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Measurement of Rates of Cholesterol and Fatty Acid Synthesis In Vivo Using Tritiated Water

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Cholesterol Homeostasis

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1583))

Abstract

Every organ in the body is capable of synthesizing cholesterol de novo but at rates that vary with a constellation of factors. A significant proportion of the hydrogen atoms present in cholesterol that is synthesized in the body are derived from water. Thus, although water ordinarily makes up the bulk of body mass, the acute enrichment of the body water pool with a sufficiently large amount of tritiated water over a short interval of time (usually 1 h) yields measurable rates of incorporation of the labeled water into newly generated cholesterol and also fatty acids. Such data can provide a quantitative measure of how specific genetic, dietary, and pharmacological manipulations impact not just the rate of cholesterol synthesis in particular organs but also rates of whole-body cholesterol production and turnover.

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Acknowledgment

Much of the research described here was supported by US Public Health Service Grant R01HL009610. Each of the authors received salary support from this grant and also the Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The corresponding author also wishes to thank John M. Dietschy M.D. for the superb training he provided in the theoretical and technical aspects of using [3H]-water for sterol synthesis measurements in many different types of experimental settings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX, 75390-9151, USA

    Adam M. Lopez M.S., Jen-Chieh Chuang Ph.D. & Stephen D. Turley Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Adam M. Lopez M.S.
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  2. Jen-Chieh Chuang Ph.D.
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  3. Stephen D. Turley Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephen D. Turley Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Ingrid C. Gelissen

  2. School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Andrew J. Brown

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Lopez, A.M., Chuang, JC., Turley, S.D. (2017). Measurement of Rates of Cholesterol and Fatty Acid Synthesis In Vivo Using Tritiated Water. In: Gelissen, I., Brown, A. (eds) Cholesterol Homeostasis. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1583. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6875-6_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6875-6_18

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-6873-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-6875-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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