LIPID STORAGE UNDER ABNORMAL CONDITIONS 691 



Whipple and Van Slyke 899 found that the blood amino acid of dogs with 

 Eck fistulas was not appreciably affected, even when the protein metab- 

 olism was augmented by the administration of meat or by toxic autolysis of 

 the tissues. 



In view of the fact that only limited amounts of liver are required for 

 normal function of the organ, it is not surprising that little evidence of 

 abnormality in function as a result of hepatic poisons is available. Thus, 

 Levene and Van Slyke 900 were unable to detect any increased proportion of 

 amino nitrogen in the urine of dogs which had undergone extreme liver 

 degeneration as a result of phosphorus or chloroform poisoning, although 

 Marshall and Rowntree 901 did note that an increase in total non-protein 

 nitrogen, urea, and amino acids in the blood serum occurred in phosphorus 

 poisoning, and to a lesser extent in chloroform poisoning. Moreover, in 

 rabbits whose livers were injured by hydrazine, a decreased ability to trans- 

 form glycine to glucose was reported. 902 



(b) Metabolic Changes Resulting from Dietary Fatty Livers, a'. Hy- 

 polipemia: The disturbances resulting from fatty livers are characterized, 

 not only by a decrease in the quantity of lipids in the blood, but also by a 

 qualitative change in the proportion of the several blood lipids. Usually 

 there is a considerable decrease in the amount of phospholipids in the blood, 

 which occurs concomitantly with a rise in the cholesterol and neutral fat 

 fractions. The specific changes in these fractions vary with the cause 

 of the fatty infiltration of the liver. A hypolipemia (lipopenia) usually 

 occurs in types in which deficiencies obtain as, for example, in choline, 

 vitamin, or essential fatty acid deficiency. On the other hand, in condi- 

 tions in which the nutrition is preserved, i.e., those in which fatty livers are 

 induced by excessive amounts of cystine or vitamins, a hyperlipemia rather 

 than a hypolipemia may be the normal response. 549 



b'. The Production and Composition of Bile: Colwell 903 reported that 

 the bile production of rats with an abnormal accumulation of liver fat due to 

 choline deficiency was less than was the case in rats receiving choline. 

 Although Colwell concludes that choline is necessary for normal cholo- 

 genesis, it appears probable that its effect is only indirect. By preventing 

 the engorgement of the liver cells with fat, it permits them to function in a 



899 G. H. Whipple and D. D. Van Slyke, unpublished results; cited by J. P. Peters and 

 D. D. Van Slyke, Quantitative Clinical Chemistry, 2nd ed., vol. I, Williams & Wilkins, 

 Baltimore, 1946, p. 806. 



900 P. A. Levene and D. D. Van Slyke, /. Biol. Chem., 12, 301-312 (1912). 



901 E. K. Marshall, Jr., and L. G. Rowntree, J. Exptl. Med., 22, 333-346 (1915). 



902 H. B. Lewis and S. Izume, /. Biol. Chem., 71, 33-49 (1926). 

 993 A. R. Colwell, Jr., Am. J. Physiol, 164, 274-283 (1951). 



