Effect of vitamin B6 deficiency on the metabolism of isolated fat cells: response to insulin, epinephrine and theophylline.

Abstract

SummaryWhen isolated epididymal fat cells from vitamin B6-deficient rats were incubated with glucose, lipogenesis was greater both in the absence and presence of insulin than when fat cells from fed and fasted control animals were similarly treated. Fat cells from vitamin B6-deficient rats also appeared more sensitive to lipolysis induced by theophylline and to a lesser extent epinephrine. This effect appeared to be related at least in part to the inanition accompanying the vitamin deficiency. Insulin was effective in partially inhibiting the epinephrine effect on fat cells from ad libitum contols but not on fat cells from deficient rats or pair fed controls. Conversely, insulin appeared less effective in inhibiting the theophylline effect on fat cells from ad libitum controls than the other groups. Ratios of triglyceride to DNA were similar in fat cells obtained from control and deficient rats indicating that in rat vitamin B6-deficiency experiments the amount of fat cells used can be quantified by the a...