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It has been reported that, compared with TAG, DAG suppresses postprandial hypertriacylglycerolemia and reduces visceral fat levels in experimental animals and humans. To clarify the mechanism responsible for these beneficial effects, we compared the lymphatic transport of 1,3-DAG, a major isomer of DAG, and TAG in rats. Male SD rats, after insertion of a cannula into the thoracic duct, were given 1,3-di[1-14C]oleoylglycerol or tri[1-14C]oleoylglycerol via a stomach tube. The 24-h recovery of the radioactivity from 1,3-di[14C]oleoylglycerol in the lymph was slightly but significantly lower than that from tri[14C]oleoylglycerol (81.3+/-1.0 vs. 86.5+/-1.2%, respectively). However, in the first 1-h interval after administration, the recovery of radioactivity from 1,3-dioleoylglycerol was almost half of that from trioleoylglycerol (17.5+/-2.0 vs. 31.1+/-1.4%). The amount of TAG and phospholipids secreted into the lymph was significantly lower 1 h after the administration of 1,3-dioleoylglycerol compared with that after the administration of trioleoylglycerol. More than 90% of the radioactivity recovered in the lymph in the first 3 h was distributed in the TAG fraction for both 1,3-dioleoylglycerol and trioleoylglycerol. These results suggest that slower lymphatic transport of 1,3-DAG compared with TAG could be a factor in the suppression of postprandial hypertriacylglycerolemia. The possibility that the slower lymphatic transport of DAG contributes to the anti-obesity action observed in the feeding of 1,3-DAG cannot be excluded.

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BackgroundExogenously hypercholesterolemic (ExHC) rats develop hypercholesterolemia and low hepatic triacylglycerol (TAG) levels when dietary cholesterol is loaded. The responsible gene Smek2 was identified via linkage analysis using the original strain Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats. In this study, we compared SD and ExHC rats to investigate a relationship between hypercholesterolemia and the low hepatic TAG levels observed in ExHC rats.MethodsMale 4-weeks-old ExHC and SD rats were fed a 1% cholesterol diet for 1 week. Serum and liver parameters were analyzed. Gene expression and enzyme activities related to TAG metabolism were also assessed.ResultsWe reproducibly observed higher serum cholesterol and lower hepatic TAG levels in ExHC rats than in SD rats. Golgi apparatus in the livers of ExHC rats secreted β-very-low-density lipoprotein (β-VLDL) that had higher cholesterol ester (CE) and lower TAG content than those in the β-VLDL secreted by SD rats. Gene expression related to fatty acid and TAG synthesis in ExHC rats was lower than that in SD rats. Enzymatic activities for fatty acid synthesis were also relatively lower in ExHC rats. Moreover, the fatty acid composition of hepatic and serum CE in ExHC rats showed that these CEs were not modified after secretion from the liver despite the similar activities of serum lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) in ExHC rats to those in SD rats.ConclusionsLow production of liver TAG and secretion of CE-rich, TAG-poor β-VLDL without modification by LCAT in the circulation contributed to hypercholesterolemia induced by dietary cholesterol in ExHC rats.