Uptake of plasma free fatty acids by the isolated rat liver: effect of glucagon

¹ Division of Medicine, Roswell Park Memorial Institute, New York State Department of Health, Buffalo, New York
² Division of Medicine, Roswell Park Memorial Institute, New York State, Department of Health, Buffalo, New York

The uptake of oleate by the isolated perfused rat liver was studied over the range of plasma free fatty acid (FFA) concentration from 100 to 1,800 µEq/liter. Hepatic removal of FFA could be described as a linear function of the FFA concentration in blood entering the liver. When appropriate correction was made for the difference in metabolic rates of the two species, it was found that the isolated rat liver removed FFA from its perfusing blood at rates quite comparable to those reported for the dog liver in vivo. An effect of glucagon on FFA uptake rates could not be demonstrated, either with fasted or with glycogen-containing livers. This experimental system, which offers the advantages of relatively easy control of many variables and of exclusion of the effects of other organs, appears well suited for studies of fatty acid metabolism in the liver.

Key Words: isolated perfused liver • hepatic uptake of oleate

Submitted on November 21, 1962