730 VII. LIPID DISTRIBUTION IN SPECIFIC TISSUES 



Chargaff and associates 182 noted that the rate of synthesis of lecithin ex- 

 ceeds that of cephalin in the kidney, as was also the case in the liver and in 

 the intestine, but not in the brain. It has been found by Weissberger 183 

 that kidney phospholipid is concerned with the regulation of blood and 

 body acidity by the renal excretion of acid phosphate. She suggests that 

 this physiologic function may explain the rapid turnover of phospholipid 

 in this organ. Further studies in this field, made with deuterio-fats, have 

 been reported by Cavanagh and Raper. 97 According to Ellis and Gard- 

 ner, 184 the cholesterol content of the kidneys is uninfluenced by diet. 



The kidney, like the liver, is quite susceptible to injury when lipogenic 

 diets are fed. 185 Presumably, due to the rapid turnover of phospholipids, 

 these organs require a continuous supply of phospholipids for replenishing 

 this loss. If such compounds are not available, damage to the cell structure 

 occurs, and the injury is soon reflected by a disordered function. Phos- 

 pholipid deficiency, i.e., choline deficiency, is especially readily produced in 

 weanling rats, in whose case kidney injury will appear within a ten-day 

 interval. Patterson and McHenry 186 proved that kidneys from these 

 choline-deficient rats have a lower than normal phospholipid content. 

 The liver phospholipids from choline-deficient rats are also reduced, and it 

 is suggested 186 that the renal hemorrhagic lesions may be due to this de- 

 ficiency. A kidney injury somewhat similar to that resulting from choline 

 deficiency has been reported in rats which have received a diet devoid of 

 essential acids, over a prolonged period. 187 In this case also, the injury 

 appears to be related to the inability of the rat to synthesize enough phos- 

 pholipids to serve as the structural portion of the kidney when the essential 

 fatty acids are absent from the diet. 



Although large amounts of fat associated with the kidney consist of 

 perirenal fat located outside of the organ, definite concentrations occur 

 within the kidney itself. Thus, Gairns and Morrison 188 were able to demon- 

 strate, histologically and chemically, large accumulations of lipids in the 

 tubule cells of the nephrons of cats. The concentration of the fat increased 

 with age, and its location and the size of the intracellular fat globules 

 varied widely with increasing age. Dallemagne and associates 189 found 



182 E. Chargaff, K. B. Olson, and P. F. Partington, /. Biol. Chem., 134, 505-514 (1940). 



183 L. H. Weissberger, J. Biol. Chem., 132, 219-226 (1940). 



184 G. W. Ellis and J. A. Gardner, Proc. Roy. Soc, B85, 385-393 (1912). 

 ™ W. H. Griffith and N. J. Wade, J. Biol. Chem., 131, 567-577 (1939). 



186 J. M. Patterson and E. W. McHenry, /. Biol. Chem., 145, 207-211 (1942). 



187 G. O. Burr and M. M. Burr, J. Biol. Chem., 82, 345-367 (1929). 



188 F. W. Gairns and S. D. Morrison, J. Physiol, 110, 17P (1949). 



189 M. J. Dallemagne, M. A. Gerebtzoff, and E. Philippot, Science, 112, 148 (1950). 



