Release of essential fatty acids from the rat mesenteric vascular bed perfused in vitro: modulation by zinc

The rat mesenteric vascular bed releases prostaglandins when perfused in vitro. The present study evaluated the effect of perfusion of the rat mesenteric vascular bed in vitro with a buffer containing 0, 3, 6, or 9 nM of added zinc on the release of essential fatty acids over a 150-min period. Long chain fatty acids in the mesenteric lipids and in total lipid of the perfusion effluent were assayed by gas liquid chromatography. The presence of 6 nM zinc in the perfusing buffer almost completely prevented the change in 16-22 carbon long chain fatty acids in the mesenteric phospholipids and decreased the release of free fatty acids in comparison to that occurring in the absence of additional zinc. The results suggest that physiological amounts of zinc in the perfusion medium reduce the release of essential fatty acid from rat mesenteric lipids.