In vitro incorporation of¹⁴C‐acetate into lipids of hamster flank organ (Costovertebral organ) sebaceous glands and epidermis

Abstract

Following in vitro incubation of flank organs from male golden Syrian hamsters with sodium [1‐14C] acetate, sebaceous glands and appendage‐freed epidermis were obtained by treating the flank organ tissue with calcium chloride. This method permitted the study of incorporation of carbon‐14 into the lipids of these skin components. Extracted lipids were identified by thin layer chromatography and autoradiography and were quantitated by liquid scintillation counting. Mono‐, di‐, and triglycerides, free sterols, fatty acids, wax monoesters, and squalene were identified as products of sebaceous gland metabolism of labeled acetate. In marked contrast, little incorporation of14C into triglycerides by the epidermal preparations was noted, although the epidermal lipids showed higher relative proportions of free sterols and polar lipids (including phospholipids). Accumulation of sterol esters did not occur. In both preparations phosphatidylcholine represented the major labeled phospholipid.