# METABOLISM OF GLYCEROLIPIDS IN LIVER

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 1994 · $191,239

## Abstract

Monoacylglycerol acyltransferase (MGAT) activity is a tissue-specific
microsomal enzyme that is expressed at high levels in the neonatal period,
in hibernating mammals, and in migrating birds.
In each of these conditions, high rates of lipolysis are accompanied by an
increased need for essential fatty acids; in each condition, essential
fatty acids are preferentially conserved. Hepatic MGAT specific activity
also increases in streptozotocin-induced diabetes, a pathological state
characterized by high rates of beta-oxidation. We have provided conceptual
and experimental evidence that MGAT plays a critical role in the
conservation of essential fatty acids during normal physiological periods
with high rates of lipolysis. MGAT may contribute, as well, to diabetes-
associated changes in membrane fatty acids.

This proposal represents a unified plan to use biochemical and molecular
techniques to study the physiological significance, regulation, and
structure of MGAT. Using a mixed micellar assay, we will analyze the
stoichiometry of MGAT's substrates and its 1,2-diacylglycerol and
phospholipid activators. We will test the hypothesis directly that MGAT
functions in hepatocytes and in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes to retain
essential fatty acids. We will determine whether MGAT's activity and
character are regulated by its membrane microenvironment. In order to
study both developmental regulation and the relationship between structure
and function in membranes, we will clone and sequence MGAT cDNA, study
mRNA abundance in differentiating tissues and cells, and use transfected
cDNA to study cellular diacylglycerol trafficking.

In addition to providing novel regulatory and structural information about
this critical enzyme of glycerolipid synthesis, these studies will provide
tools with which to investigate diacylglycerol trafficking within cells,
the regulation of essential fatty acid homeostasis and of energy
metabolism, and the link between triacylglycerol synthesis and VLDL and
chylomicron assembly.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 2197757
- **Project number:** 2R01HD019068-10A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **SAM.gov UEI:** D3LHU66KBLD5
- **Principal Investigator:** Rosalind Anne Coleman
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1994
- **Award amount:** $191,239
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 1985-04-01 → 1999-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2197757

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 2197757, METABOLISM OF GLYCEROLIPIDS IN LIVER (2R01HD019068-10A1). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-24 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/2197757. Licensed CC0.

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