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Abstract

Biology

Quantitative Determination of De Novo Fatty Acid Synthesis in Brown Adipose Tissue Using Deuterium Oxide

Published: May 12th, 2023

DOI:

10.3791/64219

1UCD Conway Institute and UCD Institute of Food and Health, School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, 2Division of Endocrinology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, 3Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, 4Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

* These authors contributed equally

Abstract

Fatty acid synthesis is a complex and highly energy demanding metabolic pathway with important functional roles in the control of whole-body metabolic homeostasis and other physiological and pathological processes. Contrary to other key metabolic pathways, such as glucose disposal, fatty acid synthesis is not routinely functionally assessed, leading to incomplete interpretations of metabolic status. In addition, there is a lack of publicly available detailed protocols suitable for newcomers in the field. Here, we describe an inexpensive quantitative method utilizing deuterium oxide and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) for the analysis of total fatty acid de novo synthesis in brown adipose tissue in vivo. This method measures the synthesis of the products of fatty acid synthase independently of a carbon source, and it is potentially useful for virtually any tissue, in any mouse model, and under any external perturbation. Details on the sample preparation for GCMS and downstream calculations are provided. We focus on the analysis of brown fat due to its high levels of de novo fatty acid synthesis and critical roles in maintaining metabolic homeostasis.

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Keywords Fatty Acid Synthesis

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