Effect of nutrition on subcellular localization of rat fat-cell lipoprotein lipase

This study supports the possibility for multiple subcellular forms of lipoprotein lipase. 1. The total activity of lipoprotein lipase per g of intact epididymal adipose tissue from fed rats is much higher than that from starved rats. 2. The isolated fat-cells of fed and of starved rats have lipoprotein lipase of almost the same activity per g of fat-pads. The isolated fat-cells of starved rats have a much higher proportion of total activity per g of the intact tissue than do those of fed rats. 3. Under the conditions of homogenization used, only a small proportion of the total activity per g of intact tissue from fed rats was associated with the fat layer which floated to the top of the homogenate during low-speed centrifugation. The different proportions of the specific enzyme activity found in each subcellular fraction are described. 4. Lipoprotein lipase from plasma membranes and microsomal fractions from starved and fed rats was purified by affinity chromatography. 5. The total activity of microsomal lipoprotein lipase per g of intact adipose tissue is enhanced by a normal diet. 6. In intact epididymal adipose tissue from fed rats, the activity per g of tissue of lipoprotein lipase of plasma membranes is much higher than that in the same fraction from starved rats. By contrast, the activities per g of tissue in plasma membranes obtained from starved or from fed rats by collagenase treatment were similar.