Mitochondrion is the principal target for nutritional and pharmacological control of triglyceride metabolism

Fish oil polyunsaturated fatty acids and fibrate hypolipidemic drugs are potent hypotriglyceridemic agents that act by increasing fatty acid catabolism and decreasing triglyceride synthesis and secretion by the liver. A major unresolved issue is whether this hypotriglyceridemic effect can occur independent of induction of peroxisomal beta-oxidation, a predisposing factor for hepatocarcinogenesis. The present study was undertaken to determine which component of fish oil, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), is responsible for its triglyceride-lowering effect. We demonstrate that EPA and not DHA is the hypotriglyceridemic component of fish oil and that mitochondria and not peroxisomes are the principal target. Results obtained by fenofibrate feeding support the hypothesis that the mitochondrion is the primary site for the hypotriglyceridemic effect. In contrast to fibrates, EPA did not affect hepatic apolipoprotein C-III gene expression. Therefore, increased mitochondrial beta-oxidation with a concomitant decrease in triglyceride synthesis and secretion seems to be the primary mechanism underlying the hypotriglyceridemic effect of EPA and fibrates in rats, rabbits and possibly also in humans. In addition, these data show that lowering of plasma triglycerides can occur independently of any deleterious peroxisome proliferation

Creatine kinase isoenzymes in severe head injury.

Brain-type creatine kinase (CK) isoenzyme (CK-BB) was found in the ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the serum in a series of 35 patients within 13 hours following severe head injury. There was a good correlation between total CK and CK-BB activities in CSF only. The values found in the CSF appear to be a quantitative index of brain dysfunction at admission, and did not correlate with intracranial pressure activity. High levels of CK-BB in the CSF correlated with a poor outcome, and thus offer a reliable criterion for the assessment of the severity of head injury