Creatine Synthesis in the Liver and Pancreas

Creatine can be obtained in the diet or produced endogenously by de novo synthesis from amino acid precursors. Creatine synthesis occurs in many tissues but the highest activity of the creatine synthetic enzymes are found in the kidney, liver, brain and pancreas. I will report on studies on the regulation of enzyme activity and mRNA expression for the creatine synthetic enzymes in the liver and pancreas. I will also describe novel experiments on the effects of creatine supplementation of hepatic lipid accumulation in a rat model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).