Effect of albumin on glycerol metabolism in rat adipose tissue

Abstract

To study the effect of the displacement of FFA on the rates of lipolysis and glycerol utilization in adipose tissue, pieces of epididymal fat pad from fed rats were incubated in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate containing (1-“C) glycerol and 0, 5 or 10 mg of purified albumin/ml. The formation of glycerol by the tissue increases linearly with the time of incubation and it is enhanced by the presence of albumin in the media.The amount of labeled glycerol captured by the tissue and converted to ,4CO, and ,4C-total lipids is not affected by albumin but when the results are corrected by the dilution of the tracer with the glycerol coming from the tissue to the medium, it appears that the actual rates of utilization of glycerol are enhanced by the presence of albumin. The results have been used to calculate the rate of lipolysis which is alsoenhanced by albumin. Thus, albumin can modulate glycerol metabolism in adipose tissue and this effect might have some physiological implications.