EVALUATION OF IMPAIRED TRIGLYCERIDE FATTY-ACID TRANSPORT AND OXIDATION FOR THE DETECTION OF CANCER IN MICE

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 39  (12) , 5118-5123
Abstract
The hypothesis that the transport and/or oxidation of triglyceride fatty acids is markedly impaired in rodents bearing a growing s.c. carcinoma was tested. Specifically, it was tested whether oxidation of triglyceride fatty acids is depressed in cancer-bearing animals. Mice inoculated s.c. with Ehrlich [breast] carcinoma cells were given injections (i.v. and i.p.) of 14C-labeled triglyceride fatty acids prepared as very low density lipoproteins by physiological methods or (i.p.) with [1-14C]tripalmitin dissolved in peanut oil during both early (3-4 days) and advanced (7-8 wk) stages of tumor growth. Specific activity of the expired 14CO2 was measured for periods ranging from 1-7 h following injections. Because cancer-bearing mice can become severely hypertriglyceridemic, plasma triglyceride pool sizes were measured during each experiment to account for the effects of possible differential dilution of the tracers. At no instance were any significant differences found between specific activities of expired 14CO2 or plasma triglyceride pool sizes of the cancer-bearing animals and controls. A cancer-induced impairment of triglyceride fatty acid transport and metabolism to CO2, such as reported by Costa et al., does not seem to be a universal phenomenon in rodents.