Functional differences in lipid metabolism in resting skeletal muscle of various fiber types

Intramuscular lipid pool turnover [triacylglycerols (TG), phospholipids (PL), mono- and diacylglycerols (MG, DG)] and the oxidation of endogenous and exogenous lipids were determined with pulse-chase studies in incubated muscles of varied oxidative potential [soleus strips (SOL)--> epitrochlearis --> flexor digitorum brevis]. Incorporation of palmitate into TG and PL pools and its oxidation were linearly related to time and exogenous palmitate concentration in all muscles. Total palmitate incorporation (deposition and oxidation) was greatest in SOL. However, palmitate incorporation into TG was similar in all muscles when expressed as a percentage of the total incorporation. In contrast, palmitate incorporation into PL was greatest in the least oxidative muscle. Palmitate oxidation, incorporation into TG, and citrate synthase activity were all strongly correlated with muscle cytosolic fatty acid-binding protein content (r = 0.96, 1.0, and 0.98, respectively). During the chase, reducing exogenous palmitate from 1.0 mM to 0.5 or 0 mM resulted in a significant (approximately 30%) loss of [(14)C]palmitate from the TG pool in SOL and a significant increase in (14)CO(2) production from endogenous stores. No significant loss of (14)C label from lipid pools occurred in the less oxidative muscles, suggesting a closely regulated interaction between energy provision from exogenous and endogenous lipid pools in oxidative muscle. Glucose oxidation increased significantly in all muscles in the absence of palmitate. The loss of (14)C label from TG in SOL during the chase without palmitate was not accompanied by a significant change in TG content. This suggests that, during rest, there is a small subpool of TG with a relatively rapid turnover.