Before the menopause, women are relatively protected against CVD compared with men. The reasons for this sex difference are not completely understood, but hepatic fatty acid metabolism may play a role. The present study aimed to investigate the utilisation of plasma NEFA by the liver and to determine whether they are partitioned differently into ketone bodies and VLDL-TAG in healthy, lean young men and women. Volunteers were studied during a prolonged overnight fast (12-19 h) using an intravenous infusion of [U-¹³C]palmitate. After 12 h fasting, the women had a more advantageous metabolic profile with lower plasma glucose (P < 0·05) and TAG (P < 0·05) but higher plasma NEFA (P < 0·05) concentrations. Plasma 3-hydroxybutyrate (3-OHB) concentrations rose more in women than in men, and the transfer of ¹³C from [U-¹³C]palmitate to plasma [¹³C]3-OHB reached a plateau 6-7 h after the start of the infusion in women but was still increasing at 6 h in men. This implies a slower 3-OHB production rate and/or dilution by other precursor pools in men. In women, the high isotopic enrichment of plasma 3-OHB suggested that systemic plasma fatty acids were the major source of 3-OHB production. However, in men, this was not observed during the course of the study (P < 0·01). There were no sex differences for the incorporation of ¹³C into VLDL1- or VLDL2-TAG. The ability of young women to partition fatty acids towards ketone body production rather than VLDL-TAG may contribute to their more advantageous metabolic profile compared with young men.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
3
4%
Other
14
16%
Unknown
21
25%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 19 April 2014.
All research outputs
#22,496,596
of 27,524,720 outputs
Outputs from British Journal of Nutrition
#5,702
of 6,640 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#186,638
of 205,776 outputs
Outputs of similar age from British Journal of Nutrition
#64
of 70 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 27,524,720 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 10th percentile – i.e., 10% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 70 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 5th percentile – i.e., 5% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
