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Biomedical subjects

E Shafrir

Publications and source records attributed to E Shafrir.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Modulation of fetal and placental metabolic pathways in response to maternal thyroid and glucocorticoid hormone excess.

Triiodothyronine (T3) treatment of pregnant rats for 6 days, 10 micrograms/100 g, resulted in a pronounced induction of enzymes related to gluconeogenesis and lipogenesis and of mitochondrial FAD-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase in the maternal liver, as previously observed in male rats. There was virtually no change in the activity of these enzymes in the placenta. However, there was a distinct induction of these enzymes in the fetal liver, even if increments in fetal serum and liver T3 were much smaller than on the maternal side. This indicates that changes in hepatic enzyme activities are a more sensitive index of fetal hyperthyroidism than T3 levels. The increased lipogenic capacity was expressed by greater incorporation of a tritium tracer into fatty acids. Administration of triamcinolone, 2 mg/100 g, for the last 5 days of gestation resulted in marked induction of maternal hepatic enzymes of lipogenesis, gluconeogenesis and of aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT), known to occur in male rats, as well as in a metabolic pattern of insulin resistance. The response of placental enzymes was limited to a small elevation in ASAT and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) activity. In the fetal liver there was no stimulation of lipogenic enzymes, but a marked induction of PEPCK and ASAT. The changes in the lipogenic capacity were confirmed by tritium incorporation into serum and liver fatty acids. These results demonstrate the marked sensitivity of specific fetal enzyme systems to the maternal iatrogenic hyperthyroidism or hypercorticism. The limited alterations in placental enzyme activities are in accord with the concept that placental metabolic stability fulfils a protective function toward the fetus.

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PubMed1991

Kinetic and immunologic evidence for the absence of glucose-6-phosphatase in early human chorionic villi and term placenta.

The existence of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) in early and term human placenta was investigated by comparing the characteristics of placental microsomal glucose 6-phosphate (G6P) hydrolytic activity and liver G6Pase. Placental microsomes exhibited similar apparent Km values for G6P and beta-glycerophosphate in intact and deoxycholate-treated microsomes, heat stability at acidic pH, low latency of mannose 6-phosphate hydrolysis, very low activity of pyrophosphate: glucose phosphotransferase, and undetectable [U-14C]G6P transport into the placental microsomes, all of which indicated that specific G6Pase activity does not exist in placenta. Immunological evidence of the absence of both 36.5 kDa and T2 proteins, which represent the G6Pase catalytic protein and the phosphate/pyrophosphate transporter protein, respectively, confirmed that early and term human placenta are devoid of the multicomponent G6Pase enzyme.

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PubMed1990

Experimental nephrotic syndrome: removal and tissue distribution of chylomicrons and very-low-density lipoproteins of normal and nephrotic origin.

Lymph chylomicrons and plasma VLDL, 14C-labelled in vivo, were isolated from normal and nephrotic rats and injected into normal or nephrotic recipients. In normal recipients, the half-life of chylomicrons of nephrotic vs. normal origin was significantly longer (5.2 +/- 0.5 vs. 3.5 +/- 0.4 min-1). The nephrotic chylomicrons were larger in size, deficient in apo-E and apo A-I, rich in triacylglycerol and cholesterol, but poor in phospholipids, indicating that factors related to composition affected their removal. The half-life of nephrotic vs. normal VLDL, given to normal recipients, was unexpectedly shorter, (4.5 +/- 0.2 vs. 5.8 +/- 0.2 min-1). The nephrotic VLDL were also triacylglycerol- and cholesterol-rich and phospholipid-poor, but had a large diameter spread and contained a dense fraction according to the zonal ultracentrifugation pattern, suggesting the presence of faster removable IDL-like particles. When nephrotic rats received normal particles, a pronounced removal delay was seen, paralleling the extent of plasma triacylglycerol elevation. The half-life of chylomicrons was 8.3 +/- 1.4 and 15.2 +/- 2.5 min-1 in moderately and severely nephrotic rats, respectively, that of VLDL was 11.72 +/- 2.1 and 37.8 +/- 7.1 min-1 correspondingly. The chylomicron-triacylglycerol uptake was reduced both by adipose tissues and muscles of normal or nephrotic recipients, with some increase in entry into lungs, kidneys and spleen. Tissue distribution patterns of VLDL-triacylglycerol was similar to that of chylomicrons, except that the liver took up approx. 90% of the label. The low share of triacylglycerol uptake by tissues rich in lipoprotein lipase indicates that the activity of this enzyme was unlikely to limit the rate of removal. Lipoprotein lipase activity in adipose tissue and heart was slightly decreased in moderately nephrotic rats and declined only by approx. 35% in severely nephrotic ones. These results indicate that the removal defect in nephrosis seems to be due, in part, to changes in the composition of triacylglycerol-rich particles, compromising their accessibility to lipolysis and, in part, to their abundance, saturating the lipolytic capacity.

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