2001. Regulation of cardiac and skeletal muscle malonyl-CoA decarboxylase by fatty acids. Am.J.Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 280: E471–E479. Downloaded from www.jlr.org at PENN

and skeletal muscle malonyl-CoA decarboxylase by fatty ac-ids. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 280: E471–E479, 2001.—Malonyl-CoA decarboxylase (MCD) catalyzes the deg-radation of malonyl-CoA, an important modulator of fatty acid oxidation. We hypothesized that increased fatty acid availability would increase the expression and activity of heart and skeletal muscle MCD, thereby promoting fatty acid utilization. The results show that high-fat feeding, fasting, and streptozotocin-induced diabetes all significantly in-creased the plasma concentration of nonesterified fatty acids, with a concomitant increase in both rat heart and skeletal muscle MCD mRNA. Upon refeeding of fasted animals, MCD expression returned to basal levels. Fatty acids are known to activate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-a (PPARa). Specific PPARa stimulation, through Wy-1464