Studies on the regulation of fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis in avian liver

Homogenates of pigeon liver have been incubated with acetate-C(14) in excess. Simultaneously, substrate for glycolysis was provided as glucose-6-phosphate. The incorporation of carbon-14 into cholesterol was maximal at low levels of glycolysis, whereas fatty acid turnover was maximum at higher glycolytic levels. A regulatory mechanism is proposed to explain the differential synthesis of cholesterol and fatty acids.