Abstract
Summary
Relative concentrations of fatty acids from whole liver and liver mitochondria of cold-acclimated hamsters were analyzed by gas chromatography. Involvement of the thyroid gland was studied by the administration of PTU and thyroxine to both warm-and cold-acclimated animals. No change was observed in total unsaturation of either whole liver or mitochondrial fatty acids as a result of cold-acclimation but changes did occur in the composition of individual fatty acids. These were a decrease in palmitate and an increase in arachidonate in whole liver while mitochondria showed increases in stearate and arachidonate and decreases in palmitate and oleate. Injection of warm-acclimated animals with thyroxine also resulted in no change in whole liver unsaturation but did produce a decrease in the total unsaturation of mitochondria. Marked effects were also observed in individual fatty acids following thyroxine treatment as evidenced by increases in palmitate and stearate and a decrease in linoleate in mitochondria while in whole liver there were increases in palmitate and oleate and decreases in stearate, lino-leate, and arachidonate. Analogous effects on fatty acid metabolism between thyroxine-treated, warm-acclimated hamsters and cold-acclimation were not observed.
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