Significance of Skin as a Site of Fatty Acid and Cholesterol Synthesis in the Chick

Abstract

The significance of skin as a site of fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis has been studied in the chick. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments indicate that chick skin has the capacity to synthesize fatty acid and cholesterol. The addition of glucose to the incubation medium enhanced fatty acid synthesis but not cholesterol synthesis from acetate–1–14C in chick skin. The rate of in vitro lipogenesis in skin is markedly lower than that in liver and slightly lower than that in adipose tissue. The estimated contribution of skin to total fatty acid synthesis in the intact chick was about 7%, while skin accounted for approximately 6% of total cholesterol synthesis.