Although liver fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) isan important binding site for various hydrophobic ligands in hepatocytes, its in vivo significance is not understood. We have therefore created L-FABP null mice and report here their initial analysis, focusing on the impact of this mutation on hepatic fatty acid binding capacity, lipid composition, and expression of other lipid-binding proteins. Gel-filtered cytosol from L-FABP null liver lacked the main fatty acid binding peak in the fraction that normally comprises both L-FABP and sterol carrier protein-2 (SCP-2). The binding capacity for cis-parinaric acid was decreased >80% in this region. Molar ratios of cholesterol/cholesterol ester, cholesteryl ester/triglyceride, and cholesterol/phospholipid were 2-to 3-fold greater, reflecting up to 3-fold absolute increases in specific lipid classes in the order cholesterol > cholesterol esters > phospholipids. In contrast, the liver pool sizes of nonesterified fatty acids and triglycerides were not altered. However, hepatic deposition of a bolus of intravenously injected family (1-3), is found in the liver, intestine, and kidney, but only in liver is it not co-expressed with other members of its family. L-FABP is known to bind fatty acids and various other hydrophobic molecules, although its actual contribution to the lipid-binding capacity of liver cytosol is not known. Given that L-FABP is expressed at very high levels (2-5% of cytosolic protein) in the differentiated hepatocyte (4, 5) and that these levels correlate well with lipid metabolism (2), it can be speculated that L-FABP contributes considerably to hepatic lipidbinding and lipid metabolism. Work with cell-free systems and transfected cells has further strengthened this view. For example, in cell-free preparations L-FABP was shown to stimulate the esterification of oleic acid while inhibiting that of palmitic acid (6). L cells overexpressing L-FABP show increased rates of fatty acid uptake and esterification (7) as well as increased contents of phospholipid and cholesterol esters (8, 9). HepG2 hepatoma cells expressing an L-FABP antisense RNA showed a dose-dependent reduction of fatty acid uptake (10). Furthermore, overexpression of L-FABP in McA-RH7777 hepatoma cells incubated with palmitic acid decreased the synthesis and secretion of triglycerides while increasing beta oxidation and the secretion of apolipoprotein B100 (11). Thus, the various in vitro systems have allowed researchers to propose specific functions of L-FABP in vivo.However, in vitro studies of FABPs have inherent limitations. The only firmly established function of FABPs is the reversible binding of hydrophobic ligands, and these proteins do not exhibit any enzymatic function or energy requirement. This suggests that these proteins play passive (facilitative) roles that, almost by definition, are strongly dependent on the cellular context. One context of the highly expressed L-FABP is the highly differentiated hepatocyte, a cell type featuring an intense lipid metabolism that is not eas...

Liver fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP) has been proposed to limit the availability of long-chain fatty acids (LCFA) for oxidation and for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR-alpha), a fatty acid binding transcription factor that determines the capacity of hepatic fatty acid oxidation. Here, we used L-FABP null mice to test this hypothesis. Under fasting conditions, this mutation reduced beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) plasma levels as well as BHB release and palmitic acid oxidation by isolated hepatocytes. However, the capacity for ketogenesis was not reduced: BHB plasma levels were restored by octanoate injection; BHB production and palmitic acid oxidation were normal in liver homogenates; and hepatic expression of key PPAR-alpha target (MCAD, mitochondrial HMG CoA synthase, ACO, CYP4A3) and other (CPT1, LCAD) genes of mitochondrial and extramitochondrial LCFA oxidation and ketogenesis remained at wild-type levels. During standard diet, mitochondrial HMG CoA synthase mRNA was selectively reduced in L-FABP null liver. These results suggest that under fasting conditions, hepatic L-FABP contributes to hepatic LCFA oxidation and ketogenesis by a nontranscriptional mechanism, whereas L-FABP can activate ketogenic gene expression in fed mice. Thus, the mechanisms whereby L-FABP affects fatty acid oxidation may vary with physiological condition.

Abstract. The goal of this retrospective study was to have a comprehensive picture of the β-hemolytic streptococci of horses including tissue/organ distributions and susceptibility patterns against specific antimicrobials between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2010. A total of 2,497 β-hemolytic streptococci were isolated from 2,391 cases, of which Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus was the most frequent isolate (72.0%). Other species isolated were Streptococcus dysgalactia subsp. equisimilis (21.3%), Streptococcus equi subsp. equi (5.8%), and unidentified β-hemolytic streptococci (0.9%). As expected, S. equi was mostly isolated from lymph node abscesses and the respiratory tract in foals and adult horses. Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus and S. equisimilis were mostly isolated from placenta, fetal tissues, and genital tract of horses; S. zooepidemicus and S. equisimilis were also recovered in significant numbers from a number of other organs including lung, liver, brain, kidney, and joints, indicating a much broader tissue tropism than S. equi. In addition, more than 1 Streptococcus spp. was recovered in 106 cases, indicating the co-existence of these bacteria in some horses. This data also suggested that S. equisimilis is a major bacterial agent of horses, contrary to present knowledge. Based on KirbyBauer antimicrobial susceptibility data, streptococci were found to be generally susceptible to cephalothin, erythromycin, nitrofurantoin, penicillin, and ticarcillin and clavulanate. Resistance to antimicrobials has not developed over the years, except for gentamicin and tetracycline against S. equisimilis.

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of Rhodococcus equi strains resistant to macrolides and rifampin over time in clinical samples from foals submitted to diagnostic laboratories in central Kentucky. We performed a retrospective observational study of all clinical samples from foals that were submitted to veterinary diagnostic laboratories in Kentucky between January 1995 and December 2017. Samples were included if the R. equi bacterium was cultured and tested for in vitro susceptibility to erythromycin or rifampin. In vitro susceptibility testing to erythromycin was available for 2,169 isolates of R. equi, while susceptibility testing to both erythromycin and rifampin was available for 1,681 isolates. Rifampin resistance was first detected in 2000, and erythromycin resistance was first detected in 2004. Between 1995 and 2006, the proportion of resistant isolates of R. equi was 0.7% for erythromycin and 2.3% for rifampin. There was a significant (P Ͻ 0.001) increase in the proportion of resistant R. equi between 2007 and 2017, with 13.6% of isolates being resistant to erythromycin and 16.1% being resistant to rifampin. Between 2007 and 2017, isolates of R. equi resistant to erythromycin or rifampin were significantly less likely to be isolated from feces than from the respiratory tract, other soft tissues, or musculoskeletal infections. The considerable increase in the prevalence of isolates of R. equi resistant to macrolides and rifampin since 2007 is of concern for both human and animal health.

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This study shows the MIC distribution of 32 antimicrobial agents for a large collection of R. equi isolates of animal origin from two continents. Isolates that exhibited distinctly elevated MICs of rifampicin were only rarely detected.

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The low-molecular-mass, cytosolic heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) is thought to be required for shuttling FA through the cytosol. Therefore, we examined the effects of an H-FABP-null mutation on FA and carbohydrate metabolism in isolated soleus muscle at rest and during a period of increased metabolic demand (30-min contraction). There were lower concentrations of creatine phosphate (-41%), ATP (-22%), glycogen (-34%), and lactate (-31%) (P < 0.05) in H-FABP-null soleus muscles, but no differences in citrate synthase and beta-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase activities or in the intramuscular triacylglycerol (TAG) depots. There was a 43% increase in subsarcolemmal mitochondria in H-FABP-null solei. FA transport was reduced by 30% despite normal content of sarcolemmal long-chain fatty acid transporters fatty acid translocase/CD36 and plasma membrane-associated FABP transport proteins. Compared with wild-type soleus muscles, the H-FABP-null muscles at rest hydrolyzed less TAG (-22%), esterified less TAG (-49%), and oxidized less palmitate (-71%). The H-FABP-null soleus muscles retained a substantial capacity to increase FA metabolism during contraction (TAG esterification by +72%, CO2 production by +120%), although these rates remained lower (TAG esterification -26% and CO2 production -64%) than in contracting wild-type soleus muscles. Glycogen utilization during 30 min of contraction did not differ, whereas glucose oxidation was lower at rest (-24%) and during contraction (-32%) in H-FABP-null solei. Although these studies demonstrate that the absence of H-FABP alters rates of FA metabolism, it is also apparent that glucose oxidation is downregulated. The substantial increase in FA metabolism in contracting H-FABP-null muscle may indicate that other FABPs are also present, a possibility that we were not able to completely eliminate.