VLDL output by hepatocytes from obese Zucker rats is resistant to the inhibitory effect of insulin

The effects of insulin (0-780 nM) on the secretion of very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) apolipoprotein B (apoB) and triacylglycerol (TAG) in hepatocytes from obese Zucker rats and from their lean littermates were studied over a total period of 48 h in chemically defined culture medium. Cells from the obese Zucker rats initially secreted more TAG than those from the lean animals. Cells from the former were resistant to the inhibitory effect of insulin on the secretion of TAG. These changes were accompanied by an increased rate of TAG synthesis. Although the hepatocytes from the obese animals initially secreted less apoB than those from the lean, apoB output from the former could not be suppressed by insulin. Prolonging the length of the culture period resulted in the acquisition of sensitivity to the inhibitory effect of insulin in the hepatocytes from the obese rats. This occurred more rapidly for the secretion of TAG than of apoB. Under these conditions, the initial difference in the rate of TAG synthesis in the hepatocytes from the obese and from the lean animals was also abolished.