Studies on ethionine-induced fatty liver.

1. The effects of the administration of dl-ethionine on some aspects of lipid and nucleotide metabolism in rat liver were studied. 2. In ethionine-treated animals neutral fat was increased, whereas phospholipids and cholesterol were unchanged. Lipogenesis in vitro was inhibited. 3. The concentration of nicotinamide nucleotides, purine nucleotides and pyrimidine nucleotides was decreased. The decrease was due to free adenine nucleotides, inosine nucleotides, uridine nucleotides and cytidine nucleotides. Also, the protein-bound biotin content was lower. 4. In biotin-deficient rats the development of ethionine-induced fatty liver was inhibited. 5. The possibility was considered that ethionine might produce an inhibition of the synthesis of biotin-dependent acetyl-CoA carboxylase.