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In intestinal epithelial cells, three enzymes possessing monoacylglycerol hydrolase activity were found and partially purified. Two of these enzymes have properties that justify their classification as an esterase and one as a monoacylglycerol lipase. The three enzymes show similar Km values for monooleoylglycerol and each shows similar activity towards 1- and 2-monopalmitoylglycerol. Antiserum raised in rabbits against rat liver monoacylglycerol lipase inhibits the intestinal lipase completely, suggesting that the enzymes are at least partially similar. The esterases of small intestinal villus cells were not inhibited by the antiserum against liver monoacylglycerol lipase. It was calculated that the esterases account for approx. 2/3 of the monooleoylglycerol hydrolase activity in epithelial cells. Monoacylglycerol lipase also hydrolyzed palmitoyl-CoA, while the esterases did not. The enzymes were inhibited by micellar palmitoyl-CoA. The hypothesis that palmitoyl-CoA is an important regulator for monoacylglycerol acylation is discussed in the light of these new findings.

1. A technique is described for the rapid separation of intestinal epithelial cells from the incubation medium by passage through a silicon-oil layer and collection in acid, in which their soluble constituents are released. 2. The inhibition by fatty acids of pyruvate oxidation is further studied. Measurement of pyruvate transport in epithelial cells at 0 degree C showed that short- and medium-chain fatty acids as well as ricinoleate inhibit this transport. Propionate inhibits pyruvate transport by another mechanism than octanoate. 3. Differences between pyruvate propionate and octanoate transport across the epithelial cell membrane were obtained in efflux studies. These studies revealed that acetate, propionate, butyrate and high concentrations of bicarbonate readily stimulate the efflux of pyruvate, probably by anionic counter-transport. No effects were seen with octanoate and hexanoate. The data obtained in these efflux studies suggest that lipophilicity and the pKa values of the monocarboxylic acids determine the contribution of non-ionic diffusion to overall transport. 4. Saturation kinetics, competitive inhibition by short-chain fatty acids and counter-transport suggest a carrier-mediated transport of pyruvate.

1. In various preparations of rat small intestinal epithelial cells the acylation and deacylation of monoacylglycerol were studied. In the in vitro vascularly perfused intestine, of which the lumen was loaded with monoacylglycerol with or without fatty acids, acylation exceeded deacylation. In contrast, deacylation was much faster in isolated microsomes and in isolated whole cells. 2. In vascularly perfused intestine, without long-chain fatty acids present in the lumen, the amount of di- and triacylglycerol formed was found to be half of that formed in perfusions with long-chain fatty acids in the lumen, while the glycerol formation was increased 1.4-fold. 3. The concentration of monoacylglycerol is an important factor in determining the relative rates of monoacylglycerol acylation and deacylation in microsomes: the ratio acylation/deacylation decreases with increasing monoacylglycerol concentrations. 4. The function of the monoacylglycerol lipase in fat resorption is discussed.

1. The enzymes involved in glycerolphosphate and monoacylglycerol acylation of rat small intestine were more active in villi than in crypts. Monoglyceride acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.22) was found to be absent from crypts. 2. In the villi, the enzymes are mainly localized in microsomes, although low activities of palmitoyl-CoA synthetase (EC 6.2.1.3), glycerolphosphate acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.15) and cholinephosphotransferase (EC 2.7.8.2) are found in mitochondria. Mitochondria lack monoglyceride acyltransferase and lysolecithin acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.23), both of which are involved in the reacylation of alimentary partial glycerides. Therefore, this process is confined to microsomes. 3. The monoacylglycerol and lysolecithin acyltransferases, as well as choline-phosphotransferase, are probably localized within the endoplasmic reticulum, since these enzymes are relatively Nagerse resistant (subtilisin; EC 3.4.2.1, compared with palmitoyl-CoA synthetase and glycerolphosphate acyltransferase, which are highly Nagarse-sensitive and therefore probably localized on the outside of the microsomes (and mitochondria). 4. The physical separation of alimentary product reacylation from de novo synthetic processes provides the basis of metabolic compartmentation observed by other workers. 5. The use of sucrose instead of a salt medium for the isolation and homogenization of small intestinal epithelial cells allowed the separation of mitochondria and microsomes by differential centrifugation without mutual contamination. 6. Phospholipids were found to stimulate glycerolphosphate acylation in vitro. 7. The glycerolphosphate and monoacylglycerol acylation pathways are not competitive.

Chylomicrons were isolated from the urine of rats after a surgical procedure in which the cysterna chyli was connected with the right ureter. The fatty acids of the chylomicrons served as a respiratory substrate for rat heart and not for rat small intestine during in vitro vascular perfusions. The reason for the absence of chylomicron utilization in small intestine was found to be the virtual absence of lipoprotein lipase from this organ. Both heart and small intestine oxidized oleate complexed to albumin. Increasing the molar ratio of fatty acid to albumin from 3 to 6 did not affect the rate of fatty acid oxidation in heart, but increased fatty acid oxidation in small intestine.