Chain-length dependency of interactions of medium-chain fatty acids with glucose metabolism in acini isolated from lactating rat mammary glands. A putative feed-back to control milk lipid synthesis from glucose.

The effects of a series of medium-chain fatty acids (C6-C12) on glucose metabolism in isolated acini from lactating rat mammary glands have been studied. Hexanoate (C6) octanoate (C8) and decanoate (C10), but not laurate (C12), decreased [1-14C]glucose conversion into [14C]lipid and the production of 14CO2 (an index of the pentose phosphate pathway). With hexanoate and octanoate, glucose utilization was decreased, whereas decanoate had a slight stimulatory effect on glucose utilization, but there was a large accumulation of lactate. Addition of dichloroacetate (an inhibitor of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase) decreased this accumulation of lactate and stimulated the conversion of [1-14C]glucose into [14C]lipid and 14CO2. Insulin had no effect on the rate of glucose utilization in the presence of hexanoate. It stimulated the rate in the presence of octanoate and laurate and increased the conversion of [1-14C]glucose into [14C]lipid in the presence of octanoate, decanoate or laurate. The major fate of 1-14C-labelled medium-chain fatty acids (C6, C8 and C12) was conversion into [14C]lipid. The proportion converted into 14CO2 decreased with increasing chain length, whereas the rate of [14C]lipid formation increased. It is concluded that the interactions between medium-chain fatty acids and glucose metabolism represent a feed-back mechanism to control milk lipid synthesis, and this may be important when milk accumulates in the gland.