buffer (KHB) normothermic perfusion (A and C), followed by (B) a 70-min additional KHB perfusion or (D) a 70-min butyrate (3 mmol/L) perfusion. Major resonances are assigned to (a) phosphomonoesters; (b) phosphocholine; (c) intracellular inorganic phosphate (Pi); (d) glycerol-3-phosphoryl ethanolamine; (e) glycerol-3-phosphorylcholine; (f) nucleoside-5'-triphosphates ({gamma}NTP) and diphosphates (ßNDP); (g) {alpha}-NTP and {alpha}-NDP; (h,i) nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and uridine-5'-diphosphoglucose; (j) ßNTP. The reference (methylene-diphosphonic acid) is not shown (18.40 ppm).

 
The addition of butyrate (Fig. 1DCitation ), acetate or octanoate after the 30-min initial KHB perfusion enhanced the initial rate of ATP net consumption (Vi) compared with KHB (Table 2Citation , P < 0.0001). Figure 2Citation shows typical experiments performed in the presence of 1.5 mmol/L of each substrate. This increase of the Vi was transient, and a new steady state of ATP concentration was observed independent of the species and concentration of the substrates used. For a given substrate (butyrate or octanoate), the time of the onset of this steady state was significantly shorter when its concentration was higher (Fig. 3Citation ). For a given concentration of the substrates, the time of the onset was lower when the length of the chain was longer (Fig. 3)Citation . The ATP concentration stabilized at 41 ± 3% (n = 19) and 47 ± 3% (n = 13) of the initial ATP level in the presence of butyrate and octanoate at concentrations >=1.5 mmol/L, respectively, and at 58 ± 3% (n = 21) in the presence of acetate, independent of its concentration (P < 0.0001 vs. butyrate, P < 0.01 vs. octanoate). The new steady state was characterized by an ATP degradation near that of the KHB control. A subsequent rinse period using KHB did not change the ATP concentration obtained in the presence of substrates.


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Table 2. Dose-dependent increase of the initial rate of ATP net consumption in the rat liver perfused with acetate, butyrate or octanoate12

 


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Figure 2. Time course of the change in hepatic ATP content throughout the entire protocol perfusion for three individual typical experiments. The rat livers were perfused for 30 min with Krebs-Henseleit buffer (KHB) then with acetate, butyrate or octanoate (1.5 mmol/L). The results are expressed as the percentage of ATP content, with 100% as the value at the onset of the substrate addition.

 


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Figure 3. Delay in the establishment of the new ATP steady state in the liver in the presence of substrates, depending on the concentration and the chain length. The rat livers were perfused for 30 min with Krebs-Henseleit buffer (KHB) then with different concentrations of acetate, butyrate or octanoate for a prolonged period. The delay was calculated from the onset of the substrate addition. Data are plotted as means ± SEM, n = 2–7. For each concentration, substrates marked with a different letter are significantly different (P < 0.05). For each substrate, concentrations significantly different (P < 0.03) from 500 µmol/L are indicated by an asterisk.

 
In the presence of acetate, the maximum initial rate of liver net ATP consumption [Vm = 24.20 ± 2.71 nmol/(min · g wet liver), n = 21] was attained at the lowest concentration. Perfusion with butyrate or octanoate induced a dose-dependent increase in the initial rate of ATP net consumption; a plateau was reached at 1.5 mmol/L (Table 2)Citation and the half-maximal effect (Km) was at 0.7–1.0 mmol/L. The Vm of this ATP net consumption was 55–65% higher in the presence of octanoate (n = 6) than in the presence of butyrate (n = 7; P < 0.001 at 1.5 mmol/L), suggesting that it was dependent on the carbon number. Thus, in terms of a concentration corresponding to an equivalent number of carbons, Vi was similar for octanoate at 0.5 mmol/L and butyrate at 1.0 mmol/L.

Changes in intracellular pH.

The pHi value was 7.20 ± 0.06 during KHB perfusion. The addition of acetate did not affect pHi at any concentration. A rapid and sharp decrease in the pHi was observed in the presence of butyrate (Fig. 4Citation ). The pHi decrease was significant at >=0.5 mmol/L butyrate and was dose dependent (linear correlation, r2 = 0.98) up to 10 mmol/L (-0.40 pH units), the highest dose used. The pHi returned to its basal value with a mean delay of 20 min except for the highest concentrations for which the new steady-state pHi was more acidotic (7.08 ± 0.09 at 10 mmol/L). In the presence of octanoate, a similar dose-dependent decrease in pHi was observed in the range of concentrations used (data not shown).



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Figure 4. Dose-dependent decrease of hepatic intracellular pH ({Delta}pHi) in the presence of butyrate for five individual typical experiments, expressed in pH units ({Delta}pHi = pHi[butyrate] - pHi[KHB]). The rat livers were perfused for 30 min with Krebs-Henseleit buffer (KHB) then with butyrate at different concentrations.

 
Changes in oxygen consumption.

Under initial KHB perfusion, the O2 liver consumption was 2.45 ± 0.15 µmol O2/(min · g wet tissue). The addition of the substrates increased the respiration rate (VO2). The delay in reaching the new steady state was <20 min. The increase in VO2 was dependent on the butyrate and octanoate concentrations in the range of doses tested (Fig. 5Citation ) with the half-maximal effect at 100 µmol/L. With acetate, VO2 was maximum for concentrations as low as 10 µmol/L. Thus, for each substrate, 1 mmol/L was the saturating concentration giving the maximum O2 consumption. The increase of VO2 was also dependent on the chain length (Fig. 6Citation ); the increase in VO2 at the steady state was fivefold higher (n = 3) in the presence of butyrate than in presence of acetate and 60% higher (n = 3) in the presence of octanoate than in the presence of butyrate (Fig. 5)Citation . Whatever the nature and the concentration of the substrate, its effect on the O2 consumption was reversible during the KHB rinse.



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Figure 5. Dose-dependent effect of substrates on the change in the hepatic O2 consumption at the steady state. The rat livers were perfused for 30 min with Krebs-Henseleit buffer (KHB) then with different concentrations of acetate, butyrate or octanoate for a prolonged period. The results were calculated as the percentage of the basal level of O2 consumption [2.45 µmol O2/(min · g wet liver)] and expressed as means ± SEM, n = 3. For each concentration, substrates marked with a different letter differ, P < 0.05 .

 


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Figure 6. Effect of the chain length on hepatic O2 consumption. An individual and typical isolated rat liver was perfused successively with acetate (1 mmol/L), butyrate (1 mmol/L) and octanoate (1 mmol/L); a Krebs-Henseleit buffer (KHB) rinse period was applied between each substrate.

 
Changes in carbohydrate metabolism.

Typical 13C NMR spectra of isolated rat livers during the 30-min control perfusion in KHB at 37°C are shown in Figure 7ACitation and CCitation . Glycogen was characterized mainly by a narrow signal at 100.5 ppm (glycogen C-1 resonance). Glycogen signals also contributed to resonances between 60 and 100 ppm. In the absence of carbohydrates in the perfusate, glycogenolysis occurred in the KHB group, and its apparent rate, evaluated by the changes of the area of glycogen C-1 resonance from consecutive spectra throughout the perfusion of the same liver, was 0.92 ± 0.08%/min (100% is considered to be the initial content); only 10% was detectable after 100 min perfusion (Fig. 7BCitation ). The presence of acetate, butyrate and octanoate induced lower decreases in the intensity of the 13C resonances of glycogen, which were detectable in the presence of KHB after 100 min of perfusion. After 120 min of substrate perfusions, the residual glycogen was indeed near 30–40% in the presence of acetate (Fig. 7DCitation ), butyrate and octanoate, whatever the concentrations.



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Figure 7. Natural abundance 13C NMR spectra of isolated rat livers perfused at 37°C. (A and C) Under an initial 30-min perfusion in Krebs-Henseleit buffer (KHB); (B) after an additional 70-min perfusion in KHB; and (D) after a 90-min perfusion in the presence of acetate (3 mmol/L). Peak assignment: a and g, fatty acid (FA) chains; b, C-1 glycogen; c, glucose and glycogen (C-3ß, C-5ß glucose, glycogen; C-2 glucose; C-3{alpha} glucose; C2, C-5{alpha} glucose, C-5 glycogen; C-4{alpha}ß glucose, glycogen); d, C-6 glucose, glycogen; e, choline; f, ethanolamine; h, reference (silicone).

 
Glucose and lactate excretions were 1.71 ± 0.11 and 0.14 ± 0.03 µmol/(min · g wet liver), respectively, during the equilibration period. They were not significantly changed during the perfusions of acetate, butyrate or octanoate, whatever the concentrations used.


    DISCUSSION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
It has been suggested that the blood glucose- and lipid-lowering effects of soluble dietary fibers may be related in part to SCFA generated during their fermentation (9Citation ,22)Citation . Moreover, the use of SCFA to supplement parenteral nutrition of individuals with short bowel syndrome or intestinal malabsorption syndromes may improve some intestinal functions (4Citation ,23)Citation . Acetate, butyrate and propionate constitute the majority of products derived from intestinal fermentation. After their uptake by the colon, they are metabolized in part by the colonocytes, and the remaining fraction reaches the liver via the portal vein. Any evaluation of the nutritional effect of SCFA has to include the study of the relationship between hepatic energy metabolism and their oxidation pathways.

The present work on the intact liver used 31P NMR to study continuously the evolution of the amount of ATP and hence the evolution of energy metabolism in the presence of SCFA perfused under physiologic concentrations. Respiratory activity was determined simultaneously using Clark electrodes. One of the reasons for using isolated perfused livers was to evaluate the roles of SCFA in the absence of effects originating from their uptake and metabolism by colonocytes (11)Citation . Moreover, to be free from the known reciprocal influences of SCFA on their absorption and/or their liver metabolism (24Citation ,25)Citation , our study concerned only the inherent effect of each substrate. We intentionally selected substrates with even-chain (acetate, butyrate and a medium-chain FA, octanoate), which lead to the production of the same metabolite, i.e., acetyl-CoA. Indeed the odd-chain FA, propionate, takes a different enzymatic pathway, leading to succinyl-CoA, which in turn bypasses a large part of the citric acid cycle and is a precursor of gluconeogenesis. The production of acyl-CoA via short-chain acyl-CoA synthase consumes 1 ATP/mol. Butyryl-CoA and octanoyl-CoA are ß-oxidized, providing acetyl-CoA and reduced compounds; acetyl-CoA finally enters into the citric acid cycle. The rate of respiration depends directly on the amount of reduced compounds (FADH2 and NADH + H+) produced during either ß-oxidation or the citric acid cycle. The reoxidation of these reduced compounds can theoretically provide ATP to maintain tissue ATP content. In the basal condition (KHB perfusion), we previously reported low metabolic activity in the liver (26)Citation , corresponding to 10–20% of the maximal oxidative phosphorylation capacity; moreover, the ATP provided by glycolysis contributes 30% of the total liver ATP synthesis (27)Citation . Here, in the case of the livers of fed rats, because glycogenolysis occurs without an increase in glucose excretion, some ATP can be provided from glycolysis until the total hydrolysis of glycogen occurs. However, the glycogenolysis rate was lower in presence of substrates than with KHB. These results suggest that the substrates studied, leading to acetyl-CoA, can reduce glycolysis and net hepatic glycogen breakdown.

The respiration rate was increased in the presence of all substrates. To reach a new steady state of respiratory activity required 20 min of perfusion, with this delay probably reflecting the time necessary to obtain both extra- and intracellular equilibrium of substrate concentration and the resulting metabolic effect. The stimulation of respiration was dependent on butyrate and octanoate concentrations as previously demonstrated for octanoate (14)Citation . However, the respiration rate increased with chain length for a given concentration, which can be explained by the ß-oxidation pathway (28)Citation as shown by the lowest respiration rate in the presence of acetate.

Because respiration was greatly stimulated in the presence of butyrate and octanoate, an increase in coupled-ATP synthesis can be expected. However, the ATP content (resulting theoretically from both consumption and synthesis) was nonreversibly decreased to reach a new steady state. A decrease of ATP content was reported previously with octanoate and oleate (12Citation ,29)Citation or with linoleate and linolenate carried by liposomes (30)Citation . In the present work, we demonstrated that a liver perfusion time of at least 20 min in the presence of butyrate and octanoate is required to obtain a new ATP content steady state in the isolated liver. Such a phenomenon has not been clearly demonstrated in other studies due to the absence of continuous measurements of ATP levels and the use of perfusion times of either 10 (29)Citation or 30 min (12)Citation . In a model of isolated hepatocytes, 40 min of perifusion with octanoate or oleate was required to reach the steady-state concentrations of adenine nucleotides (31)Citation .

At the onset of the substrate effect, the concentration dependence (up to 1–2 mmol/L of substrates) of the ATP net consumption probably represents in part the consequence of the hydrolysis of 1 mol ATP/mol of substrate to form 1 mol acyl-CoA. However, the initial rate of ATP net consumption was higher in the presence of butyrate and octanoate than in the presence of acetate, whereas the acyl-CoA activation step occurred in all cases. We postulate that a part of the initial ATP consumption in the presence of butyrate and octanoate was associated with pHi homeostasis. Indeed, very similar dose-dependent decreases in pHi were observed for butyrate and octanoate, which could be due to the following: 1) the rapid cytosolic acid load and/or 2) the delayed increase of NADH + H+ linked to the mitochondrial ß-oxidation pathway. Subsequently, pHi tended to return to the basal value, indicating a pHi regulation. The liver pHi homeostasis implies participation of ion transport mechanisms [Na+-H+ and Na+-HCO3- transporters (32)Citation ] with indirect activation of the Na+/K+-ATPase [known to require ~25% of the cellular ATP turnover under basal conditions (33Citation ,34)Citation ]. The absence of a significant pHi decrease during acetate perfusion at any concentration used could be due to the rapid metabolism of this substrate (35)Citation and/or the absence of ß-oxidation. Our results suggested that no SCFA-induced decrease in hepatic pHi occurs under physiologic conditions because their portal concentration resulting from intestinal fermentation remains <0.5 mmol/L (11)Citation . However, higher liver concentrations provided either by an excessive diet supply of dairy products or by SCFA-supplemented nutrient solutions may impair the pHi homeostasis.

All of the results relating to the effects of butyrate and octanoate on the liver implied that the pathways of ATP synthesis (oxidative phosphorylation, glycolysis) were insufficient to compensate for the ATP consumption at the beginning of the substrate perfusion. For the same range of substrate concentrations, the lowest respiration rate (associated with the least amount of reduced compounds generated) and the highest final ATP concentration were observed with acetate. Because the well-known inhibitory effect of acetyl-CoA on glycolysis (and its associated ATP synthesis) is the same for all FA, the latter results suggest that a more efficient coupling between respiration and ATP synthesis occurs in the presence of acetate compared with butyrate and octanoate. Octanoate and longer-chain FA have been demonstrated to impair mitochondrial activity as the consequence of an intrinsic uncoupling of the respiratory chain (direct effect) (15Citation 16Citation 17)Citation or a change in the proportion of electrons supplied to the coupling sites due to the increase of FADH2/NADH ratio resulting from ß-oxidation (17)Citation . The latter process could explain the similar metabolic effects observed for butyrate and octanoate in contrast to acetate. In conclusion, the difference in the hepatic oxidation pathways of the two products of intestinal fermentation examined (acetate and butyrate) explains their different action on energy metabolism with butyrate being more similar in its effects to longer-chain fatty acids.


    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 
The authors would like to thank Richard Jones for proofreading the manuscript.


    FOOTNOTES
 
1 Supported by grants from the Conseil National de la Recherche Scientifique, the Conseil Régional d’Aquitaine and by Institut de Recherche Scientifique sur les Boissons (IREB) contract, number 2000/05. Back

3 Abbreviations used: FA, fatty acids; FID, free induction decay; KHB, Krebs-Henseleit buffer; NMR, nuclear magnetic resonance; NTP, nucleoside-5'-triphosphate; pHi, intracellular pH; SCFA, short-chain fatty acids; Vi, initial rate of net consumption of liver ATP; Vm, maximum initial rate of net consumption of liver ATP; VO2, oxygen consumption. Back

Manuscript received January 2, 2001. Initial review completed February 15, 2001. Revision accepted April 20, 2001.


    REFERENCES
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 

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