Hepatic PEMT activity mediates liver health, weight gain, and insulin resistance.

Phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) -methyltransferase (PEMT) accounts for ∼30% of hepatic phosphatidylcholine (PC) biosynthesis. mice fed a high-fat diet are protected against diet-induced obesity (DIO) and insulin resistance (IR) but develop nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) associated with a decreased PC:PE ratio. We investigated whether the lack of hepatic PEMT or the lack of PEMT in other tissues (where it is expressed at low levels) is responsible for or contributes to the protection against DIO and IR in mice.

Impaired Hepatic Phosphatidylcholine Synthesis Leads to Cholestasis in Mice Challenged With a High-Fat Diet.

Phosphatidylethanolamine -methyltransferase (PEMT) is a hepatic integral membrane protein localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). PEMT catalyzes approximately 30% of hepatic phosphatidylcholine (PC) biosynthesis. mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) develop steatohepatitis.

Liver and plasma lipid changes induced by cyclic fatty acid monomers from heated vegetable oil in the rat.

Cyclic fatty acid monomers (CFAM) generated through domestic or industrial heating of vegetable oils may alter liver enzymes and induce hepatomegaly and steatosis, but the underlying mechanisms are not clearly understood. This study aimed to assess the effects of CFAM on liver and plasma lipids and to determine whether these effects are modulated by dietary lipids. Thirty-six (36) male Wistar rats were fed either of the four isoenergetic diets consisting of canola oil or soybean oil with/without 500 mg/100 g CFAM of total fat for 28 days.

Both low- and regular-fat cheeses mediate improved insulin sensitivity and modulate serum phospholipid profiles in insulin-resistant rats.

Dietary recommendations for cheese usually promote low (LOW)- over regular (REG)-fat versions due to the saturated fat. Conversely, epidemiological evidence shows that cheese consumption associates with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. To investigate how cheese influences diabetes-related outcomes, a feeding trial comparing LOW and REG cheese was conducted in high-fat, lard-based diet (HFD)-fed insulin-resistant rats followed by evaluation of potential mechanisms.

Cooperative Function of TraJ and ArcA in Regulating the F Plasmid Operon.

The F plasmid operon encodes most of the proteins required for bacterial conjugation. TraJ and ArcA are known activators of the operon promoter P, which is subject to H-NS-mediated silencing. Donor ability and promoter activity assays indicated that P is inactivated by silencers and requires both TraJ and ArcA for activation to support efficient F conjugation.

The critical role of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine metabolism in health and disease.

Phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) are the most abundant phospholipids in all mammalian cell membranes. In the 1950s, Eugene Kennedy and co-workers performed groundbreaking research that established the general outline of many of the pathways of phospholipid biosynthesis. In recent years, the importance of phospholipid metabolism in regulating lipid, lipoprotein and whole-body energy metabolism has been demonstrated in numerous dietary studies and knockout animal models.