The significance of changes in tissue clearing-factor lipase activity in relation to the lipaemia of pregnancy

Abstract

1. The concentration of triglyceride fatty acid in the plasma of the pregnant rat rises to a maximum 2–4 days before parturition. Thereafter there is a rapid decline in the concentration to near normal values at parturition. 2. A similar increase occurs in animals fed on a diet low in fat. There is no increase in food consumption at the time when the triglyceride fatty acid concentration in the plasma is at its peak. 3. Rates of entry of triglyceride fatty acid into the blood during pregnancy have been estimated from the rate of accumulation of triglyceride in the plasma of animals injected with a non-ionic detergent, Triton. A progressive increase occurs in the entry rate as the body weight increases throughout pregnancy. Expressed per constant body weight, the entry rate does not change significantly. 4. Adipose-tissue clearing-factor lipase activity is low at the time when the plasma triglyceride fatty acid concentration is raised. Activity of the enzyme in heart, lung and diaphragm is unchanged. 5. It is suggested that the ‘lipaemia of pregnancy’ may be due to diminished uptake of triglyceride fatty acids by adipose tissue, and, further, that the disappearance of the lipaemia may be due to increased uptake of triglyceride fatty acids by the mammary gland.