Lipogenesis and lipolysis in fed and fasted chicks from high and low body weight lines

Lipogenic and lipolytic capacities were examined in fasted and nonfasted 28-day-old chicks from high-weight (HW) and low-weight (LW) selected lines. Lipogenesis was assessed in liver and bone (sternum) tissues through the activities of malic enzyme (EC 1.1.1.40), citrate cleavage enzyme (EC 4.1.3.8), and acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (EC 6.4.1.2), as well as through the in vitro incorporation of acetate-1-14C into liver and bone lipid fractions. Lipolysis was estimated through the in vitro release of free fatty acids (FFA) from abdominal adipose tissue and through plasma FFA. Fasting depressed lipogenesis and increased lipolysis. Regardless of the feeding state, LW chicks exhibited higher lipogenic and lipolytic capacities than their HW counterparts, suggesting that lipid degradation may be relatively more important than synthesis in determining net fat deposition. In addition, the incorporation of radioactive acetate into bone lipid was associated with detectable activity of lipogenic enzymes, providing further evidence that the skeleton is an important site of lipogenesis in the chicken.