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Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Measuring the Rate of Lipolysis in Ex Vivo Murine Adipose Tissue and Primary Preadipocytes Differentiated In Vitro
Published on: March 17, 2023
Enigmatic effect of cellular ATP on fatty acid biosynthesis. Stimulation by moderate decrease and inhibition by
Math J H Geelen1, Robert A Harris, Simon G Van den Bergh
1Laboratory of Veterinary Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. m.geelen@kpnplanet.nl
Abstract:
The cellular ATP concentration was tested for its effect on fatty acid biosynthesis from glucose in hepatocytes. ATP was manipulated by adding increasing concentrations of cycloheximide, amytal, atractyloside, 2,4-dinitrophenol or adenosine. A slight decrease in cellular ATP coincided with a stimulation of fatty acid biosynthesis whereas a further lowering of cellular ATP resulted in a gradual inhibition. Increasing the cellular ATP level by titration with adenosine had the opposite effect. These results are in line with the suggestion that fatty acid biosynthesis from glucose is an energy-yielding process which is stimulated by a moderate drop in cellular ATP.
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