726 VII. LIPID DISTRIBUTION IN SPECIFIC TISSUES 



cant decrease in liver phospholipids, 160 ~ 165 as well as in kidney phospholi- 

 pids, 160 ' 161 when animals were subjected to a choline-deficient diet. Al- 

 though decreases in lipid choline derivatives may account for some of the 

 reduction in liver phospholipids, 161 ~ 163,165,166 increases in non-choline phos- 

 pholipids may partially offset this loss, and may markedly alter the lipid 

 pattern. McKibbin and Taylor 167 noted that, in the case of puppies on a 

 choline-low diet, a decrease in liver lecithin obtained, but that this was 

 compensated for by an increase in sphingomyelins. Consequently no 

 actual decrease in phospholipids was found. Lipid choline was also re- 

 duced in the skeletal muscle, but little or no change was observed in the 

 lipids of the cerebrum, spleen, pancreas, heart, kidney, or lung. Fishman 

 and Artom 162 reported that, when choline was added to the diet of rats 

 previously on a low-fat diet, no change in liver phospholipids occurred. 

 However, when choline was added to the diet of rats receiving a 20% fat 

 diet, the choline phospholipids were increased, while the non-choline 

 phospholipids were decreased. These data are interpreted as demon- 

 strating that both choline and fat are essential for lecithin synthesis. 



On the other hand, the amount of cholesterol present in the liver is 

 directly related to the cholesterol content of the diet. In the hamster, the 

 proportion of cholesterol is increased from a basal level of 220 milligram per 

 cent to 8.68% by a diet containing 1% of cholesterol and 0.25% of bile 

 salts. 168 



Sinclair and Chipman 169 have shown not only that dietary cholesterol 

 and liver cholesterol are related to each other, but also that the fatty acid 

 composition of the cholesterol esters is related to the dietary fat. When 

 elaidin was fed along with cholesterol, elaidic acid made up a higher pro- 

 portion of the total acids in the cholesterol esters than in the glycerides in 

 the liver. Although the cholesterol esters were always found to contain 

 a lower percentage of saturated acids than did the glycerides, variations 

 occurred which were related to diet. Levy and co-workers 170 noted that, 



160 J. M. Patterson, N. B. Keevil, and E. W. McHenry, J. Biol. Chem., 153, 489-493 

 (1944). 



161 J. M. Patterson and E. W. McHenry, J. Biol. Chem., 156, 265-269 (1944). 



162 W. H. Fishman and C. Artom, J. Biol. Chem., 164, 307-312 (1946). 



i 63 W. H. Fishman and C. Artom, /. Biol. Chem., 154, 109-115, 117-127 (1944). 



164 M. G. Horning and H. C. Eckstein, /. Biol. Chem., 166, 711-720 (1946). 



165 De W. Stetten, Jr., and G. F. Grail, J. Biol. Chem., 144, 175-181 (1942). 



166 R. W. Engel, Federation Proc., 1, 189 (1942). 



« 7 J. M. McKibbin and W. E. Taylor, J. Biol. Chem., 185, 357-366 (1950). 



168 W. Marx, L. Marx, and H. J. Deuel, Jr., Am. Heart J., 42, 124-128 (1951). 



169 R. G. Sinclair and L. Chipman, J. Biol. Chem., 167, 773-779 (1947). 



170 M. Levy, G. Amat, and J. Legrand, Compt. rend., 236, 2267-2268 (1953). 



